Mumbai was put on high alert on Friday after the police said two foreign nationals with suspected terror links had entered the metropolis on the eve of the festival season.
The Mumbai police has stepped up vigilance and put security arrangements in top gear after the alert. This is the second such intelligence input that the police has r
eceived from Central agencies about the probable presence of disruptive elements in the city during the 10-day Ganesh festival, which sees the biggest gatherings of crowds in the city. Also, since Id-ul-Fitr coincides with the Ganpati festival, the concerns of the police have been heightened. Joint commissioner of police (crime) Himanshu Roy told the media on Friday that Kalimuddin Khan, alias Rameshwar Pandit (28), and Hafiz Khijir Ulla Sharif (25) had sneaked into Mumbai very recently “with an intention to create disruption”. He issued an advisory to the general public to be watchful and inform the police as and when they spotted the two men. He said crowded places and places of worship would be their probable targets during the festive season. He, however, refused to reveal their nationality or if they had links to any cross-border terror groups, or how they had arrived in Mumbai.
“We received information from the intelligence agencies about their presence in the city and decided to seek the help of the general public in apprehending them,” Mr Roy said. He refused to speculate on whether they were suicide bombers.
He said the police and its crime branch have formed several teams to intercept the suspects. He appealed to citizens to look for them and inform the police as and where they were spotted.
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‘Suspects plan attack on weekend’
AGE CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi
Sept. 10: Central security agencies apprehend that the two foreign terrorists who are at large in Mumbai may be planning a terror attack over the weekend and the festive season ahead. The two terrorists, who have sneaked into Mumbai from across the border, are suspected to have links with Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Harkat-ul-Jihad.
Security officials in Delhi said that the terrorists could be carrying weapons. The sources said that one was a Pakistani and the other a Bangladeshi. “We believe they have access to weapons. They could either be linked to LeT and/or the Harkat-ul-Jihad,” a senior security official said.
“Our understanding is that they have been in Mumbai for a few days probably waiting for Ganesh Chaturthi... but some more of them could also follow,” the official added.
The security agencies have been trying to track the terrorists over the last few days. The decision of the Mumbai police to make public information about them along with their photographs was taken in consultation with the security establishment in Delhi.