Mumbai remains on alert; Navy ends search

MUMBAI: More than a thousand policemen searched hotels, homes and forests at Uran in Navi Mumbai on Friday, a day after schoolchildren allegedly saw armed men in

MUMBAI: More than a thousand policemen searched hotels, homes and forests at Uran in Navi Mumbai on Friday, a day after schoolchildren allegedly saw armed men in masks near a naval base. The police also released sketches of two possible suspects.

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The navy and coast guard conducted separate searches along and around Mumbai’s coastline. However, the Navy called off its search in the evening. A school in the area remained shut on Friday as a precautionary measure.

Local police personnel and those from the state reserve police force (SRPF) scoured the area throughout the day but found no physical evidence of any intruders. Mumbai continued to be on high alert and heavy security remained in place at important points along the city’s coast.

Two schoolchildren – a boy and a girl – told police separately on Thursday morning that they saw masked men carrying arms, dressed in Pathani suits and carrying backpacks. The reports triggered fears of a militant attack days after terrorists killed 18 soldiers in Kashmir’s Uri town on Sunday. “We have declared a state of alert in the city following the incident and steps are being taken to secure it,” Deven Bharti, joint commissioner (law and order) of the Mumbai police, said on Thursday.

All police stations in the city were ordered to tighten security at vital installations in their jurisdictions and set up nakabandis (road blocks) at designated spots.

Local crime branch units were put on alert. They kept an eye on the movements of suspicious people and held combing operations in hotels and lodges to verify the identities of people who booked rooms in the past few days.

The coastal wing of the Mumbai police deployed 14 speedboats to patrol the coast. They coordinated closely with the coast guard and the Indian Navy, which have jurisdiction over the deep seas.