Indian Coast Guard beefs up surveillance after Lanka blasts

Indian cadets stand onboard Indian Coast guard Ship Charlie -440 (C-440) during its Commissioning ceremony at a harbour in Chennai/ AFP

New Delhi: The Indian Coast Guard has beefed up surveillance and deployed more ships and aircraft for patrolling following a series of devastating blasts in Sri Lanka on Sunday.

This has been done to ensure that no element that could pose as a security threat sneaks into the country through the sea, a senior Coast Guard official said.

"We have deployed all our ships from Coast Guard stations at Tuticorin, Mandapam and Karaikal for surveillance," the official said. He said the surveillance was stepped up as soon as reports of the blasts started emerging Sunday.

Seven suicide bombers, believed to be members of an Islamist extremist group, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing 290 people and wounding 500 others in the country's worst terror attack.

Seven suicide bombers believed to be members of an Islamist extremist group carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing 290 people and wounding 500 others in the country's worst terror attack, authorities said on Monday.

A state of emergency was declared from midnight Monday after a crucial meeting of the National Security Council chaired by President Maithripala Sirisena.

No group has claimed responsibility for Sunday's attacks, but police have so far arrested 24 people - mostly members of a same group - in connection with the blasts that also killed six Indian nationals.

Police said that 9 out of the 24 arrested for involvement in the blasts were ordered to be remanded by the Colombo magistrate's court till May 6.

Government's spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said local Islamist extremist group called the National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ) is suspected of plotting the blasts that struck three churches when the Easter Sunday mass were in progress and three five-star hotels.

"All suicide bombers involved in the blasts are believed to be Sri Lankan nationals," said Senaratne, who is also the Health Minister.

Speaking at a press conference here, Senaratne said the government was investigating whether the group had "international support".

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