Human bombs ‘on prowl’ in Hyderabad

The police sound a high alert after intelligence reports that two human bombs had sneaked into the city, reports Ashok Das.

The police sounded a high alert in Hyderabad on Thursday after intelligence reports that two human bombs had sneaked into the city.

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“We have received specific intelligence inputs that human bombs are on the prowl in Hyderabad. We are taking the input very seriously and have heightened the security vigil, particularly in all the vulnerable areas,” City Police Commissioner B Prasad Rao told journalists.

As if confirming the intelligence input from Delhi, a police van received a phone call this morning threatening that a human bomb would be used to cause blasts in sensitive places in Hyderabad. The police are trying to locate the caller. All police stations in the city and neighbouring Cyberabad are on high alert. Police have placed barricades and are checking all vehicles and frisking commuters. Besides, round-the-clock night patrolling has been launched in all the sensitive areas.

Security has also been beefed up at the state assembly, secretariat, houses of ministers, tourist spots and the Hitec City, which houses many multinational corporations.

The police do not want a repeat of August last year, when the city was rocked by three bomb blasts in which 55 people were killed and 62 injured. The two simultaneous blasts on August 25 at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chats, that killed 44 people, were allegedly caused by human bombs.