Bhubaneswar, Jan 24 (IANS): Two Russian nationals have been detained for suspicious activities in the state, police said Saturday.

Police in Odisha's Cuttack district detained them Friday evening and took them to Puri for further questioning Saturday.

Some villagers handed over the duo to Niali police after becoming suspicious about their activities in the area.

Vasil Lu Fair and Maratha Galimura stayed in Puri for four days. They had come to Puri from Mumbai with a tourist visa. They had air tickets for Bangkok for Jan 26.

"Preliminary investigation shows that the two youth are engineering students and have a genuine visa and passport. They were staying inside a make shift tent along the seashore in Puri. We are verifying other details," said Puri Superintendent of Police Asish Kumar Singh.

The Odisha government has sounded a high alert in all districts following intelligence inputs that Pakistan-sponsored terrorist outfits were readying to strike targets in four states including Odisha before Jan 28.