Suspected terrorists carried out ‘recce’ at Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam railway stations as part of plans to create havoc in those places, it is learnt.
According to reliable sources, the intelligence sleuths sounded alert over possible terrorist attack at stations of Vijayawada Railway Division and asked railways to beef up security and intensify patrolling on platforms and other places. The Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel were instructed to maintain a strict vigil on movement of strangers, unclaimed baggage and abandoned vehicles in trains and on platforms.
Following bomb blasts in Hyderabad recently, the State police had cautioned the GRP over likely terrorist activities in places other than Hyderabad.
The seizure of 175 detonators in an unclaimed bag at Guntur railway station by the GRP on May 7 added credibility to the intelligence reports.
Speaking to The Hindu on Friday, Superintendent of Railway Police Ch. Syam Prasad said that following directions of the State police, a high alert was sounded at Vijayawada, Guntur, Rajahmundry and Visakhapatnam railway stations. Sniffer dogs were being pressed into use constantly for conducting checks at stations. Mr. Prasad said that during a surprise inspection made on May 7, the police noticed a bag in which 125 detonators connected to wires and 50 unconnected detonators were found in six packets.
On observing a posse of policemen, the miscreant absconded leaving behind the ammunition on platform No.2.
The GRP and the RPF police were jointly patrolling the platforms and the entry points of all railway stations, he said.
