Ahmedabad:
The red alert for possible terrorist attacks in Ahmedabad that was sounded on Tuesday was extended for the next 25 days on Wednesday in view of the upcoming religious festivals and government functions. In fact, the authorities in other districts of the state have also been put on alert in the light of Tuesday's intelligence inputs received from the Union home ministry about a possible terror strike in the state.
Talking to media persons on Wednesday, Ahmedabad police commissioner Amitabh Pathak said that the red alert had been sounded in the city after specific inputs were received from the Centre. The high alert will continue till the end of the forthcoming festive season, he said, adding that, even otherwise, the police are extra vigilant during festivals and government functions.
Pathak further said that several meetings had been held with different officials since last week and the city police had been working on the inputs received from the Intelligence Bureau (IB). He, however, refused to given any details of the information received from the Centre but said that the police were taking all the necessary steps to ensure complete security.
"We were receiving inputs for the last few days and have been working on a security plan accordingly," he said. The police commissioner said that the police will remain extra vigilant till Christmas, New Year Eve, Vibrant Gujarat, the kite festival and Uttarayan are over. "The high alert will stay in place till January 15, 2010," he said.
In a separate conversation, Gujarat DGP Chitranjan Singh said that on Tuesday the alert was sounded only in Ahmedabad but now the entire state had been put on alert. "The police throughout the state have been asked to keep close watch on all activities in their area. Patrolling in all districts has been intensified," he said.
In Rajkot, Vadodara and Surat, the police have raided suspected hiding places of terrorists. The Union home minister has advised intensive patrolling in all cities. The IB input said that terrorists had entered the city by road from Kashmir.
"They could have taken training in the Valley or they could be Kashmir-based terrorists. They could be in the city by now," a source in the city police said. In its report to the Gujarat police, the union home ministry had said citing IB inputs that the terrorists could attack malls, multiplexes and marketplaces. "There is the possibility of an imminent attack on the city," the source said.
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