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Air space around Delhi sealed
By Our Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI, JAN. 25. In an unprecedented move, the aviation authorities have decided to seal the 300-km airspace around the capital for four hours on Republic Day tomorrow. No private or public plane will be allowed to enter or take off from this zone between 8 a.m. and 12 noon. Anti-aircraft radars and guns have been installed at strategic locations to check any unidentified flying object.
All flights have been cancelled and the Indira Gandhi International Airport has been virtually sealed in view of the Republic Day parade.
The railway tracks of the four major railway stations _ New Delhi, Old Delhi, Nizamuddin and Sarai Rohilla _ are being sanitised and platforms searched by the bomb disposal and mine sweeping squads of the Army. No trains will be allowed entry into these stations during the parade. A large number of security personnel have already been deployed to keep an eye on any suspicious movement.
Searches are being carried out at bus terminals and public movement is being checked. Security personnel have been asked to be extra cautious, especially during the parade.
This apart, almost all vital installations have been sealed. It is learnt that the Patiala House Courts and the Delhi High Court have also been sealed. Extra force has been requisitioned to guard the Supreme Court. Plainclothesmen have been deployed all along the parade route.
Public or vehicular movement in the high-security New Delhi zone has been banned. The identity of those entering the area is being checked. Many have been picked up for joint interrogations in the past few days.
There is a suspicion that some subversives may be hiding in the walled city. Many Special Cell sleuths and spotters have been asked to carry out identification checks in the sensitive zone. (According to a PTI report, militants of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, including suicide squads, have sneaked in to disrupt the parade. Quoting Intelligence sources, the report said the terrorists were carrying a large quantity of explosives and sophisticated weapons. Police and other agencies were making all-out efforts to track the terrorists down).
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