Kerala Police beef up surveillance on Tamil refugee camps

Saturday, 3 September 2011 00:37 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

With the execution of death sentence of the three condemned prisoners in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case becoming a hot debate topic, the police in Kerala have started conducting thorough surveillance of places where Sri Lankan Tamils have settled in large numbers.

A special team has been deployed to monitor the Sri Lankan Tamil refugee settlement camp at Gavi in Pathanamthitta district, the Times of India reported.

Pathanamthitta district Superintendent of Police K. K. Balachandran said that they have been conducting regular surveillance of the refugee camp and a team has been specially deployed at the spot.

“We are closely watching their activities. So far we have not sensed any unusual activities that need to be scrutinised,” the officer said.

Officials of the district special branch said that of the 200 families settled in and near the refugee settlement camp, only around 75 families are Sri Lankan Tamils.

“The families of Sri Lankan Tamils who got settled during the late 1970s, got married to local people and now the families of their children and grandchildren are staying along with them,” the officials said.

The city special branch has started to monitor the camp at Vathuruthy in Kochi where large number of Tamil labourers are settled. They are observing the activities of persons who are new to the area.

Special Branch Assistant Commissioner M. N. Ramesh said that they have been closely watching the Vathuruthy area for the last couple of days. “We look up for new persons who have come to area.

We are collecting their details,” the officer said.

According to special branch officials, the ground-level intelligence inputs suggest that the Tamils settled at various places in the state are not keen on the developments in connection with the execution of the prisoners in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

“It seems that they have decided not to discuss the matter in public fearing trouble from the police,” the officials added.