Home Ministry issues nation-wide alert in the wake of the deadly blast outside Delhi High Court on Wednesday in which nine people were killed and several others injured.
The financial capital was put on high alert following a blast outside the Delhi High Court, said a police official in Mumbai.
As Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated on a large scale here, policemen deployed across the city in view of the festivity have been asked to be on alert, a police official said.
“We are on high alert and taking all precautionary measures to prevent any terror attack during the festival.
Security has been intensified at vital installations and around Mumbai courts,” the official added.
Nakabandi has been ordered and every vehicle is being checked thoroughly, the official said.
Security has been beefed up in Kolkata in view of the blast that occurred outside the High Court premises in Delhi in which nine people were killed, top police officers here said.
“We are alert and security arrangements are being tightened,” city police commissioner R.K. Pachnanda told reporters in Kolkata.
Security arrangement in thickly-populated areas in the city is being enhanced, special commissioner of police Shibaji Ghose said.
A high alert was sounded across Bihar in the wake of the blast outside the Delhi High Court on Tuesday that claimed nine lives and left at least 45 injured.
Director General of Police Abhayanand told reporters in Gaya that all police stations were alerted and security tightened across the State.
Police patrolling was intensified and special attention was being paid at railway stations and crowded places in important towns like Patna, Muzaffarpur, Gaya and Bhagalpur with static deployment of security men, he said.
Meanwhile, functioning of the Patna High Court was paralysed as lawyers belonging to all associations unanimously resolved to abstain from duty in view of the blast in Delhi, President of the Coordination Committee Y C Verma said.
Work at Patna civil court was also affected as advocates under the banner of Patna District Bar Association of Civil Court also stayed away from work.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday condemned the blast at Delhi High Court, calling it “mindless violence” and a “mind numbing tragedy”.
“Another blast, more mindless violence and mind numbing tragedy,” Mr. Omar said on micro-blogging website ‘twitter’.
The Chief Minister, however, said he would not speculate about who was behind the blast and allow the police and other agencies to find that out.
“I would hesitate to comment or speculate on a whodunit. Let the police and others get on with it,” he said.
Mr. Omar conveyed “heartfelt sympathies to the victims and their families."
In view of the high alert sounded by the Union Government in the aftermath of a bomb blast in Delhi, police today stepped up security in all courts and public buildings in Bangalore.
Bangalore City Police Commissioner Jyoti Prakash Mirji directed officials to keep strict vigil at all public places, including the airport and railway stations.
Security measures in the High Court and lower courts in the city and at the state secretariat has been further scaled, police said.
Security was strengthened across Punjab, Haryana and their joint capital Chandigarh in the wake of the blast outside the Delhi High Court today.
Vigil had been heightened and an alert sounded in the two states and Union Territory Chandigarh after the blast, officials said.
At places like Gurgaon, Faridabad and other National Capital Region towns falling in Haryana, security was tightened and various check points were set up.
Security was also tightened at crowded public places, including the railway stations and important bus terminals, the officials said.
Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is currently on a visit to Japan, has strongly condemned the blast.
In a message from Tokyo, the Chief Minister said such cowardly acts should be condemned by all right thinking people.
He urged the people to exercise restraint and help the administration in effectively dealing with the nefarious designs of anti—social elements.
A high alert has been sounded across Uttar Pradesh and security beefed up at the Allahabad High Court and other district courts in the state in the wake of the blast outside the Delhi High Court today that claimed nine lives and left at least 45 injured.
A high alert has been sounded in the state in view of the blast at the gate of the Delhi High Court. Respective district authorities have been asked to maintain round—the—clock vigil, Special Director General of Police Brij Lal said.
“Security has been beefed up at the Allahabad High Court and the district court where Quick Response Teams and police personnel have been deployed to tackle any emergency situation,” Superintendent of Police, Allahabad City, Subhash Baghel told reporters.
A close watch is being kept on people visiting the court premises and they were being allowed entry only upon producing passes issued to lawyers and litigants by the court authorities after thorough frisking, the SP said.
The district police chiefs have been asked to step up vigil at the court compounds, railway and bus stations, malls, markets and other crowded areas, Mr. Lal said.
They have been asked to increase patrolling and checking and intimate intelligence agencies about the situation, Mr. Lal added.
Intensive checking of vehicles was also being done at the Sahibabad—Delhi border, Ghazipur—UP border, Loni—UP border, Ghaziabad SSP Raghubir Lal said.
He also asked people to not touch any suspicious object and inform police in such case.
An alert was also sounded in leather city of Kanpur.
Frisking of people and their belongings was been done at railway stations and bus stands, a police spokesman said.
Police personnel have been deployed at markets, malls and crowded places, he said.
A high alert has been sounded in Chennai city and precautionary measures put in place in the wake of the bomb blast in Delhi that left nine people dead and injured over 50 today, a top police official said.
“We have taken all precautionary measures and put our force on high alert,” Police Commissioner J K Tripathy told PTI.
Security has been beefed up in public places such as railway stations, airport, bus terminals and other important places, police said.
Security has already been beefed up in areas around Fort St George in view of the ongoing assembly session.
A Coimbatore report said security has been beefed up in and around the city with deployment of additional police personnel, including armed guards, at the four main bus terminals, railway station and airport as a precautionary measure.
Adequate security would also be provided at central and state Government installations and places of worship for another 48 hours, police said.
All 30 patrol teams have been alerted and asked to be on round—the—clock vigil in the city, which had witnessed serial bomb blasts in 1998 killing over 50 people.
Police Commissioner Amaresh Pujari has directed the police personnel to not to avail leave for another two days, police said.
Orissa government today sounded high alert across the state after the blast outside Delhi High Court.
“We have sounded high alert in all districts and instructions are issued to take extra measures in all towns and cities,” Home Secretary U N Behera told reporters here.
A report from Puri said that the security personnel guarding Sri Jagannath Temple have started frisking the devotees who are entering into the shrine.
“Police have been instructed to keep vigil on the sensitive places within the temple premises. All ther vehicles entering the holy town are being checked,” said Puri SP A N Sinha.
In Cuttack, police had been instructed to agument security around the High Curt and other important installations.
Important places like railway stations and crowded areas were under constant monitoring of the police, he said.
This story was edited for a factual error.
