Acting on intelligence inputs, the Home Ministry has issued a country-wide advisory asking all states to deploy additional forces in crowded places like markets, railway stations, bus terminus and religious sites to foil any attempt by terrorists to carry out any attack.
The advisory was issued after intelligence inputs suggested that five Pakistani terrorists have entered India in recent past, official sources said.
The states were also asked to be alert during the festival as provocative sloganeering, especially near mosques and dargahs, installations of idols and observance of the festival at disputed places, processions through non-traditional routes and forcible collection of donations, eve teasing often trigger communal tensions.
Campaigns against cow slaughter by Hindu activists have witnessed a rise in recent weeks with interpretation of cattle transportation, sometimes leading to road-blockades, arson and communal incidents. In the past, sacrifice of cattle at public and non-traditional places has also provided the flash point for communal incidents.
Special watch on pandals, procession routes and venues of immersion would be desirable to prevent communal incidents and other law and order problems, the advisory said.