M A I N   N E W S

Mumbai gets terror jitters again
Ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi, two suspected terrorists enter city
Tribune News Service & PTI

Mumbai, September 10
On the eve of Eid and start of Ganesh Chaturthi festivities, the Mumbai police today said two foreign nationals with suspected terror links had sneaked into the city after which the metropolis was put on high alert. A manhunt has been launched to nab the two.

The police refused to reveal the nationality of the two men whose photographs were released at a hurriedly called news conference. The two suspects Kalimuddin Khan(28) alias Rameshwar Pandit and Hafeez Sharif (25),whose sketches were released earlier, are believed to be either Pakistanis or Bangladeshis and may have entered the country via Nepal, the police said later this evening. Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy issued an advisory to the public to remain alert and vigilant after inputs from central intelligence agencies said the two had entered the city to cause disruption at crowded places during the festival season.

"We would like to issue an advisory...We have intelligence inputs that two foreign nationals have entered the city with intention to cause disruption at crowded and religious places," Roy said. "We appeal to the citizens to remain alert and inform the police if they spot the two," he said. Asked when the duo had sneaked into the city, the officer said,"Very recently". He said several teams have been formed to track down the two.

Meanwhile, the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, spread over 12 days, will see more restrictions on parking of vehicles around the bigger pandals that dot street corners of Mumbai and other cities. The police say office-bearers of Ganesh mandals have been warned of fresh threats by way of car bombs based on intelligence reports and asked to implement parking restrictions. “We have been asked to ensure that cars and two-wheelers are not parked within a 100-metre radius of pandals,” says Naresh Dahibawkar, president of the Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvaya Samiti, an umbrella body of Ganpati mandals across Mumbai.

“Even cars of politicians and VIPs will have to be parked away from the pandals,” says Additional Commissioner of Police Ramrao Pawar, who is in-charge of security in suburban Mumbai.