By IANS
Kolkata : Every inch of the Eden Gardens came under the security scanner Tuesday after an e-mail threatening blasts during the India-Pakistan Test match beginning Nov 30 sent Kolkata Police into a tizzy.
Eden Gardens turned into a veritable fortress Monday night as over 60 policemen combed the venue and guarded all the entry and exit points of the stadium.
Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) Joint Secretary Samar Pal told IANS here: “Last night the police officials came and checked every inch of the stadium. There is a strong posse of policemen around the greens and also at every gate of the stadium.”
Pal said anyone entering the stadium for renovation work or otherwise is being frisked.
“We have also beefed up our internal security system. No one is taking a chance.”
The police top brass held a marathon meeting Monday night to finalise the security arrangements. Kolkata Police Commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakraborty chaired the meeting that was attended by several other top officials.
The extraordinary security measures were taken after an e-mail sent to a private TV channel Monday threatened terror strikes countrywide if the Indo-Pak series was not abandoned. The e-mail that came from the id [email protected] warned of a series of explosions in Chennai, Ghaziabad, New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Islamabad and an attack on the Pakistani cricket team.
Kolkata Police obtained a copy of the two-page e-mail sent from a Yahoo! server.
Deputy Commissioner (Headquarters) Vineet Goel told IANS: “We know about the e-mail. We have taken all pre-emptive measures, like beefing up the security at the team hotel and all entry and exit points of the city. A special watch has been kept at the cyber cafes also. The Pakistan team arrives as per schedule (Tuesday).”
“At least 7,000 policemen will be deployed for the security of the Pakistani and Indian cricket teams. Very tight security arrangements have been planned for the Pakistani team bus while it moves between the hotel and the stadium even during practice sessions before the Test match,” a senior police official added.
No one would be allowed to go near any Pakistani team member, even for an autograph. Entry of fans entry to the stadium during practice sessions would also be curtailed, a CAB official said.