Chennai, Apr 10 (Reporter) A Joint Combing Operation (JCO) was conducted by the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force (STF) along the Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka forest tri-junction areas on Thursday to monitor movement of armed terrorist activities linked to the Maoist movement, if any overtly. However, no suspect movement of Maoists were found during the three-day operation. An official release here this evening said their activities were first detected in the early part of 2013 in the tri-junction forest areas of Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu (KKT) States. Subsequently, in a high-level coordination meeting of senior police officers from the three States held in November 2013, it was decided to initiate joint efforts to counter Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in the region. Pursuant to this decision, from 2014 to 2024, a total of nine (JCOs were carried out by the STF, Tamil Nadu, Special Operations Group (SOG), Kerala and Anti-Naxal Force (ANF), Karnataka, in the forest areas of Wayanad, Palakkad, and Malappuram Districts in Kerala, Chamarajanagar District in Karnataka, and the Nilgiris District in Tamil Nadu. During Joint combing operations in the past, a key Maoist cadre from Jharkhand was arrested by the Tamil Nadu STF. Also, a women Maoist cadre was apprehended on the Tamil Nadu–Kerala border during an operation by the "Q" Branch, Tamil Nadu. These successful operations, along with continued vigilance by the Special Forces of the three States, have significantly curtailed overt Maoist movements in the region. Under the directions of Tamil Nadu SGP Shankar Jiwal, the JCO was organised from April seven to nine by N. M. Mylvahanan, IGP/STF, Tamil Nadu in two different forest areas across Wayanad (Kerala), Chamarajanagar (Karnataka), and Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu) under the code name ‘Operation Safe Forest’ with active participation of counterparts from Kerala and Karnataka. Despite adverse weather conditions, including rainfall and the presence of wild animals, the operation was carried out successfully, it said. Surveillance was intensified during this period, and movement of Maoists in the area was monitored. Relevant intelligence was gathered during the operation for further action. No suspect movement of any LWE cadres noticed during the Combing Operation. The Joint teams were debriefed in Theppakadu and details of Operation was collected for further improvement. 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...////...