The intelligence agencies have stepped up their surveillance following reports that certain suspected terror modules based in the Maldives are trying to gain a foothold in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala capital.
Sources said that these elements were taking advantage of the provisions in the law to carry out their nefarious designs. As per the SAARC agreement, residents of Maldives can stay in India continuously for 90 days without a visa.
“Most of the shady elements usually leave India on the 89th day, only to return the next day for another stint. Many of them may be misusing the provision for clandestine operations including drugs, smuggling of goods or even spreading their hardline ideology,’’ said an official on condition of anonymity.
However, the Special Branch officials here said that certain petty cases had been registered against some Maldivians in the city. While the majority of the Maldivians coming to the state are peace loving people who visit the capital mainly for specialized medical treatment and education, there is also a small section which does come here with criminal motives.
The sources said that there was no room for complacency, considering the past history of certain Maldiviains. For instance Asif Ibrahim, a Maldivian national who was arrested in the State in April 2005, told investigators that he had been assigned the task of setting up a support group for a new Maldives-based terror outfit, the Jamaat-ul-Muslimeen in Thiruvananthapuram.
Ibrahim had also confessed to planning the assassination of the then-Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. He visited the State to procure components for manufacturing bombs as these materials were easily available here.
He admitted that back home there was a strict identity card system which brought such purchases under police scrutiny. In April 16, 2010, the city police had deported a Maldivian citizen.