Hinjewadi IT park sees checkpoints put up in its vicinity, vehicles searched and people questioned. Police insiders reveal senior officers have received a letter threatening to blow up the park that houses several high-profile infotech firms
Hinjewadi IT park sees checkpoints put up in its vicinity, vehicles searched and people questioned. Police insiders reveal senior officers have received a letter threatening to blow up the park that houses several high-profile infotech firms
Three months after the city witnessed its first ever terror attack, at Koregaon Park's German Bakery, it seems a threat to blow up a major IT park has been sent to the police by an unknown group.
The top brass denied it, but police sources said a letter sent to senior officers contained a threat to carry out blasts at the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park in Hinjewadi.
Cops on their toes
"We were told by higher-ups that they had received a fresh threat by way of a letter dropped at their offices," said a police officer from the Hinjewadi police station on condition of anonymity.
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| The police check a car near the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park in Hinjewadi |
"All senior officers in this area have been warned that not one slip-up will be tolerated."
Security in the city has already been up since the February 13 German Bakery blast, and now, since Tuesday, it has been heightened around the IT park.
The officer said the police had also been asked to keep their eyes peeled for vehicles with registration plates from outside the state that were found doing the rounds of the area.
Besides increased patrolling, checkpoints have been put up at four main junctions in the area.
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The police received instructions to check all vehicles and identification papers of suspicious people, and make on-the-spot detentions if required.
Techies affectedSoftware professionals employed with the several high-profile infotech companies in the area have also been affected by the vigil the past two days.
"My company has stopped allowing public transport vehicles inside the premises; baggage screening is also stricter," said Althea D'costa (28), a senior software associate with an IT company.
"Because of the checkpoints, all vehicles are being stopped and checked from inside. Even autos are not spared. Everybody is tense."
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| The police go over a car near the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park in Hinjewadi. |
Aundh resident Sandip Roy, who works as a software testing engineer at the IT park and commutes on a bike, said: "It's unnerving to see the strict checks everyday.
Any bikers carrying heavy stuff on their vehicle, or even big bags are immediately stopped. Even if a guy drives a bit fast he is pulled over. While there have been security checks in the past, this time the threat is tangible."
It is not the first time the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park has received such a threat, said police sources. A similar threat had been issued about a year ago, and security beefed up.
| Police Checkpoints |
| > Opposite JW Marriot Hotel's > Courtyard hotel
> Wakad-Hinjewadi road
> Pirangut road
> Maronji road |
| The Other Side |
| Just Acting on Threat Perception, says top cop
Senior police officers deniedu00a0 any threat had been received. They called the heightened security alert a "routine" exercise.
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"We keep getting tips from our sources about possible terror targets.
Security at Hinjewadi has been heightened because of a terror threat perception," said DCP Mahesh Patil, Zone III.
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"But this is routine, every fortnight we have a fresh terror perception based on intelligence inputs."
Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh said he wasn't aware of any terror threat as he was currently out of station. |
