Security team leaves for Bangladesh

A security team headed by senior IPS officer Yashowardhan Azad has left for Dhaka to review the security arrangements made for Indian cricketers.

A four-member security team headed by senior IPS officer Yashowardhan Azad on Monday left for Dhaka to review the security arrangements made for Indian cricketers in the wake of the death threat by a militant group.

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The team, comprising an official each from Ministry of Home Affairs, External Affairs and the Cricket Board, would review the arrangements made for the Indian team at Dhaka and Chittagong where the two Test matches and three One-Day Internationals are scheduled to be held.

Referring to the Bangladeshi claim that it was all a "hoax", highly-placed sources said that nothing could be left to chance as there were credible reports suggesting presence of militants of Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islamia (HuJI).

Although the letter received by the Indian High Commission in Dhaka bore the name of Harkat-ul-Zihadi, the sources said it was believed to be a shadow outfit of HuJI, one of the major offshoots of Al-Qaeda in South Asia.

The fate of the Indian team's tour depends on the report of the security team.

The cricket team was scheduled to leave on Tuesday for the 22-day tour but their departure has been postponed pending a clearance from the Government.