The twin blasts in Jama Masjid in the Old Delhi area of the national capital on Friday triggered high alert across the country, including Varanasi that was rocked by terror attacks only a little over a month ago, with security tightened in and around key shrines and vital installations.
A red alert was sounded in all communally sensitive districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Varanasi, Faizabad, Aligarh and some other places and directives had been issued to district police chiefs to tighten security, official sources said in Lucknow.
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Uttar Pradesh governor T V Rajeswar spoke to Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and asked him to issue necessary directives to keep an eye on sensitive places and tighten security at religious places so that communal harmony was not disturbed, a Raj Bhavan communique said.
The governor cancelled his proposed visit to Meerut and Aligarh on Saturday in the wake of the Delhi blasts so that security personnel could remain engaged in the work of maintaining peace and harmony, it said.
In Varanasi, where the Sankatmochan temple and cantonment rail station were rocked by bomb blasts on March 7 when 20 people were killed, senior police officials reviewed security arrangements at Gyanvapi complex, Kashi Vishwanath temple and other key shrines, and patrolling was intensified.
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Additional security personnel were deployed at railway stations, bus stands and bomb disposal squads put on alert.
In Mumbai, police put up a security ring in and around Siddhi Vinayak temple in Prabhadevi and Mahalaxmi temple and other places of worship, including Haji Ali, Mahim Dargah and mosques, in Central Mumbai.
Visitors to the shrines were being searched thoroughly.
Policemen were deployed at railway stations, bus depots and other public places in Mumbai as precautionary measures in view of seizure of explosives here in the recent past and cordon and search operations were conducted at strategic locations including entry points in the city.
A Jaipur report said police sounded an "enhanced alert" in all sensititive cities and towns of Rajasthan in the wake of explosions at Jama Masjid in Delhi with authorities of in 32 districts of the state asked to keep vigil at places of historic, religious and tourism importance, trains and buses.
In Gujarat, police patrolling in sensitives areas has been increased and security at the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar, which had come under terrorist attack in September 2004, has also been enhanced.
Security was tightened at prominent places of worship in Hyderabad, Tirupati, Vijayawada, Warangal and other regions of Andhra Pradesh and random checking of vehicles and passengers was being done by police at entry/exit points in the state capital.
A red alert was sounded in West Bengal where police were asked to frisk visitors to places of worship. Vigil at railway stations, bus terminus, major markets and other public places as also inter state borders and international borders were stepped up.
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