Hyderabad police intensifies vigilance after arresting five terror suspects

Hyderabad: A day after five people were arrested in the city for suspected links with the Hizb-Ut-Tahrir ( HUT) , a terror outfit, the Hyderabad city police have stepped up their vigilance to identify and apprehend anyone who could be involved in any kind of terrorist or sabotage activity.

In a coordinated operation, the Central Intelligence Bureau, the Madhya Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), and the state police Counter Intelligence Cell took into custody five persons in the city on Tuesday.  Investigations are underway to identify all those who visited the residences of the five people detained in the city in the HUT case. Sources said a separate team of the police personnel has already collected travel history details of passengers from RGIA, railways, and government buses, particularly those who arrived in the city from certain identified countries, and the police IT cell is going through CCTV footage to track their movements. Eight others, including a woman from the city and suburbs, have reportedly been taken into custody in connection with the case for questioning, police sources disclosed.

 The arrests of five people linked to HUT prompted an emergency coordination meeting on Wednesday morning of the anti-sabotage wings of the three police commissionerates - Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Rachakonda.

Senior officials from the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB), the Counter Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the state and city police, the Special Branch, the Cyber Cell, and experts from anti-sabotage teams are said to have devised a plan for continuous physical and technical surveillance on identified sensitive locations in their respective commissionerates.

In addition, additional personnel from the city police and intelligence units have been deployed at the railway stations, bus stations, and some religious and sensitive locations that had already been identified. The intelligence field officers were told to give situation reports to the intelligence heads and respective police commissioners.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad city police chief C.V. Anand said forces from the tri-commissionerate areas discussed security issues. “Our intelligence agencies are coordinating with national agencies, anybody directly or indirectly involved in terrorist activities will not be spared. Such people will be booked under the National Security Act,” Anand said.

“We are fully prepared to neutralize any sort of sabotage. Anyone spreading videos or other inflammatory messages or material that could disturb peace will be identified and arrested immediately,” Anand said.

He stated that there was no cause for panic and that the police were vigilant, and he urged the public to report any suspicious activity to the authorities. "The identity of people who provide information to the police will be protected,” he stated. Further, house owners should verify antecedents of prospective tenants before giving their houses on rent, and inform the local police about their tenant and their particulars, Anand added.