A MANHUNT was under way in Mumbai today for four alleged members of the same Islamist group that attacked the city in 2008, amid warnings of a strike on foreign targets over Christmas and New Year.
Roads were closed in and around the luxury Taj Mahal Palace hotel – the focus of the deadly siege two years ago that killed 166 – while armed police were out in force at high-profile sites, including overseas consulates.
Mumbai police warned that the four operatives of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant outfit were preparing a “violent attack” during the festive season and called for residents to be vigilant.
“The four recently sneaked into the city to carry out extremely dangerous activity,” joint police commissioner Himanshu Roy told a news conference last evening. “It is going to be a violent attack.”
It is the second time this year that city police have issued such a warning.
In September, two Islamist militants were said to be preparing to strike as millions of Hindus thronged the streets of the city to immerse idols of Lord Ganesha in the Arabian Sea.
No arrests were made.
Roy said he had no information about the nationalities of the four men but they were identified as Abdul Karim Musa, Noor Abul Elahi, Walid Jinnah and Mehfooz Alam.
“Special cells” of officers had been formed to “neutralise” the alleged militants and an e-fit of Jinnah had been distributed, he added.
Mumbai police chief Sanjeev Dayal on Tuesday said intelligence reports indicated there were “conscious efforts by terror organisations to target foreigners during these two festivals here”.
“Extensive security measures” had been put in place and police were “taking things very seriously”, he added.