PUNE, 12 June 2006 — Panic spread across Ahmednagar, 180 kilometers from here, on Saturday evening following reports of heavily armed terrorists sneaking into the city in a Tata Sumo vehicle, to attack one of India’s major military cantonments.
The police sounded high alert and sealed all the roads, intensified patrolling, checking every vehicle entering the city from Pune and other bordering districts. Till late yesterday morning the police did not find any trace of the terrorists or the vehicle. The police presumed that it might be a prank call, but are not taking any chance whatsoever.
Speaking about reports of the terrorists entering the city, a police officials said that the police received a phone call at 5 p.m. on Saturday, in which the caller informed them that a group of terrorists was moving toward the city to carry out bomb blasts at several places including in the military cantonment.
The caller who did not identify himself, said that the heavily armed terrorist were traveling in a Tata Sumo vehicle which had different number plates in the front and rear side, and that the driver of the vehicle was a Maharashtrian.
Soon after the call, the police laid barricades at different entry point into the city, and armed policemen were posted at different locations in the city. Tight security cordon was set around the key military installations, and local intelligence was beefed up.
Though the movement of the terrorists could not be located so far, rumors were afloat that the terrorists might have either changed their track or might have already sneaked into the city and taken shelter in some Muslim locality.
According to police sources, the local police have sought the help of the Anti Terrorist Squad of the Bombay police and it is expected that a ATS team would arrive late this evening to help their local counterparts.
A senior police official said that the terrorists are now targeting each and every district of Maharasthra, first Aurangabad , then Nashik, Malegaon, Manmad, Beed, Parbhani and now Ahmednagar.
