Three more abandoned boats were found drifting in the coast on Friday, raising suspicion among officials that LTTE militants, involved in a fierce battle with the Sri Lankan army in the island's north, were sneaking into Tamil Nadu.
The boats found abandoned were located at Arichalmunai, Erandam and Moondram Theedai. Earlier six boats, some with bullet marks and blood stains, were found abandoned off Rameswaram and Nagapattinam coasts, on Thursday.
So many "mysterious" abandoned boats had been found. There was no chance for so many boats to drift to Indian shores.
The only possibility was that someone would have either come from Sri Lanka or failed in their attempt to reach the island, police officials here said.
"If it is one or two boats, it is okay. But how can so many boats drift to the shore? It appears to be a case of infiltration," a top official of Tamil Nadu police said.
The recovery of eight abandoned boats inside a week should be taken seriously by naval and coastguard officials, he said.
"Barring one, the others did not have engines. So what happened to the engines?" the official asked.
Coast Guard and Naval officials said patrolling had been intensified after the Mumbai terror strikes. Sea surveillance radar had been installed, besides deploying two ships for patrolling.
The official said that the presence of the abandoned boats needs a thorough probe to unravel the mystery.
Courtesy: The Times of India
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