Friday, July 21, 2006
Mumbai Blast put Andaman in high alert: 20 Bangladeshi Nationals arrested
PORT BLAIR, India: 20 Bangladeshi Nationals were arrested in Andaman and Nicobar islands during security review in connection with the Mumbai serial bomb blast.
“All of them entered Andaman via Air Deccan flight from Kolkata. Initial investigation shows all of them had entered these islands in search of Job but further investigations are on,” Jaspal Singh the Superintendent of Andaman Police told reporters in Port Blair.
14 of them were arrested late Sunday night and 6 were arrested earlier this week after the Mumbai Bomb Blast.
Andaman and Nicobar police is now leaving no stone unturned to gather more information about these 20 people. Criminal background is also being verified for a clear picture.
“We are taking no chances,” Singh said.
The security of the Andaman and Nicobar islands has been stiffened in view of the serial bomb blast in Mumbai. Extra security personnel have been deployed by the Andaman and Nicobar Police in areas like airport and sea ports.
“In addition, watch is also been kept on people arriving from mainland India, every shady visitor is under our scanner,” Singh added.
Andaman and Nicobar islands are a restricted area for foreigners and one has to get Restricted Area Permit from Indian Authority before landing in Andaman.
All these 20 Bangladeshi Nationals were found without Restricted Area Permit and many of them had not declared them foreigners and sneaked into India. According to Police they all are labourers who were brought by contractors for building construction work in tsunami hit Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
“Last month also some Bangladeshi Nationals were arrested in Andaman but it seems there is no security threat from them. Our intelligence report also indicates this,” Singh added.
Though the islands do not face direct threat from the terrorist outfits working against the country, the security in this remote Indian archipelago has been tightened as precautionary measures, police said.
“We are working hard to regularly analyze the threat perception of these islands, which is considered as soft target,” Singh said.
Earlier on June 6, An Air Deccan flight from Port Blair had to make an emergency landing in Kolkata following a call that said a bomb had been placed on board. It, however, turned out to be a hoax.
Andaman and Nicobar is a chain of 572 small islands situated in Bay of Bengal, which were ravaged by tsunami waves in 2004 December. These islands are regularly invaded by poachers from South East Asian Country.
A Chinese base in “Coco Island” situated near Andaman is another long felt security threat, security experts believe.
Source: Local Dailies in Port Blair
“All of them entered Andaman via Air Deccan flight from Kolkata. Initial investigation shows all of them had entered these islands in search of Job but further investigations are on,” Jaspal Singh the Superintendent of Andaman Police told reporters in Port Blair.
14 of them were arrested late Sunday night and 6 were arrested earlier this week after the Mumbai Bomb Blast.
Andaman and Nicobar police is now leaving no stone unturned to gather more information about these 20 people. Criminal background is also being verified for a clear picture.
“We are taking no chances,” Singh said.
The security of the Andaman and Nicobar islands has been stiffened in view of the serial bomb blast in Mumbai. Extra security personnel have been deployed by the Andaman and Nicobar Police in areas like airport and sea ports.
“In addition, watch is also been kept on people arriving from mainland India, every shady visitor is under our scanner,” Singh added.
Andaman and Nicobar islands are a restricted area for foreigners and one has to get Restricted Area Permit from Indian Authority before landing in Andaman.
All these 20 Bangladeshi Nationals were found without Restricted Area Permit and many of them had not declared them foreigners and sneaked into India. According to Police they all are labourers who were brought by contractors for building construction work in tsunami hit Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
“Last month also some Bangladeshi Nationals were arrested in Andaman but it seems there is no security threat from them. Our intelligence report also indicates this,” Singh added.
Though the islands do not face direct threat from the terrorist outfits working against the country, the security in this remote Indian archipelago has been tightened as precautionary measures, police said.
“We are working hard to regularly analyze the threat perception of these islands, which is considered as soft target,” Singh said.
Earlier on June 6, An Air Deccan flight from Port Blair had to make an emergency landing in Kolkata following a call that said a bomb had been placed on board. It, however, turned out to be a hoax.
Andaman and Nicobar is a chain of 572 small islands situated in Bay of Bengal, which were ravaged by tsunami waves in 2004 December. These islands are regularly invaded by poachers from South East Asian Country.
A Chinese base in “Coco Island” situated near Andaman is another long felt security threat, security experts believe.
Source: Local Dailies in Port Blair
