15 February,2010 09:16 AM IST | | Imran Gowhar
High alert after Pune blast; 600 patrol vehicles pressed into service Amid all the arrangements for the security of the city, this police van stuck out as one which would not be patrolling the city for some time to come. It caught fire at the Queen's Statue juction yesterday afternoon after finishing an escort round.
The city is on a high alert with the deployment of 16,000 police personnel to look out for any suspicious activity following Saturday's Pune bomb blast. Over 600 mobile patrolling vehicles are out on the roads, monitoring law and order.
Additional Director General of Police Kuchanna Srinivasan said the vigil at the state's entry and exit points has been beefed up even as a team of senior police officials is already in Pune studying the similarity between
the Pune and the earlier Bangalore blasts, believed to be the handiwork of the Indian Mujahideen.
Entry, exit checks
Vehicles entering and exiting the state are being subjected to checking. Security has been beefed up at the airport, bus stands, and railway stations. Around 16,000 additional police personnel have been deployed in Bangalore city alone, since the IT capital has been on the terror radar.
This is apart from the regular police force that has been directed to keep a strict vigil on sensitive places, including malls, parks, multiplexes, MNCs and government installations.
Team goes to Pune
Director General and Inspector General of Police Ajai Kumar Singh has sent a team of officers to Pune to get details about the blast.
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"This is to study the modus operandi of the terror attack, and use the information for future references. The Pune and Bangalore attacks are similar, as the Indian Mujahideen has been suspected in both.
The explosives used in both blasts are similar and any lead available at the scene of the investigations would help the state police."
Due to the highlyu00a0 sensitive situation, major government and public installations along with top multinational corporations have been provided with CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) cover.
"The city has already been on alert since Friday, following the release of My Name is Khan, and this arrangement will continue," said Police Commissioner S M Bidari.
u00a0He added, "The V-day has passed of peacefully and those who wanted to celebrate it have done so happily. No untoward incidents have taken place anywhere in the city.
An additional 20 platoons of Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP), 20 platoons of the City Armed Reserve and 10,000 civil police are part of the security cover.
Also, around 385 persons who tried to disrupt the V-day celebrations were taken into preventive custody.
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Special security arrangements have been made at malls, hotels, shops and parks where revellers of V-Day usually visit."
