India on high alert ahead of Independence Day

India News

Aug 14, 2007, 12:55 GMT

New Delhi - Thousands of policemen and armed forces personnel kept vigil in major cities across India on the eve of the country's 60th anniversary of independence Tuesday after Indian authorities issued a high alert following threats by al-Qaeda and separatist rebels, officials and reports said. A security alert was declared across national capital New Delhi where an estimated 70,000 police and paramilitary troops guarded key government offices, diplomatic enclaves, religious centres and marketplaces. The city police said it was not taking reports of threats issued by al-Qaeda or Kashmiri militant groups lightly. 'Though there is no specific threat, we are not leaving anything to chance in view of intelligence inputs about the renewed determination of terrorists to target leaders or symbols of national importance,' Delhi's police security chief SB Deol said. Officials said the recent al-Qaeda threat to carry out attacks in India had prompted stepped-up security in major cities. A video released on August 5 showed US-born Adam Gaddahn, an al-Qaeda spokesman, proclaiming that 'the targeting of Tel Aviv, Moscow and Delhi' was 'our legitimate right.' He accused India of 'killing more than 100,000 Muslims in Kashmir with US blessings.' The entire Delhi Police force of over 60,000 personnel would be on its toes on Wednesday when Indian premier Manmohan Singh addresses the nation from the historic Red Fort in the heart of the capital. Delhi has been declared a no-fly zone for August 15 and helicopters would be deployed for aerial reconnaissance during the celebrations. Meanwhile, key facilities in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, the IT hubs of the country, also stepped up security. Authorities in Mumbai, India's financial capital, were also on high alert as scores of policemen patrolled main intersections, bus terminals and railway stations. 'Thousands of checkpoints have been put into place. Police will frisk people at various places, including railway stations. Airports and hotel rooms too will be put under random checks,' police official KL Prasad told the IANS news agency. India has also increased security and surveillance in the insurgency-hit regions including three north-eastern states of Assam Tripura and Manipur, northern Jammu and Kashmir and central Chhattisgarh, a hotbed of Maoist militants. Meanwhile, a new anti-insurgency offensive was launched in eastern areas of Assam where rebel groups have killed 36 people in raids linked with the Independence Day celebrations over the past week. Security was also ramped up in Kashmir, where road barricades and gates were erected and police were frisking commuters and pedestrians. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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