Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government is viewing "very seriously" the visit of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, arrested by the FBI along with suspected LeT operative David Headley, to Kochi, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said here on Wednesday.

The state government would act according to the Centre's direction in the matter, he told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

Officials of National Investigation Agency (NIA) have arrived in Kochi to probe the activities of Rana and his woman compassion during their stay in the city. Rana had stayed with the woman in a five-star-cum-business hotel in Kochi on November 16-17 last year, posing as an immigration consultant.

Police identify cyber cafes used by Headley

Intelligence agencies and state police have come across evidence regarding Rana's visit. Rana, who arrived in Kochi on November 16, 2008, along with a woman called Samraz Akthar, had checked into the hotel and left for Mumbai the next afternoon.

Investigators had also found an advertisement that appeared in a newspaper stating that he would be in Kochi offering job aspirants visas to the US and Canada.

FBI had arrested Headley and Rana, a Canadian national, last month.

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