By IANS,
Bangalore/New Delhi/Mumbai : Karnataka Friday beefed up security at bus stands, railway stations, airports and other sensitive installations across the state in the wake of the serial blasts in Bangalore that killed one person and injured six, even as a high alert was sounded in New Delhi and Mumbai.
“My government is fully equipped to put down the evil forces indulging in violent acts in the state. In this critical hour, I appeal to Bangaloreans and people of the state not to lose heart and panic. The government is there to protect you,” Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said.
“We are keeping the central government informed and have requested cooperation and assistance to maintain law and order in the state,” he added, without elaborating on the nature of help sought.
Security in New Delhi was beefed up at sensitive points, especially at Metro stations and at crowded market places.
“An alert has been sounded in the wake of the series of blasts in Bangalore,” Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told IANS.
Additional police personnel were deployed along with bomb disposal squads at Delhi Metro stations, cinema halls, railway stations and inter-state bus terminals.
“Extra security cover has been extended to all the religious places, including the Jama Masjid, and the Akshardham and Iskcon temples,” the spokesman said.
Police set up barricades at various traffic intersections and sniffer dogs were deployed at railway stations. Metal detectors were in place at entry points to busy markets and security agencies were keeping a close watch over all the VIP areas.
In Mumbai, the police were in a state of high alert following the Bangalore blasts, said Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor.
He said all police stations have been put on high alert while security has been beefed up at sensitive locations in the city.
The Mumbai police’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has been asked to remain on standby to assist the Bangalore police in the blasts’ probe if called on to do so.
The ATS here has vast experience in investigating similar terror acts that rocked Mumbai, including in March 1993 and the serial train bomb explosions in July 2006.
Road blocks have been set up this evening all over Mumbai to weed out suspicious elements. Police deployment has also been tightened around vulnerable installations like temples, mosques, churches, important public and government buildings, commercial buildings, business districts in the city and suburbs, key railway stations, bus terminals and the two airports, Gafoor said.