In the wake of yesterday’s terrorist attack in Punjab, wherein armed terrorists seized control of a local police complex, mid-day visited a few police stations across Mumbai to check their preparedness
Colaba police station
In July 2014, intelligence agencies issued an alert to all police stations across the state to take extra precaution to keep their police stations and surrounding areas clear after a low intensity blast occurred inside the parking lot located outside Faraskhana police station, Pune.
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Marine Drive police station
A year later, police sources claimed that while the superiors initially took keen interest in securing police stations by deploying two constables in 12-hour shifts to keep an eye on the activity around the police stations, the enthusiasm waned with passing time.
Colaba police station
A high-ranking officer, requesting anonymity, said, “After we received the input, two constables were deployed to secure the police station. These officers worked in two shifts. As there was no further development on the alerts issued, the security was called off.”
Borivli police station. Pics/Nimesh Dave, Shadab Khan
Commenting on the issue, Mumbai police spokesperson DCP (Detection) Dhananjay Kulkarni said, “We still have constables deployed at all the police stations across Mumbai. However, after the Punjab attack, we have taken extra precautions in securing our police stations by deploying extra staff.”
He even claimed that all the sensitive locations across Mumbai have been secured.
“There are around 200 sensitive locations in the city and after yesterday’s (Punjab) attack, major cities like Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, among others, have been put on high alert. All the sensitive locations in the city have been secured by deploying extra police personnel and increasing security checkpoints,” Kulkarni added.