Panic spread among the people in Ahmedabad on Tuesday after incessant firing was heard from the Sardar Patel cricket stadium at Navrangpura in the heart of the city.
Many top Gujarat government officials were taken aback on being told of a “terrorist attack” on the cricket stadium. Officials in the departments connected with such emergencies started preparing to take charge of the situation before being informed that it was “mock drill” by the police to test their preparedness.
Newspaper and electronic media offices were swamped by calls to inform them about the “terrorist attack” or to seek information. With the police cordoning off the entire area during the peak hour on a working day, the “news” spread like wildfire and tension gripped the entire city.
The city police, the Special Operations Group, the anti-terrorist squad, the fire brigade and other police departments participated in the mock drill. Later, some senior police officials admitted that it was not a good idea to hold the mock drill the way it was held and promised to take precautions in future to ensure that the citizens were not unduly scared.
