Force 1 commandos combing areas in Uran and Navi Mumbai after students report spotting armed men
Police across the city were on high alert
A high alert was sounded in the state — mainly in the coastal districts — after school children from the Uran area in Raigad reportedly spotted 4 few suspicious ‘armed militants’ in the area on Thursday.
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Sketch of one of the suspects
In the wake of the recent cross border tension in Uri, the Navy and other central and state security agencies are not leaving anything to chance and sounded a high level alert, alongside launching a manhunt for the suspects.
Even as the Navy carried out aerial checks through the day, the elite Force 1 commandos were called in to comb Uran and nearby areas. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad was also at hand to collect information from fishermen and others about suspicious elements in the area.
The tip-off
Police sources said that at around 6.30 am, two girls from the Uran Education Society (UES) spotted four-five suspicious men with guns. The children told their principal, who in turn informed the police control room, which was immediately relayed to state police control room.
Schools shut down
As INS Abhimanyu was docked at Karanje near Uran, the first agency to swing into action was the Navy. “The search operation is underway along with Maharashtra police. The Western Naval Command (WNC) issued ‘the highest state of alert’ along the Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Raigad coasts after suspicious movement was reported in Uran. No person has been located or apprehended till now,” said chief PRO, Indian Navy.
After panic spread, all the schools in the area were shut down and the two The two school kids were later questionned by police to get some clue about suspects.
Security at sensitive installations in Raigad and Navi Mumbai were stepped up. Maharashtra DGP Satish Mathur said, “All the coastal police stations in the state have been put on alert and police teams are working in coordination with the Navy in search operations.”
Nakabandis in city
Following the alert, the Mumbai police promptly set up nakabandis across the city, mainly in south Mumbai and in areas adjoining the coast. Security at sensitive establishments — Gateway of India, Hotel Taj, JNPT, BARC — was also tightened.
However, even as Mumbai commissioner of police, Hemant Nagrale refused to comment, he said, “We are all doing our job and all our officers are working accordingly.”
Meanwhile, the DCP of Mumbai Port Zone pressed Sagari policemen to contact fishermen, along with police mitra and other informants to collect any new information.
The Konkan connection
Prashant Burade, Inspector General, Konkan region said, “We have a total of 36 coastal police station in Konkan region and we have informed them to be alert. We have launched an operation Kinara, under which all landing points are on alert. Also, the fishermen and locals from the areas have been asked to loop in the police if they see anything.”
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