With the ICC Cricket World Cup round-the-corner, the Centre is gearing up to meet the challenge of providing fool-proof security and timely intelligence to ward off any terror threat. However, the security of the venues will be the responsibility of the state governments concerned, a government official said. The official said that there are no specific intelligence inputs of terror outfits like the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba or Indian Mujahideen planning to create unrest during the period. But state governments will take appropriate steps to deploy adequate security personnel and provide tight security arrangement during the games, the official said.
Ahead of the Commonwealth Games held in 2010, suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) activists tried to spread a terror scare in New Delhi by resorting to firing outside Jama Masjid. The IM had later claimed responsibility for the attack. A senior ministry official said that agencies are keeping track of movements of terror outfits ahead of the World Cup.
“The states hosting the matches should be able to handle the security since each state will not be hosting more than one match. If there is any request for Central forces, only then we will send additional forces,” a home ministry official said. So far, there has been no request from the state governments for additional forces for deployment during the event.
Though majority of the top leadership of the IM, having close linkages with the LeT, is hiding in Pakistan and West Asian countries, intelligence agencies believe that there are more than a dozen sleeper cells of the banned outfit across the country.