Chennai, Jul 23 (IANS): Tamil Nadu Police have taken into custody six Russian citizens and three Indians from near the nuclear reactor plant at Kudankulam.

A senior police officer told IANS that they were taken into custody on Monday evening after local people tipped off on the presence of foreigners around the premises of the nuclear reactor.

Besides six Russians including a woman, two Tamil Nadu natives and a Keralite from Thiruvananthapuram were also taken into custody by the police.

Sources in Tamil Nadu Police told IANS that the Central agencies have commenced quizzing those in custody. The Thiruvananthapuram native, according to police, is the driver of the cab in which the Russians came.

It may be recalled that the Kudankulam nuclear power project at Tirunelveli in Southern Tamil Nadu was commissioned with the support of the Russians. There had been stiff public opposition to the plant when the construction was commissioned in March 2022.

Kudankulam has two 1000 Mwe nuclear reactors at present and four more are expected to come up in the same region.