Terrorists in sadhu garb may carry out attack, warns Intel

THE MP POLICE INPUTS SAID THE GROUP OF TERRORISTS IS WELLVERSED IN HINDU RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND ‘SHLOKAS’

LUCKNOW: An alert was sounded across UP on Saturday following intelligence inputs about possible attacks by terrorists disguised as saffron-clad Hindu sadhus allegedly trained by Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), police said.

The inputs, provided by Madhya Pradesh police, said the group of nearly three dozen terrorists is well-versed in Hindu religious practices and ‘shlokas’ to blend into the local populace and avoid raising suspicion in the BJP-ruled state.

The alert comes weeks after hardline Hindu leader Yogi Adityanath took over as chief minister following the BJP’s overwhelming victory in the assembly polls.

Sulkhan Singh, new director general of police of UP, who took over charge on Saturday, said he “won’t be able to comment immediately on a specific issue”. “But I can assure you that we are capable of neutralising any threat,” Singh told HT.

Other police officials said, on condition of anonymity, that security has been tightened in crowded places as well as important pilgrimages centres such as Ayodhya, Mathura and Varanasi.

Besides, additional security personnel have also been deployed at Taj Mahal in Agra, the high court in Allahabad and its Lucknow bench, the assembly and secretariat buildings, and other important government offices in Lucknow.

Meanwhile, Aseem Arun, IG, UP ATS, told a news agency. “The hype is unnecessary. Police and security agencies, including the ATS are always on alert.”

Police said they also have information about a separate plan to target Muslim shrines, frequented by Hindus and Muslims, through a separate terror group. “The idea is to create high-impact trouble, whichever way it’s possible,” a police officer said. The alert came a day after UP’s anti-terrorist squad, along with sleuths from five other states, busted a terror module .

In February, intelligence agencies in UP had been tipped off about four dozen terrorists sneaking in through the porous border with Nepal. Intelligence agencies believe these terrorists have been specially trained by ISI to escape attention with their saffron outfits and knowledge of Hindu scriptures and practices, making the task of security forces much more difficult.

Eight suspected terrorists of the banned Students Islamic Movement if India (SIMI), who were killed in 2016 after escaping from a jail in Madhya Pradesh, had also assumed the guise of Hindus to escape attention.