By IANS
Hyderabad : In a novel way to keep an eye on suspected terrorists during the Ganesha immersion procession on Sep 25, the Hyderabad police have asked people having video cameras to record the festivities.
With the May 18 blast at the historic Mecca Masjid and Aug 25 twin blasts at a park and a popular eatery still fresh in the minds of the people and intelligence agencies warning of more terror attacks, police have sought people’s cooperation in the security arrangements for the procession.
Police Commissioner Balwinder Singh has announced that police would pay for videocassettes or compact discs if they find significant details in them. People, who are ready to video record the festivities for police, have been advised to register themselves with the public cooperation cell.
This will be in addition to 1,000 cameras being deployed by police to keep an eye on troublemakers. A helicopter will also hover over the procession route as part of the security arrangements.
This is the first time in the history of Ganesha procession in this communally sensitive city that police are asking people to record the festivities.
The police felt the need in view of the gigantic task of monitoring the mammoth procession, which covers a distance of 20 km and passes through the communally sensitive areas before reaching Hussain Sagar Lake in the heart of the city for immersion.
More than 15,000 policemen have already been deployed for the 10-day festivities that began Saturday while more forces are being drafted from the districts. The city has already turned into a fortress with large-scale checking of vehicles, frisking and intensified patrolling.
The annual procession brings the city to a standstill with more than 20,000 big idols taken out in processions.
Though the city witnessed communal clashes during the procession in the past, no major trouble broke out during the last 15 years. However, the recent terrorist attacks and startling revelations by suspects that some terrorists could still be on the prowl and that 10 kg of RDX was smuggled into the city have sent alarm bells ringing in the top echelons of the administration.
With the Ganesha festival clashing with the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan, police have gone on high alert to prevent any untoward incident. This is after a gap of 27 years that the two festivals are being celebrated together.
Considering the huge task at hand, the police have also sought the services of ex-servicemen in the security arrangements. The police commissioner has appealed to ex-servicemen below the age of 55 years to enrol themselves for duty during the Ganesha festivities.
The May 18 bomb blast during Friday prayers at the 17th century Mecca Masjid killed 9 people. An hour later, five people died when police opened fire on a ‘violent’ mob near the mosque.
The city was rocked by twin blasts on Aug 25. The blasts at a park and a popular eatery claimed 44 lives.
Police blame Pakistan and Bangaldesh based terror groups for both the attacks. Police claim that Shahid alias Bilal, a native of Hyderabad and south India chief of the Bangladesh-based Harkat-Ul Jihad Islami (HUJI) is the brain behind the worst terror attacks in Andhra Pradesh’s history.