Nationwide terror alert: The target not Gujarat, it was Gujrat?

New Delhi, Mar 8: India remained on high alert owing to a terror threat on 'Maha Shivratri' as temples and strategic places were under tight vigil amid inputs that 10 LeT and JeM terrorists have entered India from Pakistan through Gujarat which saw an unprecedented security cover.

However, reports are sugessting that it was not Gujarat which was the target of the terrorists it was Gujrat, a tiny village near Pathankot in Punjab.

As per a report in The Economic Times, "The 'chatter' picked up by the intelligence agencies, following which a nationwide alert was sounded on Friday, could have been about a tiny village called 'Gujrat,' near Pathankot, in Punjab and not the state of Gujarat, government sources said after a day-long search in different cities of Gujarat. "

"The immediate location of the militants were not known, said a senior official, adding that it was possible that the plans were to attack a famous Shiv temple in Gujrat village. The temple witnesses a large gathering every year on Shivratri," the report further added.

"The Shiv deity which may have been target near the Punjab border is also located very close to Dina Nagar that has witnessed a spurt of infiltration in the last one year. We are still trying to corroborate these inputs," a counter terror expert was quoted as saying in the daily.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the internal security situation in the country at a high-level meeting in Delhi attended by top security officials including Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and Director of Intelligence Bureau Dineshwar Sharma.

As a multi-city alert remained in place, Singh took stock of the situation and the steps taken to prevent any possible terror attacks. An alert was already sounded in Gujarat and other major metropolitan centres by central security agencies following reports that the 10 terrorists are on a mission to carry out attacks against high-value targets.

A similar alert has also been sent to Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chandigarh. In the national capital, Police presence and patrolling around temples which were teeming with devotees, popular markets, iconic buildings and other places like metro stations, railway stations and bus terminus, which witness very high footfall, have been stepped up, a senior official said.

Security was also tightened in Jammu and Kashmir, two days after a top army commander disclosed that there were "disturbing" inputs about a terror attack in the country and also after the detection of a tunnel along the international border in Jammu region.

OneIndia News

(With inputs from agencies)