Chennai: Amidst nationwide raids by NIA against ISIS sympathisers and arrests on Friday, Tamil Nadu police has stepped up security in the city as a run up to the R-Day celebrations.
Additional bomb squads from neighbouring districts are called in to make sure the R-Day venue is totally sterile.
“We see the increase in the security and arrest of ISIS supporters by NIA as separate incidents. NIA was monitoring the online activities of the arrested persons for the last two weeks before deciding to nab them on Thursday night.
NIA was targeting one network of people who were linked through online activities. In this particular network there was no one from Tamil Nadu,” a senior police officer said. The increased security is part of every year’s routine, where we deploy more people at Republic Day function venue as well as on Kamaraj Salai to make sure there is no untoward incident.
At least 12,000 policemen and over 15 bomb detection and disposal squads are working to sterilise the venue, the officer added. ISIS sympathizers: The officer also noted that the presence of online sympathisers of ISIS in Tamil Nadu is being monitored and sleuths are yet to find an ISIS fan from the state in Internet.
Tamil Nadu was the first state in the country which arrested people for extending online support when they posted pictures of persons wearing pro-ISIS T shirts in Facebook, in Ramanathapuram in August 2014.
In December last year, NIA arrested a 23-year-old youth from Chennai who was working in Dubai. He had been deported to Delhi on Friday from Sudan after he was allegedly found trying to establish contact with IS handlers to go to Libya.
He had links with a man from Philippines, who in turn introduced him to an IS recruiter in Sudan, police said here.
