PUNE, 10 October 2007 — Terrorist threats are keeping the Maharashtra police busy and on their toes. On Monday, the Nashik police received an anonymous letter threatening bomb attacks at three Hindu temple sites in Shirdi in Ahmednagar district and Panchwati and Trimbakeshwar in Nashik district.
The anonymous letter warned that the three Hindu religious places would be bombed shortly,
Nikhil Gupta, the superintendent of police, Nashik Rural, said that the threat letter was immediately passed on to the two district police authorities and the management of the three temples were also alerted of the bomb threat.
The temple management at Shirdi had already banned the use of all electronic gadgets including mobile phones by devotees, but still this has not caused any hindrances to the large number of pilgrims to the Shirdi temple, said an official of the Shirdi Temple Trust, who added that the devotees were cooperating with the temple management and not complaining about the rigid security measures.
Gupta said that management of the three temple trusts which have their own security system, have geared up fully to thwart any terrorist act, while the police too are taking all necessary preventative action to ensure that no untoward incident takes place at the three temples under threat.
Police believe that the anonymous threat letter may be a prank played by some local anti-social elements to trigger panic among the devotees. A senior police official in Nashik said that the police had taken the letter seriously and are investigating whether the local hooligans have sent the letter.
The official further said that the involvement of terrorist outfits cannot be completely ruled out at this juncture.
The police authorities have asked hotel managements in both the cities to keep a sharp vigil on their hotel guests. Additional police personnel have been stationed at the railway stations, bus terminus, taxi stands and at crowded public places.
