The terrorist could target 'hotels and hospitals' during Holi, the security agencies said. (File photo)
Highlights
- Delhi, Punjab, Assam on high terror alert
- NIA receives call saying terrorists could strike India on Holi
- 6 Pakistani terrorists entered via Pathankot border, warns alert
Delhi, Punjab and Assam have been put on high alert after the National Investigation Agency received a call from Nigeria saying terrorists could strike India on Holi.
The alert warned that a group of six terrorists led by a former Pakistani soldier have crossed into India through the Pathankot border in Punjab. The terrorists could try and hit "hotels and hospitals", the alert warned.
Police in north Indian states where Holi is celebrated will already be under stress due to the festivities.
Top counter terror operators told NDTV that the Home Ministry, which issued the alert, decided to "err on the side of caution."
Inquiries by NDTV revealed that the National Investigative Agency (NIA) had received a call on Tuesday from Nigeria which claimed that a group of six terrorists led by a former Pakistani soldier Mohammed Khurshid Alam crossed into India on February 23 through "Pathankot, Punjab-Pakistan border.".
"Like banking scams where people are asked to share bank account details and pay for legal fees against a promise of hefty payment, in this case too the callers promise information for payment," the official said.
This isn't the first time that Indian agencies have received such calls. Earlier, after receiving several such calls, Indian and Nigerian agencies had launched a joint investigation in the issue. "Investigations showed that a Nigerian group that carried out bank frauds were also calling Indian agencies offering phony information for money," a top official in counter terror wing of the government told NDTV.
Though the border with Pakistan is fenced in Punjab, there are gaps in the fencing in the Pathankot sector due to the Ravi river entering Pakistan from India through the district. Six terrorists had crossed over on January 1 and struck at the Pathankot air base hours later. Seven soldiers, including a Lieutenant Colonel of the elite National Security Guard, were killed fighting the terrorists in an operation that lasted four days.