Police in Uttar Pradesh have increased security at major railway stations and two religious places after a letter purportedly written by a Pakistani terrorist warned of attacks on Wednesday and later this week.
The letter to the divisional railway manager of North Railways in Delhi on June 1 was sent by Maulana Ambu Sheikh, the self-styled area commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistani terrorist group blamed for carrying out the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
A polic alert said Lashkar may target railways stations in Saharanpur, Hapur and other railway stations on June 6.
Religious places like the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and Krishna Janmbhoomi in Mathura could be targeted between June 8 and 10, the police warned.
District police chiefs have been alerted about the threat, said Anand Kumar, additional director general of police, law and order. He said the letter seems to be a prank but could not be taken lightly.
The ADG said the state intelligence agencies and other specialised agencies such as the UP Anti Terror Squad (ATS) had been asked to look into the matter and trace the source of the letter. He said the agencies concerned were also taking help of the central agencies in the matter.
Kumar also said that intelligence agencies have no knowledge about any Ambu Shaikh LeT “commander”.
Meanwhile, security was tightened at public places in Agra and Mathura after instructions issued by additional director general, Agra Zone. Policemen were found checking the baggage in trains and focus was also on shopping malls and markets in the city.
“In the wake of intelligence inputs about terror threats, instructions were issued for enhanced security by additional director general (law and order). Although the alert is state wide, security concerns are addressed more in Agra and Mathura ,’ said sources at ADG (Agra Zone) office.
“The security arrangements here have always been up to the mark, but whenever we get any inputs like these, we ensure the security is further tightened,” said Mathura’s superintendent of police, Siddharth Verma .
Prasanta Patnaik