Security at the Mumbai police commissionerate at Crawford Market has been beefed up following information that it could be a possible terror target.
A circular issued by the office of joint commissioner of police, law and order, on March 4, talks of a threat faced by the commissionerate from terrorists in the backdrop of the recent Hyderabad blasts. It says the compound of the office, being a vital installation in the city, could be a terror target. The circular has also been published prominently in the Police Pathak (police notice book).
Security measures suggested include all private and government vehicles entering the commissionerate compound be thoroughly scanned and checked by the staff present at the main gate. The officers and constables deployed at the gate have been asked to remain extra vigilant. Senior officials in the department have been urged to assist and cooperate in the security measures. They have been told to approach the gate slowly (in their vehicles) and stop as and when asked by the security personnel deployed there. They (including the wireless operators and other staff members) have been urged to lower the window glasses and flash their identity cards before seeking entry into the premises.
Joint commissioner of police, (law and order), Sadanand Date, tried to downplay the development by saying it was “routine security affairs”. “There is no specific threat to the commissionerate compound. We are just taking stock of the 24x7 vigil apparatus existing in the compound,” Date said.