A general terror alert has been sounded as there are strong  apprehensions that the terrorist group Indian Mujhaideen has activated a sleeper cell  to execute a 26/11 type terror strike in one of the metros of the country.

 

 The alert has been sounded at railway stations and airport, which are one of the major vulnerable points for terror attacks in the country. 

 

IM which had been lying low for a while in the backdrop of a series of arrest by the National Investigation Agency, Anti Terror Squad of Maharashtra police and Special Cell of the Delhi police, is now re-activating itself IM co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, his close aide Asdullah Aktar and Lakshar-e-Toiba bomb maker Syed Abdul Karim Tunda’s arrests had dealt a severe blow to IM in the last one year and therefore IM has been lying low for a while. 

 

But never the less according to Intelligence Bureau’s recent inputs, Pakistan-based terror outfit LeT, an affiliate of the global terrorist organization, Al Qaeda,  has re-worked on its terror strategy and re-organised IM with the assistance of the Bhatkal brothers—Riyaz and Iqbal who are currently holed up in Pakistan.

 

Railway Police Force (RPF) personnel based on intelligence inputs have beefed up survelliance at stations and terminus in the city. Patrolling by armed personnel and sniffer dogs have been pressed into service.  “Railway authorities have been regularly making announcements in trains and platforms, warning commuters to be aware and cautioning them to avoid handling abandoned objects lying around in public places.  And now that the monsoons have set in, the fear is that terror groups will trigger explosives since heavy rains adds vastly to the chaos levels created by a bomb blast incident. The past experience has given us an insight into IM’s modus operandi.  Since 2007 IM has triggered blasts in Mumbai in July when the monsoons are at its peak. Not only heavy downpour washes away the material evidence but even throws rescue operations out of gear,” said a RPF official.

 

Mumbai police too have stepped up vigilance in the city and have been carrying out nakabhandis at various points as a preventive measure against a terror strike.