The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Mumbai terror blasts cast shadow on railway stations

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 13, 2006

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Mumbai terror blasts cast shadow on railway stations

Staff Reporter

Presence of ISI modules makes Hyderabad vulnerable, say police

STRICT VIGIL: Security at Secunderabad railway station and other stations in Hyderabad has been beefed up in the wake of the Mumbai train blasts. - Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

HYDERABAD: The terror strike on trains in Mumbai on Tuesday has cast a shadow of fear and uncertainty over passengers at the Hyderabad, Secunderabad, and Kacheguda railway stations here.

Confusion prevailed among scores of passengers when police started scanning the entire premises of the three railway stations from Wednesday morning with the help of anti-sabotage teams, sniffer dogs and bomb disposal squads.

Some persons moving under suspicious circumstances were picked up and released after questioning.

Passengers said they never experienced such serious action by the police at Secunderabad railway station.

"Almost every passenger is scanned along with his or her belongings. Though we faced some inconvenience, it is done in view of the safety of all passengers," says K. Ravi Kumar, who regularly commutes from Bhongir to Secunderabad.

Plugging loopholes

The railway police in coordination with the city police have got into the act of reviewing the situation and plugging every possible loophole to ensure safety of passengers.

"What makes Hyderabad particularly vulnerable to attacks is the strong presence of different ISI modules in the city," a police official said.

According to sources, the situation emerging after Mumbai's blood trails was reviewed at the highest levels.

All the trains, particularly the Hussainsagar Expressand Konark Express that arrived from Mumbai to the city on Wednesday, have been thoroughly checked.

"We have checked each and every compartment of Hussainsagar and Konark Express," a railway police official said.

Focus on platforms

He said separate focus was being laid on platform numbers 6 and 7 at Secunderabad station where MMTS trains halt.

Railway Superintendent of Police (Secunderabad) K. Venugopal Rao said all measures were being taken for the safety of passengers. Round-the-clock announcements were made requesting passengers to alert the police if they found any suspicious objects on the station premises.

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