Security beefed up for Independence Day

Security forces were today put on heightened alert across the country and crack anti-terrorist commandos were positioned at vital installations like nuclear plants and airports in the run-up to the Independence Day after intelligence reports warned of possible fidayeen (suicide) attacks.

The threat this year is believed to be mainly from Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami and Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, who are suspected to have entered into an alliance with the banned SIMI, according to official sources.

Top officials of the home ministry and Intelligence Bureau met here after a full dress rehearsal for the Independence Day celebrations at the historic Red Fort and decided to deploy more plainclothes personnel in public areas like markets.

The national Capital was virtually turned into an impregnable fortress with gun-toting personnel of the Delhi Police and paramilitary forces guarding markets, railway bridges and tracks, and flyovers.

No vehicular movement, except in extreme circumstances, will be allowed in the vicinity of the Red Fort on Tuesday when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unfurls the Tricolour and addresses the nation from the ramparts of the monument.

The Capital has been declared a no-fly zone for August 15 and air defence guns have been placed at strategic locations to ward off possible aerial attacks using unmanned or microlight aircraft.

These steps were taken following intelligence reports that terrorists were planning to carry out suicide attacks at Shantivan, the memorial of the nation's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and Chandni Chowk.

The sources said militants were believed to have been camping in the Capital since April to plan such attacks. "The advantage of surprise is usually with militants but we are trying our best," a security official said. Elite commandos of the National Security Guard and Indo-Tibetan Border Police will guard the Red Fort on independence Day.

Helicopters will criss-cross the skies when the prime minister addresses the nation and radars of the civilian air traffic control and the Indian Air Force will be used to keep an eye on Delhi's airspace. Sharp-shooters have been positioned at high-rise buildings in Delhi and quick reaction teams of the Central Industrial Security Force deployed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Several people were detained in the Walled City for questioning, and the Delhi Police, along with spotters from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, searched guesthouses at Nizamuddin, Karol Bagh and Jungpura area besides keeping a strict vigil at the airport, railway station and bus terminals.