Ayodhya: Snipers from the elite National Security Guard (NSG) are being deployed at vantage points in the temple town of Ayodhya to prevent terror attacks — the threat of which are looming large ahead of the Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya title suit.
The decision to have snipers was taken at the last minute in view of the inputs trickling in about a terror module which is believed to have sneaked in from Nepal. Sources in Uttar Pradesh police confirmed to Deccan Chronicle that a sniper team from NSG will be arriving here shortly. Though the sources did not give the exact number of snipers, there could be at least five snipers who will keep an eye on the ground from atop rooftops.
Over the past two years, the NSG has procured new sniping weapons and have trained their men who are now part of ‘sniper squads.’
This is perhaps the first time that snipers from the force are being deployed in a situation like this in Uttar Pradesh and sources say that specific inputs about a terror module is what prompted them to require the NSG snipers. Till now, a sniper squad was reportedly stationed only in the Kashmir valley. Sources said that a terror module comprising seven Pakistani nationals had sneaked into UP from Nepal some time ago. Five of the seven terrorists have also been identified — Muhammed Shahbaz, Nisar Ahmed, Abu Hamza, Muhammed Yakub and Muhammed Qami. Senior officers in UP police said that it was an ‘old input’ and was not actionable. “However, the Ayodhya police is working in close coordination with the anti-terrorism squad,” a senior official said.
In 2005, a group of five heavily armed Lashkar-e-Tayyaba terrorists had stormed the makeshift Ram temple. They were all shot dead. Sources added that besides the sniper squad, another team of NSG commandos is also being stationed in the temple town, as part of security measures.
