Odisha government asks police to intensify vigil

In the wake of the arrest of a suspected al Qaeda operative in Cuttack and the November 12 serial train fire at Puri railway station, the Odisha government today asked the police to keep a strict vigil.
"The Home department has asked the police to formulate a strategy to strengthen its preparedness to counter urban terrorism. If necessary, we will revisit our plan of action to effectively deal with any terrorist act," Home Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathy said here.
Tripathy said that the state has two anti-terrorism squads under the Special Operation Group and one squad under the Commissionerate Police.

The state government, which so far dealt with mostly left wing extremists, is now having to contend with terror-related developments, he said.
The arrest of the al Quaeda operative Md Abdur Rahman came close on the heels of serial train fire at Puri railway station on November 12, which the National Investigating Agency is probing.
At least three stationary trains were set on fire one after another in quick succession at the Puri railway station leading to suspicion of involvement of a terror group in the incident. Ramachandran Subhas hailing from Tamil Nadu has been arrested and jailed in this connection.

The state has been regularly receiving intelligence alerts from central agencies about terrorist threat. Two Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives - Tehsin Akhtar and Waqas-who were arrested in Delhi have indicated that Bhubaneswar, Puri and Cuttack were on their target.

This apart, a local man identified as Iswar Behara was nabbed by the police in Balasore district on the charge of sending pictures and information on the Integrated Test Range (ITR) to Pakistani spy agency ISI.
To a query, Commissioner of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack police commissionrate R P Sharma said that a proposal had been made to the state government for constituting a special cell in Odisha on the lines of the Delhi police.

"This cell will mainly keep a watch on terrorist activities and organised crime in the state," he said.
Meanwhile, security has been beefed up at major installations across the state including the Biju Patnaik International Airport here.
Besides deploying additional security personnel around the 12th century Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri, special arrangements have been made at places like railway station area, Jagannth Pradhan, a senior police officer at Puri, said.