Mumbai Police to pull out all stops to keep cricket teams safe

Mumbai police will leave no stone unturned to ensure that members of the visiting national cricket teams playing in the ICC World Cup 2011 matches in the city are secure against a terror attack. Not only will security be provided to the cricket team at the hotel in south Mumbai, where they will be put up, but also the road routes on which the teams will be travelling thro and fro from the hotel to the stadium, will be sanitized an hour before the teams hit the road Vehicular restrictions will be applied and curbs on parking will be placed in and around the hotel where these teams will be staying during the matches in the city. Also movements of guests and staffers in the hotel and members of public around the hotel will be restricted during the team stay in Mumbai.

Even though there are no concrete intelligence inputs of a terror strike during the matches in Mumbai, city police out of sheer apprehensions of terrorist outfits launching a terror attack during the matches, is plugging every loophole in the security management plan which will be operational during the matches at Wankhede stadium.

In Mumbai, New Zealand will be playing against Canada on March 13 and Sri Lanka will be taking on New Zealand on March 18, at the Wankhede Stadium in south Mumbai. Also, the finals will be hosted at the Wankhede stadium on April 2.

According to a senior police officer in Mumbai, Police Commissioner Sanjeev Dayal is examining every gap in the security system envisaged by a team of police officials responsible for the security cover during the matches in the city.

It may be recalled that on March 3, 2009, the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked by the Lakshar-e-Toiba while it was travelling in the bus to play the third day of the second Test match against the Pakistan cricket team, at Gaddafi stadium at Lahore in Pakistan.

The security convoy escorting the bus carrying the cricketers was fired upon by 12 heavily armed gunmen. Six members of the cricket team were injured, six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed. The gunmen fired a rocket and hurled a grenade at the bus, which both missed hitting the bus.

" In anticipation that such an attack on cricket squads can take place, we have chalked out a watertight security strategy to prevent terrorists from across the border launching either a suicide attack on land or striking from the sea with rocket launchers. Hence, we are tightening the security cordon in and around not only the venue but also the hotel where they will be putting up during the matches.