Terror winds put Mumbai under security blanket

Mumbai remains under a security blanket this festive season after the police on Thursday announced that four terrorists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) have entered the city.

The police have asked citizens to stay on alert and inform the police on 022-22633333 in case they spot any of the four terrorists. The photo of Walid Jinnah, one of the terrorists, was released on Thursday.

The Mumbai police on Friday said they received around 15 calls from people claiming to have spotted Jinnah. Though the calls came from every corner of the city, from Churchgate to Borivli, they did not yield results.

Jinnah, it is believed, has change his appearance so that places like malls and business establishments, which are under CCTV surveillance, fail to recognise him.

The four terrorists — Abdul Kareem Moosa, Noor Abu Illahi, Mahfooz Alam and Jinnah — are believed to be foreign nationals and have carried out receee of all important installations in the city.

They are expected to strike heavily crowded places, joint commissioner of police Himanshu Roy said on Thursday.

Sources said some of the terrorists could be members of Harkat-Ul-Jihad-Al-Islami (Huji), a Bangladeshi terror outfit. “The Assam police and the state intelligence had received information that four terrorists had infiltrated into the country from the porous Bangladesh border. They aim to carry out terror strikes in Mumbai during the festive season,” a senior police officer said.

“Though it is not known how prepared the terrorists are, special cells and security agencies are on high alert.”

Roy on Thursday informed the media about an Intelligence Bureau alert regarding the four terrorists who have sneaked into the city. All entry and exit points in the city are being thoroughly checked and there is nakabandi at most places.

There is high security at railway stations and airport too. The policemen are equipped with metal detectors and are on the lookout for the terrorists.

In September, a high alert was issued after two suspected Huji terrorists, Kalimuddin Khan and Hafij Khijir Ulla Sarif, were believed to have entered the city to carry out terror strikes during Ganeshotsav and Eid. The two have not been nabbed till date.