By IANS,
Gurgaon : Security was beefed up in the Gurgaon satellite township of the national capital after the US and three other countries issued advisories to their citizens warning them of terror attacks in Delhi, police said Sunday.
“Though we have not received any advisory from the home affairs ministry about the recent terror alert, security has been enhanced at sensitive places,” Gurgaon police commissioner S.S. Deswal told IANS.
“Our security was already up to the mark and we were conducting drills from time to time. We are aware of the US advisory. We have increased security and checking at borders,” he said.
The US, Australia, Britain and Canada issued fresh security advisories to their citizens Saturday warning of terror attacks in crowded markets of the Indian capital, prompting the government to step up vigil and take precautions to safeguard the people.
The Gurgaon police will conduct checking in malls, markets and residential complexes of this town.
“A meeting of senior officers was conducted on Saturday. It was decided that checking will be done. We have constituted several teams to check malls and markets. As Gurgaon is close to the national capital, terrorists can target it also. We need to be careful,” another senior police officer said.
A set of guidelines had been issued to malls, hotels and call centres. “The guidelines are already in place and they are following it. There was enough security at the shopping complexes but we have asked them to enhance the security. The guards have been asked to not allow anyone inside the complexes without checking,” Deswal added.
He said the Gurgaon police were keeping a close watch on the traffic coming from Jaipur.
“We are following the guidelines issued after the Mumbai 26/11 attack. We were specially asked to keep an eye on young boys and crosscheck their antecedents. Identity card is a must for check-in,” said the manager of a hotel in Gurgaon.
A source in Gurgaon police said the National Secuirty Guard (NSG) have been asked to prepare security plans for Hotel Bristol, Lemon Tree Hotel, Park Plaza, Hotel Trinity Residency and Hotel Trident here.
“We have been asked to tighten vigil. We have also ordered metal detectors. It is mandatory to report to police if any Pakistani national stays in the hotel. Besides this, now parking is not allowed in the basement. We are also checking the baggage of the guests. Even in corporate booking, we have to double check the details,” the hotel manager added.
Gurgaon police said, if need be, they will ask for the help of Haryana police commandos.
“More than 100 commandos are in reserve and, if needed, we will put them at the Delhi-Gurgaon toll plaza. The border is a sensitive place so the duty of the commandos would be to check cars and any suspicious vehicles,” a police officer said.