Tamil Nadu man detained near Indo-Pak border in Gujarat; border area map, tools found in his bag

Bhuj: Police have detained a man hailing from Tamil Nadu after he was found roaming suspiciously near the India-Pakistan border in Gujarat's Kutch district, an official said on Wednesday.

A hand-drawn map of the border area, a passport, some tools and an international ATM card were found in his bag, besides other items, after the man was apprehended on Tuesday evening, the official said, adding he was being questioned by local police and central agencies.

The man has been identified as Dinesh Laxmanan Thevar, a resident of Theni district in Tamil Nadu. An investigation has been launched to find out his motive behind moving in the area, the Kutch-East police said in a statement.

He was detained by the state police's intelligence wing on a road connecting the Border Security Force's (BSF) Kuda outpost and Lodrani village of Rapar taluka on Tuesday evening, the statement said.

"A man from Tamil Nadu has been detained for questioning as he was found roaming near the international border yesterday. The suspect has not revealed much about his intent to come to Kutch. He is now being questioned thoroughly by local police as well as central agencies," Kutch-East Superintendent of Police Sagar Bagmar said.

A team of the State Intelligence Bureau during routine patrolling of the border area found Thevar walking towards Lodrani village. When he did not give a satisfactory reply about his visit, he was taken to Balasar police station, the statement said.

Local police then searched his shoulder bag and found several articles, including a hand-drawn map showing bordering Kutch region and adjoining villages of Pakistan such as Nagarparkar and Islamkot, a screwdriver, spanner, cutting plier, scissors, a passport, driving license, PAN card and an international debit card, it said.

The police also found some food, a train ticket showing journey from Mumbai to Surendranagar and Rs 10,000 cash in the bag, said the statement.

The man he has been taken to another location for detailed questioning as he has not been providing satisfactory explanation to the local police, it added.