Security alert in MP after Lashkar letter threatens attacks

The letter, sent in the name of Rawalpindi (Pakistan)-based LeT area commander Maulvi Abu Sheikh, was received by the station manager’s office on September 29.
For representational purposes (File | PTI)
For representational purposes (File | PTI)

BHOPAL: A handwritten letter bearing the name of a Rawalpindi-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander received by the office of the station manager of Jaipur railway station last month has triggered a security alert across poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.

The letter, sent in the name of Rawalpindi (Pakistan)-based LeT area commander Maulvi Abu Sheikh, was received by the station manager’s office on September 29.

The letter contained a threat to blow up major railway and bus stations in MP, Rajasthan and Gujarat on October 20 and target prominent temples in Rajasthan and MP on November 9 to avenge the killing of “jehadis.”

The letter mentioned the Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur, Ganganagar, Hanumangarh and Chittorgarh railway stations in Rajasthan, and Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur and Katni railway stations in Madhya Pradesh, saying they would be targeted on October 20.

The letter particularly mentioned the Mahakal Temple and Sai Temple in Ujjain, besides temples, bus stations and cinema halls in Rajasthan and MP as being on the target list of the terror outfit as part of its plan for attacks in India during Dussehra and Deepawali.

The receipt of the letter triggered a security alert at all the places, including bus, railway stations and temples in the states concerned.

A senior police official in Madhya Pradesh, while confirming the security alert all across MP, said though one of the dates (October 20) mentioned in the letter had passed peacefully, the police were not taking any chances and continued to be on high alert.

The special branch of the state police has alerted cops in all districts to maintain alertness.

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