The serial blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad have sent the Uttar Pradesh Police top brass into high alert mode
LUCKNOW: The serial blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad have sent the Uttar Pradesh Police top brass into high alert mode. With intelligence reports of Ayodhya and Varanasi being high on the terrorists' target list, the state home department has hurriedly fished out the file relating to formation of an air assault unit.
Home ministry sources say the file, gathering dust for a long time, has suddenly become the focus of detailed discussions by top officials of the UP Police and the intelligence department. They added that in view of the latest serial blasts on two consecutive days, the home ministry managed to get the much-awaited clearance from the finance department for purchase of a helicopter for the proposed air assault unit.
"An air assault unit equipped with commandos and state-of-the-art weaponry has become a must for us now," a top UP Police official told DNA. He said a proposal for drafting commandos from the state's Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) was ready. The new unit would be equipped with AK-47 and AK-56 assault rifles and the latest communications gadgetry.
The official said the finance department had cleared Rs40 crore for the air assault unit, and the UP Police would soon approach the National Security Guard (NSG) and the Border Security Force (BSF) to finalise the helicopter to be bought for this new unit. "UP would be the first state in India to have such a unit," the official added.
The state police have, in fact, been mulling the formation of such a unit ever since the December 1999 Kandahar hijack. Though the proposal was discussed after every terrorist attack in UP, it was conveniently forgotten as soon as the dust settled down.
A senior intelligence official told DNA that there were reports that the terrorists could target Ayodhya or Varanasi which were drawing Lord Shiva's devotees called
"kanwariyas" to the banks of the Sarayu (Ayodhya) and the Ganga (Varanasi). "Today is the second somwaar (Monday) of the month of Shravan and the next three Mondays will be equally tense for us," the official said.
UP has been a hotbed of terrorist activity, with operatives of the Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Harkat ul Jihad Al Islami (HuJI) known to have developed their network throughout the state. SIMI and HuJI, suspected to be part of the 'Indian Mujahideen', which has claimed responsibility for the Bangalore and Ahmedabad attacks, were also behind the November 2007 blasts in courts in Faizabad, Lucknow and Varanasi. An email was sent by this group claiming responsibility for these blasts, as has also been done after the latest explosions.
Meanwhile, a state home ministry spokesman said security had been tightened at the shrines in Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura. Besides, the police have been put on high alert throughout the state with security drills being carried out at all crowded places, including cinema halls, railway and bus stations, malls and markets, the spokesman added.
g_deepak@dnaindia.net
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