The Hindu : Front Page : Man held, devices for use in bombs seized

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Monday, Jul 28, 2008
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Man held, devices for use in bombs seized

Special Correspondent

The plan was to trigger bombs in Chennai
Action follows blasts in Bangalore, Ahmedabad

CHENNAI: A man who was allegedly planning to bring timer devices to Chennai to trigger bombs was arrested in Tirunelveli on Sunday.

Based on specific intelligence inputs, a special team of the Tirunelveli police raided the house of S. Abdul Kafoor (39) of Pettai, Tirunelveli. It seized 21 gadgets, including clock mechanism for use in bombs, model electric circuit, battery cells and plastic containers. Abdul Kafoor was arrested and is being interrogated, Director-General of Police K.P. Jain said in a press release.

It said the action followed Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s instructions to the police to act swiftly to prevent any untoward incident in the State in the wake of the recent serial bomb blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad.

‘Ignore SMS’

A short messaging service warning of explosions in Chennai was circulated by “unidentified” persons. Commissioner R. Sekar said the police sent a counter SMS to all mobile users to ignore the message as it was false and baseless. “There is no panic situation. We are closely monitoring the situation. A team has been formed to track down those who sent the SMS.”

Heavy security

Security measures have been put in place in temples, shopping malls and railway stations in Chennai. At the Government General Hospital, opposite the Central Railway Station, the number of personnel at the police outpost had been increased, but policemen on duty admitted that more security was needed as it was a sensitive area.

The surveillance camera at the entrance to the tower block housing the emergency wards has not been functioning since it was installed. When the hospital computerised its outpatient registration procedure, the need for a modern control booth had also been mooted. The police had also identified the basement to set up a control room with a few monitors.

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