Allaying fears of terror attack, the government on Monday said there was no credible threat to any of the upcoming sporting events in the country this year and it was taking maximum precaution to ensure foolproof security.
“At the moment, there are no credible threats to any of the sporting events in India. But, we are taking all precautions and we will continue to take maximum precautions in the coming months also,” Home Secretary G.K. Pillai told reporters here.
According to Mr. Pillai, the government has not received any “new” threat.
Earlier, addressing some foreign correspondents based in India, the Home Secretary said India had organised big sporting events in the past and had been able to provide good security successfully.
Mr. Pillai also ruled out the possibility of outsourcing the Commonwealth Games security to anyone else, saying the government was capable to do so.
He also termed as completely “false” a report in an Australian newspaper which claimed that security plan of the Commonwealth Games had been leaked.
“The report is completely false. Plans are being reviewed from time to time. The operational issues are top secret. There is no question of leak of any report,” he said.
Mr. Pillai said the February 13 blast in Pune, which claimed 15 lives, should not be considered as a benchmark of the country’s security.
“All players, officials and spectators are safe in India,” he said.
The Home Ministry had recently decided to review the elaborate security arrangements for the hockey World Cup beginning February 28, the Commonwealth Games and the Indian Premier League after the Pune blast.
The hockey World Cup will be spread over two weeks from February 28 to March 13. The tournament will see participation by 10 countries and around 400 players and delegates.
The hugely popular IPL cricket matches will be held between March 13 and April 25 and the Commonwealth Games between October 3 and 14.
The IPL matches are huge congregation of international cricket stars, Bollywood personalities, huge crowds and media making them a sitting duck for the terrorists.
The case is similar for the Commonwealth Games during which 9,000 athletes from 71 countries besides 100,000 international spectators are expected to visit the country.
The Commonwealth Shooting Championship, currently being held here from February 17 till February 28, has seen 1,000 athletes and officials from 30 countries visiting India.
