Police have issued sketches of suspects spotted moving suspiciously near the naval base at Uran in Raigad district, even as multi-agency search operations are on to trace them a day after a high alert was sounded along the Mumbai coast and adjoining areas.
The schools and colleges in Uran and adjoining areas were shut on Friday.
Based on the description given by some schoolchildren of Uran Education Society, their sketches were issued late on Thursday night, police said on Friday.
Subsequently, the Western Naval Command issued a “highest state of alert” along the Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Raigad coasts where several sensitive establishments and assets are located.
“As per the reports, five to six persons were sighted in Pathan suits and appeared to be carrying weapons and backpacks,” naval spokesman Cdr Rahul Sinha had said.
Some reports said they were in military uniform.
Despite carrying out massive combing operation in Uran and Karanja areas with the help of Navy, Coast Guard, CISF and the Quick Response Team, police are yet to trace the suspects.
Commandos from the National Security Guard and Maharashtra police’s specialised Force One have also been roped in, police said.
Navi Mumbai Commissioner of Police monitored the situation throughout the night along with other top officials.
The Navy pressed its choppers for surveillance and heightened patrolling in the sea by its vessels and high-speed boats.
Western India’s biggest naval base, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, fertiliser plants, refineries, power plants and the country’s largest container port, JNPT are located in close vicinity of Uran.
Coastal security has been top priority after the 26/11 attacks, in which multiple locations in Mumbai were targeted by Pakistani terrorists.
The fishing town of Uran is located across the eastern water front of the financial capital. The base, located close to the town, also houses units of MARCOS, the Navy’s elite strike force.
