Kids spot armed men, Mumbai on high alert

NSG Flown In To Join Marine Commandos, Cops In Combing Operations

Mumbai and its adjoining areas were placed on high alert after two students separately reported seeing up to half a dozen masked, armed men with backpacks at Uran, 47km from Mumbai, around 6.30am on Thursday .

The sighting, coming four days after the Uri army camp attack, witnessed the Navy , which has an armament depot and its Western Naval Command headquarters at Uran, issuing its highest alert and searching its camp inch by inch. National Security Guard commandos flew in and joined the Marcos (marine commandos) , Navi Mumbai policemen and Force One commandos in a combing operation. Nobody had been apprehended till late in the night.

The entire region is highly sensitive in view of close proximity to the naval harbour, Mumbai Port Trust, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, several critical installations like BARC and oil terminals and offices of central and state government.

Around 6.30 am on Thursday , a boy on his way to G S School at Kumbharwada locality in Uran spotted a masked man with a firearm.Twenty minutes later, a 16year-old girl, also on her way to the school, spotted five-six masked men in black pathani suits with weapons and backpacks. She overheard them talking about “school“ and “ONGC“ (which has a large base at Uran) and splitting into groups. She reported it to her teacher, and the information was shared with ONGC officials. The police were alerted by ONGC.

Security agencies took the tip seriously and informed the Navy . “Five to six persons were sighted in pathani suits and appeared to be carrying weapons and backpacks,“ naval spokesman Cdr Rahul Sinha said. Soon after Uran police learnt about the “men“, Navi Mumbai police commissioner Hemant Nagrale arrived with 500 cops.Security was stepped up at the ONGC refinery and naval base at Mora. Navy's Seaking helicopters conducted aerial surveys of Uran and its adjoining coastal areas .

The news about the suspected terrorists spread fast, resulting in the closure of schools and colleges in Uran and nearby areas. Shops too downed shutters for the day .The Uran court was evacuated. Additional chief secretary (home) K P Bakshi said national security adviser Ajit Doval was keeping a close watch on the situation.

“Under the state-1 alert level, the different naval establishments and bases in and around Mumbai are being meticulously checked and searched inch by inch.The Mumbai police and antiterror squad are also involved but no person has been located or apprehended till now,“ said a navy officer.

“The girl student suspected the men as they had firearms and backpacks that reminded her of terrorists. She also heard the men saying that they will split into two groups and attack ONGC and a school. Hence, she got scared and told her teacher about it.Another boy student claimed that he too had spotted a man of similar description. The teacher informed me. The girl has been interrogated by several police officers, but her version has not changed. But she is visibly scared,“ said principal Swati Shiralkar of the Uran Education Society's school. The witnesses have been moved to an undisclosed location. The school administration declared a holiday , but to avoid panic they claimed it was due to heavy rains,“ said police inspector (crime) Nagraj Majage.

(TOI)