Schools, colleges and government offices remained shut on Friday too, and there was heavy presence of uniformed men. For the residents in Uran, the life and conversations revolved around the terror scare.
The high alert and multi-agency search – initiated along Mumbai coast and adjoining areas after a group of men was spotted moving suspiciously near a Naval base at Uran near here early on Thursday morning – was scaled down on the second day, even as the local police and state machinery continued with the combing operations.
Schools, colleges and government offices remained shut on Friday too, and there was heavy presence of uniformed men. For the residents in Uran, the life and conversations revolved around the terror scare.
House-to-house searches were conducted outside the populated areas of Uran town to ascertain if the suspects had taken cover in any of the locked and unused houses or shelters. Just outside Uran town, there's heavy growth of vegetation due to ongoing monsoon thereby making it possible for suspects to hide in the surrounding areas and avoid getting notice from the happenings in the main town.
Combing operation was conducted within the premises of Uran Education Society English Medium School and Junior College, where the two schoolchildren who raised the alarm on Thursday study.
Navi Mumbai Commissioner of Police Hemant Nagrale refused to divulge details on till when will the operations continue and if any headway has been made in the case.
But sources shared that nothing concrete or substantial, that may once again heighten the security risk of critical installations in the region, was found. However, police said that based on the description given by the schoolchildren who spotted the armed suspects, their sketches were issued late on Thursday night.
On Friday, the Indian Navy did not conduct any aerial reconnaissance, which it had done on Thursday. However, the level of alert inside the naval bases or installations in and around Mumbai is high.
"As far as Navy is concerned, operations based on Thursday's sightings of suspected terrorists are over. Sanitisation of naval areas has been undertaken. Navy is maintaining close liaison with local police and other agencies for further updates. As far as the state of alertness is concerned, Navy maintains a high state of alert at all times in consonance with the prevailing circumstances," said Commander Rahul Sinha, spokesperson of Indian Navy.
On early Thursday morning, two schoolchildren separately reported sighting of suspected terrorists – dressed in pathani suits and carrying backpacks. Thereafter, high alert was sounded by the state administration to avoid any incident in the immediate aftermath of Uri army base attack and an attack similar to 26/11.
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