CHENNAI: A three-day joint combing operation, dubbed 'Operation Safe Forest' was organized by the Tamil Nadu Police in tri-junction forest areas across Wayanad (Kerala), Chamarajanagar (Karnataka) and the Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu) with active participation from neighbouring Kerala and Karnataka police to monitor Maoist movement in the trijunction area.

N Mylvahanan, IGP, Special Task Force led the joint operation, which started on April 7 and ended on April 9. "Despite adverse weather conditions, including rainfall and the presence of wild animals, the operation was carried out successfully. Relevant intelligence was gathered during the operation for further action. No suspect movement of any LWE (left-wing extremist) cadres was noticed during the Combing Operation," an official release said.

The border areas between KKT States (Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu) continue to be closely monitored by the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force to ensure security and to prevent extremist activities.

Over a month ago, in a joint operation with Kerala Police, Tamil Nadu Police's Q Branch CID apprehended an absconding CPI (Maoist) cadre, Santosh Kumar, who has been on the run for the last 11 years. Another CPI (Maoist) cadre, Theni Karthik, too was apprehended by the Q branch CID.