CM directs police to beef up security

Panaji, Feb 7 (UNI) Chief Minister Digamber Kamat has directed police officials to tighten security at crowded places, especially beaches, of the state as a precautionary measure, as two suspected terrorists from Hyderabad and Karnataka went unnoticed despite their stay in the city guesthouse.

Riyazuddin Nasir from Hyderabad and Asadullah Basha from Hospet, who are suspected to have masterminded a plan to blow-up crowded beaches in the northern parts of Goa on the night of December 31 night last year, had came to Goa thrice on a stolen bike, in the last week of October, in November and the first week of January 2008, a senior police official revealed on condition of anonymity.

They had visited the beaches and finally come to the capital city and checked in a lodge late at night and checked out after a few hours of rest there, the official added.

Inspector General of Police Kishan Kumar yesterday criticised the careless attitude on the part of hoteliers, lodge owners and others, which has made Goa a soft target for terrorist strikes.

''The licensing authority must ensure that there should be a provision following which without identity nobody should be allowed to stay either in the hotels or in the lodge of the state,'' he said.

The full details of this matter will be known only after a police official who has gone to Bangalore, comes back with the information in a couple of days, he added.

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