10 JeM, LeT men sneak into India; high alert in metro cities

New Delhi: A security alert has been sounded in Gujarat and all metro cities by Central agencies following reports that 10 terrorists suspected to be from Pakistan have entered the western state to carry out attacks against high-value targets. Two NSG teams comprising nearly 200 personnel were rushed to Ahmedabad from Delhi.

The national capital has also been put on high alert and security has been beefed up at vital installations, important buildings, malls, hospitals, schools and colleges and crowded places in Delhi.

Sources in the Delhi police said the input specifically mentions that 10 militants of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) have entered India via Gujarat and that they could carry out a terror strike in Delhi.

Meanwhile, sources in Pakistani security agencies in Islamabad claimed that it was Pakistani national security adviser (NSA) Nasir Khan Janjua who tipped off his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval about the threat.

According to sources, security has been intensified across Gujarat, which cancelled the leave of all police personnel.

An advisory has been issued to enhance security at all strategic locations, sensitive industrial sites and religious places, including the Somnath Temple, after intelligence inputs suggested that the terrorists entered Gujarat taking the sea route, they added. On the eve of Mahashivratri, Gujarat, as well as other metros and Jammu and Kashmir are already on high alert.

The Gir-Somnath district authorities in Gujarat have postponed Monday’s cultural event at Somnath Temple owing to the terror threat. “A massive security operation has been launched and raids are being conducted by a police team, led by the South Kutch superintendent of police in the coastal areas,” sources said.