The recent arrest of an alleged ISI agent Mohammad Izaz by Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UPSTF) on November 27 setting alarm bells ringing in local police, the interrogation report has, however, revealed that the arrested person was not acting on any subversion plan regarding the upcoming Ardh Kumbh Mela scheduled for January to April next year.
But police are taking no chances as they have already trained Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) and arranged for highly sophisticated weaponry for the team to combat any challenge, said the senior cops. They further said frequencies of random checking at sensitive areas like Har ki Pauri and Piran Kaliyar have been increased.
When asked about terror suspect Izaz, DIG Ardh Kumbh Mela Ganesh Singh Martolia said, “We have the detailed interrogation report on Izaz who had made fake voter Id, Aadhar card and bank account in Kolkata. He was sent by Pakistan on an espionage errand during the Kargil conflict and Army centres in Ranikhet and Raiwala. A map of Raiwala cantonment was procured from him. But he had no knowledge of Ardh Kumbh Mela or any such fair held in Haridwar. He stayed in Bareilley for some time and was engaged in videography business. He entered Bengal from Karachi via Dhaka by a boat in 2013,” he said, adding that they were fully alert in view of the past incidents like last year’s bomb blast in Roorkee or arrest of an ISI agent in Bijnor. “We have trained four teams of ATS and they would be equipped with the latest equipments to face any kind of threat,” he said.
To strengthen ATS, 30 X Rifles, 20 corner Shotguns. 15 Sniffer Rifles, 100 pistols, 50 hand grenades and 50 bullet proof jackets worth 2.5 crores are being acquired from Australia by the Ardh Kumbh Mela police.
Besides, three portable X ray machines meant for railway station, Door sign metal detectors and drone cameras with number plate recognition facility shall be arranged for the technical team, said Martolia.
To counter the terror threat, 33 paramilitary companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Rapid Action Force (RAF), and Shastra Seema Bal (SSB) will be deployed in the Kumbh Mela zone falling in Haridwar, Rishikesh, Pauri Garhwal and Tehri Garhwal districts stretching from Narsen to Rudraprayag. From the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh, 20 companies of the PAC would be assisting 17 companies of the Uttarakhand PAC during the fair. 7,000 regular Uttarakhand Police personnel would also be stationed. Commandos of Uttarakhand’s ‘Guldaar’ unit, which has been formed on the lines of the National Security Guards (NSG), will be based in Haridwar during the fair. Temporary residential bases-cum-duty camps would be set up in the mela zone for paramilitary and PAC personnel, Martolia added.