In view of the alert sounded by the intelligence agencies, the Maharashtra police have beefed up security in both the cities and sounded red alert throughout the state. The police have been told to keep a tight vigil at airports, railways stations and bus terminus and at crowded places and detain any person suspected to be a terrorist.
According to police sources, the alert sounded to the Maharashtra police stated that LeT terrorists would sneak into these two cities and trigger blasts using cars and bikes to plant bombs in it by means of remote control. The intelligence alert also mentioned that apart from Mumbai and Pune, the terrorists may also target Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Agra cities.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, state Home Minister R.R. Patil confirming the alert from the federal intelligence agencies said that all necessary and deemed steps as also precautions have been taken to avert any unfortunate incident on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr and the Hindu festival.
A senior police official said that the federal intelligence agencies issue such alerts but the police realize the significance of such alerts only after unfortunate incidents take place. Now it is to be seen how seriously the Maharashtra police takes cognizance of the latest alert, he added.
In another development, in a major jolt to the national carrier Air India, the Saudia, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia together with Nas Air, a subsidiary of Saudi National Air Services (Nas) won the bid to ferry Indian Haj pilgrims this year. For the first time in the history of Air India, it may not operate any Haj fights and would only remain as a nodal agency for the Haj flights.
A Civil Aviation official said that while a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is yet to be signed between the ministries of Civil Aviation and External Affairs, three national carrier of Saudi Arabia, including Saudi Arabian Airlines and NAS Air have been selected by a process of “competitive bidding.”
According to media reports Air India did make an attempt to win the bid, but was outbid by the three Saudi Arabian airlines. Air India now has very remote opportunity of ferrying Haj pilgrims from Goa and Mangalore.
The Central Haj Committee Chief Executive Officer (CEO) refusing to comment on Air India losing the bid to the Saudi carriers said that the Ministry of External Affairs will take a decision and that he was totally blank on the issue.
The officials of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also remained tight-lipped and said that they were awaiting for a political decision on the nature of the MoU on what they described was a “sensitive issue.”
