Cops received 21 terror alerts for WC final

The city police received at least 21 terror alerts from security agencies on the day of the World Cup final at Wankhede stadium, home minister RR Patil revealed on Thursday. Apart from that, the city got 474 alerts related to terror threats in 2010.

The city police received at least 21 terror alerts from security agencies on the day of the World Cup final at Wankhede stadium, home minister RR Patil revealed on Thursday. Apart from that, the city got 474 alerts related to terror threats in 2010.

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“The alerts spoke of attacks from everywhere - balloon, pipelines, from the air or the sea -- there was very high pressure on the police every single day,” Patil told the Legislative Council.

He was replying to a discussion raised by Bharatiya Janata Party member of legislative council Pandurang Phundkar on the law and order situation in the state. Patil was explaining the pressures under which the police have to work. “No alert can be taken lightly. After the alerts during the World Cup came in, the police had to keep track of everything, the air and even the sea mode. They managed to keep the security intact to avoid any untoward incident,” he said.

On April 5, the Hindustan Times was the first to report of a terror attack alert to Wankhede stadium on the day of the final match between India and Sri Lanka.

Patil said following the recommendations of the Ram Pradhan committee report on the 26/11 terror attack, the state had initiated a process of revamping and modernising the police force. A budget provision of Rs7,310 crore was approved for the entire department.

A criminal tracking system to connect 1,031 police stations, getting 6,000 new houses for policemen, renovation of existing police systems, getting better firearms are a few of the plans on the anvil, he said.

Patil said compared to other states, Maharashtra has more policemen — 166 per lakh persons — and a lower crime rate of 183 per lakh.