Kids spot ‘armed’ men with Pathan suits near naval base
PTI
MUMBAI
“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. Some reports said they were in military uniform.
The alert, which comes four days after the Uri attack which left 18 soldiers dead, has led to elite forces like National Security Guard (NSG), state police’s specialised commandos Force One and ATS being roped in for the search and security, highly placed police sources said.
The Navy pressed its choppers for aerial surveillance and heightened patrolling in the sea by its vessels and high-speed boats.
Some children from Uran Education Society’s school first spotted the suspects, and their teacher informed the police, the police said.
The Western Naval Command (WNC) issued a “highest state of alert” along the Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Raigad coasts where several sensitive establishments and assets are located.
Western India’’s biggest naval base, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, fertiliser plants, refineries, power plants and the country’s largest container port, JNPT are located in close vicinity.
Coastal security has been a top priority after the 26/11 attacks, in which multiple locations in Mumbai were targeted by Pakistani terrorists who landed using the sea route.
