Palanpur (Gujarat), Sep 30 (IANS) North Gujarat towns and areas near the border with Pakistan were placed under extra security Tuesday, a day after a blast in Modasa town killed a boy, as the popular Navratri festival of Hindus got underway.
Unprecedented security prevailed from the international border at Suigam in Banaskantha dsitrict to Modasa in Sabarkantha district in the northeast and from Ambaji temple town in Banaskantha to Bahucharaji in Mehsana in the southeast.
“Security arrangements had been beefed up four days earlier but after the Modasa incident they have been tightened further,” said Modasa Deputy Superintendent of Police K.K. Mysuriya.
Mehsana District Superintendent of Police Raju Bhargav said: “We are on high alert. Besides regular policing and intelligence gathering, additional personnel have been deployed.”
He added that all district borders were being checked thoroughly and policemen in mufti were maintaining a tight vigil around garba venues.
Patan District Superintendent of Police Dilip Rajgor said all police stations in the district have been provided with additional police force and equipment.
The Ambaji temple at Ambaji town, the biggest and one of the most popular shrines in Gujarat, has been under a cloak of special security cover. Besides police patrolling, CCTV cameras have been placed at all vantage points in the shrine premises, said temple administrator P.K. Jadeja.
A crude bomb blast in Modasa town at 9.30 p.m. killed a 16-year-old boy and injured 10.