Raigad/Mumbai, Sep 23: Navi Mumbai/Mumbai: The city and its adjoining areas were placed on high alert after two students separately reported seeing up to half a dozen masked, armed men with backpacks at Uran, 47km from Mumbai, around 6.30am on Thursday.
The sighting, coming four days after the Uri army camp attack, witnessed the Navy, which has an armament depot and commando base at Uran, on the mainland coast off Mumbai, issuing its highest alert and searching its camp inch by inch. National Security Guard (NSG) commandos flew in and joined the navy's Marcos commandos, Navi Mumbai policemen, Force One commandos and other security personnel in a combing operation. Nobody had been apprehended till late in the night.
The entire region is highly sensitive in view of the close proximity of the Western Naval Command HQ just across the harbour in Mumbai, the naval harbour, the Mumbai Port Trust, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, several critical installations like BARC and oil terminals, offices of important central and state government in a small radius.
Around 6.30am, a boy on his way to G S School at Kumbharwada locality spotted a masked man with a firearm. Twenty minutes later, a 16-year-old girl, also on her way to the school, spotted five-six masked men in black pathan suits with weapons and backpacks. She overheard them talking about "school" and "ONGC" (which has a large base at Uran) and splitting into groups. She reported it to her teacher, and the information was shared with ONGC officials. The police were alerted by ONGC.
With information about the masked, armed men coming from two different students who spotted the suspicious men at different times and described them similarly, security agencies in Uran took the tip seriously and informed the navy. The Marcos commandos spoke to them as well as the police.
"As per the reports, five to six persons were sighted in pathan suits and appeared to be carrying weapons and backpacks," naval spokesman Cdr Rahul Sinha said in a statement.
Soon after the Uran police learnt about the suspicious men, Navi Mumbai police commissioner Hemant Nagrale arrived with over 500 cops. Security was stepped up at the ONGC refinery and the naval base at Mora, and the combing operation began. Navy's Seaking helicopters joined for aerial surveys of Uran town, its adjoining coastal areas and the eastern seafront of Mumbai, which boasts of vital installations like the Bhabha Atomic Reseach Centre (BARC), Mumbai port and the naval western command headquarters.
The news about the suspect terrorists spread like wildfire in Uran and nearby areas, resulting in the closure of schools and colleges for the rest of the day. Shops too downed shutters for the day. Officials of the JNPT port and ONGC were told not to venture out of their campuses for safety.
With chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on his way back after a US tour, additional chief secretary (home) K P Bakshi said there was no need for panic and that he has sought a detailed report from the state police chief on Friday. The Centre had been briefed and national security adviser Ajit Doval was keeping a close watch on the situation, he said.
The navy has issued its highest alert, putting all its personnel on duty. "Under the State-1 alert level, the different naval establishments and bases in and around Mumbai are being meticulously checked and searched inch by inch. No chances can be taken. The Mumbai police and anti-terror squad are also involved but no person has been located or apprehended till now," said a navy officer.
"The girl student suspected the five-six men to be terrorists as they had firearms on their shoulders and backpacks that reminded her of terrorists. She also heard the men saying that they will split into two groups and attack ONGC and a school. Hence, she got scared and told the class teacher about it. Yet another boy student claimed that he too had spotted a man of similar description. Without delay, the class teacher immediately informed me. The girl has been interrogated by several police officers, but her version has not changed. But now the girl is visibly scared," said principal Swati Shiralkar of the Uran Education Society's school. The witnesses have been accommodated at an undisclosed location for their personal safety.
The school authorities had directly informed the ONGC about the terror threat instead of informing the Uran police. The police got the information from ONGC. The school administration declared a holiday considering the threat but to avoid panic, the school claimed that the holiday was due to heavy rains, said police inspector (crime) Nagraj Majage.
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