The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Security beefed up in city

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 30, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Security beefed up in city

Staff Reporter

Patrolling, checking of vehicles and people intensified

CHECKING TIME: Railway police personnel go through the bags of Shatabdi Express passengers on Thursday. — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI: From the bustling Koyambedu mofussil bus terminus to the serene IIT campus, the city came under a heavy security blanket on Thursday.

Patrolling and checking of vehicles and people began Wednesday night itself, soon after the attack on the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, killing one person and injuring three others

At Central Station, bleary-eyed passengers of the Chennai Mail from Bangalore were frisked by railway police at 5 a.m. "All of us were frisked. The police also checked the bags of many people. They even opened packets kept inside suitcases," said C. Harikumar, a passenger.

Passengers had to pass through a metal detector at the station entrance.

The scene was similar when the Shatabdi Express arrived at 11.30 a.m. Sniffer dogs helped officials check baggage.

At the Indian Institute of Technology campus, campus security stepped up their vigil, checking students and visitors thoroughly.

"It [the Bangalore attack] is shocking," said M.Tech student Pratik Rai, who returned from IISc on December 20 after finishing a project.

At the University of Madras, Vice Chancellor S.P. Thyagarajan said that while a long-term security policy was being worked out, some of the entry points at the Chepauk campus had been sealed for the time being.

The Wallajah Road gate (providing entry to the Institute of Distance Education) and the main gate on Kamarajar Salai would remain open.

Security had been beefed up in the other campuses, he said.

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