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MUMBAI: A heavy downpour soaked Mumbai on Tuesday, but security forces in the city kept their powder dry after a fresh terror alert which, sources said, represented the most serious threat to the city in two years.The Intelligence Bureau, in its alert, warned that at least seven places in Maharashtra—including a reputed bank in Mumbai and an important railway junction in Navi Mumbai—could be attacked. The alert, dated July 8, also contains photographs of the seven ‘targets’.
Home minister P Chidambaram had warned that Pakistan-based terrorists could launch another sea-borne attack despite the bad weather and choppy seas. While the minister did not give details, sources in the central intelligence agencies described the threat as specific and the most serious in two years. A massive coastal patrol was launched following that alert.
The July 8 alert, officials said, was issued after a terror suspect was detained in Jammu and Kashmir and the police recovered photographs of targets in Maharashtra from him. The colour pictures were sent to security agencies in Maharashtra by e-mail. “The photographs are genuine. They include the picture of a reputed bank near the Bombay high court, two railway stations in Mumbai and a railway station in Navi Mumbai,’’ an official said, adding that the Navi Mumbai station was not properly covered “security-wise’’. Over seven million people travel by the Mumbai local trains every day.
The fresh alert, officials said, also mentioned four dates on which the terrorists planned to carry out the strikes. TOI has a list of the dates (one passed last week) and details of the targets.
But the alert did not specify the number of terrorists planning to enter Maharashtra and did not provide any information about possible local involvement.
This is the second alert in two weeks by central intelligence agencies. The first was issued on June 24—it said a 26/11-like terror strike could be repeated again via the sea route by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The alert put all the security agencies in Gujarat, Goa and Maharashtra on high alert and prompted a review of security. It said Indian associates of the LeT were preparing for the attack with the help of their Pak-based mentors.
“The LeT has been singled out as having planned an attack in the second alert too,’’ said an officer. He added that some of the photographs of the “targets’’ were downloaded from websites.
Blasts had rocked seven Mumbai local trains three years ago, killing 188 people. Police officials had then said it was the handiwork of the LeT that had taken the help of 13 members of the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India