Cops sanitise suspect areas

Policemen are conducting frisking operations on an unprecedented scale and intensified searches in areas like Begum Bazaar and crowded malls following Centre’s warning that terrorists may strike in the city.
Police also carried out anti-sabotage checks. Begum Bazaar seems to be the focus of the police search. The police is sanitising the area, going from shop to shop as part of their checks. They raided several cyber cafe’s in Saifabad and Abids following inputs that the terror suspects were using them to communicate with their handlers in Pakistan. Hard disks seized from the computers at the cyber cafe’s will be sent for forensic analysis, police sources said.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of Police, Mr R.R. Girish Kumar, held a high-level review meeting with top officials of the intelligence department and city police following the alert.
The Intelligence IG, Mr M. Mahendar Reddy, counter Intelligence officials and Octopus officials took part in the meeting.
Mr Girish Kumar asked officials to be on alert and take necessary measures.
The DGP also asked the police of other cities in the state to be on alert.
“In view of the recent attacks at Pune and Bengaluru, we are taking some steps. There is no specific threat to the city,” the police commissioner, Mr A.K. Khan, said.
Mr Khan appealed to people to be on alert while in crowded areas. “Don’t panic over rumors. Inform police about suspicious persons and objects and abandoned vehicles,” Mr Khan said.
“We have been given a message that terror strikes are most likely to occur in Hyderabad shortly,” a senior city police official said, adding, “We have conducted frisking at malls, Imax theatre, prominent and vital installations and at railway stations.” Senior police officers have informed the bomb disposal squad to be extra alert for the next three days in the wake of terror alert.