Amidst reports of growing Maoist activities in bordering Nepali areas, India has decided to beef up security presence along the Nepal-India border.

Indian media reports said that presence of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), a para-military force, would be intensified along the 200km stretch of the border.

About 100 km each of Darjeeling district and West Sikkim are patrolled by the SSB forces, reports quoted Deputy Inspector General of the SSB, Ganga Singh Seyana, as saying at a press briefing on Monday. He added that the existing 26 SSB camps established along the border would be increased to 36 along with two more battalions.

According to Seyana, it was difficult to identify the Nepali Maoists crossing the borders as the nationals of the countries were free to cross the border without any passport or any kind of identification procedure.

The SSB forces are also assisted by trained sniffer dogs in detecting explosives and narcotics, reports said.

The SSB forces, Seyana informed, have captured five central Maoist leaders and have seized narcotics and smuggled items worth rupees Rs 40.8 million in the past four years.