Labourer found lurking near high-security BARC in Mumbai, arrested

In a security breach, a labourer was arrested for allegedly trespassing into the high security area near Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) today, a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the premier nuclear research centre.

Shaikh Jasheemuddin Ahmed, 21, a casual labourer who worked inside the high security zone, was intercepted by BARC security guards when he was found moving in the residential colony of the department of atomic energy staff without a valid entry pass, police said.

The colony, Anushakti Nagar, is located very close to BARC in suburban Trombay.

"Shaikh had a labour pass but it had expired. Security guard Kanchan Salvi, 34, who was patrolling the area, caught hold of Shaikh and handed him over to us," Sanjay Khire, senior inspector at Trombay police station, said.

He has been booked under IPC Section 447 (criminal trespass) and would be produced before a court tomorrow, Khire said.

The police were investigating how he managed to gain entry into the prohibited area without a valid pass, he said adding "as of now, it appears that he was roaming in the area without knowing the consequences. There is no point in suspecting anything big out of it."

The police were also verifying if he had any criminal background.

The prime minister had visited BARC and interacted with scientists yesterday.