Rajesh K. Singh takes charge as Defence Secretary
Rajesh Kumar Singh, a 1989-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, assumed the role of Defence Secretary at South Block here on Friday.
Special teams of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) are conducting raids in several parts of Tamil Nadu. Sources in the premier investigating agency revealed that the raids in the state are part of the All India raids. Sleuths of the NIA are also conducting raids in the Southern states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The NIA in a press statement said its team was conducting raids at 20 locations across Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in the Edakkara Maoist case (RC-2/2021/NIA/KOC). This was pertaining to the conspiracy by the members of the CPI (Maoist), a proscribed terror organisation conducting training camps, arms training, flag hoisting, and celebrations on the formation day of the CPI(Maoist) during September 2016 in the Edakkara area of Nilambur forests in Kerala.
In Tamil Nadu, raids are being held at Krishnagiri, Coimbatore, Theni, Sivaganga, and Salem districts, sources said. The raids are simultaneously being conducted in Kerala and Karnataka also. A Maoist leader, who was recently picked up by the police in Kerala has received inputs that a well-entrenched network of Maoists is in place in the tri-junction of Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu forest areas.
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The combing conducted in Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Erode, Dindigul, and Theni districts by the Tamil Nadu Q branch police have, according to sources, thwarted the design of the Maoists trying to establish a Western Zone command to spread its ideology, but the training modules of the dreaded organization is in place.
On Monday, the NIA prosecutor in the Vizhinjam Sri Lankan boat case informed the Kerala High Court that its investigating officer was in Tamil Nadu. It may be noted that in March 2021 a Sri Lankan boat was seized in the Arabian Sea with 300 kg of heroin and 5 AK 47 assault vehicles. An LTTE operative Satkunam alias Sabesan was arrested from his residence at Valsaravakkam in Chennai on October 5.
Sources said that the NIA would also be conducting some searches regarding the arrest of the LTTE former operative.
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