The Kapurbawdi area of Thane saw a flurry of tense police activity after “suspicious persons” were spotted entering an abandoned building in the early hours of Monday.
Fearing a terror plot, the police swung into action with commandos and searched the entire premises, but the suspects were nowhere to be found. Search operations continued till late in the morning after which the area was declared safe.
The group of six buildings, part of the Green Woods Complex, had been abandoned midway during construction since 1994, owing to a dispute between the two business partners. “Between 3 to 3.30 am, a watchman spotted two cars from which 10 persons alighted and entered one of the buildings. He immediately informed the police control room after which we rushed our Quick Response Team (QRT) to the spot within 10 minutes,” said DCP Balasaheb Patil.
Officers from the local police station also reached the spot and the entire area was cordoned off and a search operation initiated. Around 50 to 60 heavily armed commandos searched each building along with the surrounding area.
“The buildings are in an isolated spot. We searched every possible area in the expanse, but the persons could not be found. The watchman claims that the cars did not bear number plates,” added Mr. Patil. The operation continued till around 10.30 am.
Following the incident, the Thane police has begun major combing and recce operations across the city. “We will screen lodges and small hotels to identity of the people. We request people to immediately inform us of any unusual and suspicious persons in their locality,” said Mr Patil.