JOIN USMaharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has asked the Mumbai Police to increase security in some parts of the city, including its own office and police headquarters, as Indian Mujhaideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, now in police custody, has claimed that his outfit had last month carried out a reconnaissance for possible blast targets there.
The ATS report, tagged confidential but floating around in the media circles, states that apart from the city police head office and ATS headquarters, several Jewish synagogues and heavily congested market areas were also checked out.
Bhatkal's purported disclosure report created a mild stir in the local media. However, senior intelligence officials who every week religiously churn out similar “confidential alerts” in private and in candid moments admit that terrorists who carry out random explosions and killings of people in public spaces rarely strike at places which are popular on the media radar as “potential targets”.
They usually select vulnerable places which are not only “totally new” but also have power to attract the media's attention.
Last month, security agencies claimed that Bhatkal, who was carrying a reward of Rs 35 lakh on his head, was nabbed near Indo-Nepal border.