Armed forces, police close ranks for World Cup final

MUMBAI: The city police has discussed in detail security arrangements for the World Cup final match at Wankhede stadium on April 2 with the National Security Guard (NSG), the Air Force, the Navy and the Army. The security arrangement is said to be twice as tight as that during US president Barak Obama’s visit last year.
The trigger for the stringent measures is an input from security agencies that terrorists could try and attack the event.The police are not ruling out the possibility of air and water strikes. Accordingly, the venue has been declared a no-flying zone during the match; the Air Force will be ready to shoot down any suspicious aircraft which violates the order. The Navy and Coast Guard, on their part, will monitor the sea.
NSG and Force One commandos will be posted at strategic positions near the stadium in ready position for counter-terrorism operation. Marine commandos (MARCOS), too, will also be on standby. The city police will engage choppers for the movement of security personnel. The police have requested all disaster cells of the government to be in a standby position during the match.
Rajkumar Vhatkar, deputy commissioner of police and Mumbai police spokesperson, said, “There is no specific terror input related to the match. But we have a general input that terrorists could try to disrupt the event. Therefore, we are adopting all security measures possible along with the Air Force, the Navy and the Army.”
The police has decided to allow just 70 vehicles belonging to VVIP and VIPs inside the stadium parking on the day of the World Cup final. No police vehicles, even those of top-most officers, will be allowed.
Plainclothes policemen have been keeping a close watch on people visiting the area around the stadium since the past few days, and verifying the backgrounds of those they find suspicious.
Vhatkar said the police are ensuring that no suspect can enter the stadium with any kind of weapon or explosive. Policemen, who will be deployed on security bandobast duty inside and around the stadium, will be given a biometric identity card to ensure that no anti-national element can enter the stadium in a fake police uniform.
The city police recently received the fresh input regarding a terror threat. They started conducting surprise checks at various localities in Mumbai and its neighbouring districts since the past four days.