MUMBAI: Though the Navy announced that the combing operations to nail the four suspected terrorists spotted by students near the Uran Navy base are over, the police continued their vigil on Friday.
“As far as the Indian Navy is concerned, operations based on sightings of suspected terrorists are over. Sanitisation of naval areas has been undertaken. Navy is maintaining close liaison with local police and other agencies for further updates and developments,” said a statement released by the Navy in the evening.
Mumbai Police Commissioner Dattatray Padsalgikar said that after the information given by an alert citizen, the city police cordoned off a building and sealed off part of the Sewree area in central Mumbai. However, no suspicious activity or persons were found following the exercise.
The security agencies had on Thursday night released sketches of two suspected terrorists allegedly seen by students. Following this, a heavily armed force guarded the checkpoints across the city. The stringent checks resulted in traffic jams in many places.
The vigil continued throughout the day with armed police guarding sensitive areas in and around Mumbai.
Earlier in the day, additional chief secretary (Home) K P Bakshi made it clear that an unidentified boat intercepted by Customs near Mora in Raigad on September 7 has no links with the alert triggered on Thursday.
“There is no terrorist angle (in the intercepted boat case). It was just a case of three local boys looting diesel,” Bakshi said.
On September 7, the Marine and Police wing of the Customs spotted “unfamiliar boat movement” at Mora near Uran. A Customs patrol gave chase. It even involved the local police after the boat entered shallow waters. The boat was captured but those on board had escaped.
The Home Department said on Friday that it had verified the information with Customs officials. Ruling out any connection, the department said the Customs officials had confirmed that the boat’s owner had claimed the boat subsequently.