Agra on alert after letter threatens of serial blasts across city

Agra is on high alert following a letter found at the Agra Cantonment Railway Station yesterday threatening of bomb blasts at several prominent places of the city including marketplace Sadar Baza.

Barricades have been placed all over the city and near all the entrance points of the city in the wake of the threat. Forensic experts have also been called in to decode parts of the letter, which appear to be written in codes.

According to the police sources, the letter was found by Amar Singh, a clerk at the Accident Relief Center at the outer end of the Agra Cantonment Railway Station. Singh immediately informed the Government Railway Station, which took the letter in custody and an investigation was started.

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LETTER HAS CODES

The envelope containing the letter has a code MM00X-PAK/BHARAT written on it. The letter also contains the name of a jeweller of Sadar Bazar. The police is now trying to decode the letter's language and trying to find out what sort of a brain is working behind such a threat. The GRP officials claimed that the place where the letter was dropped is close to the spot where the Accident Relief Train (ART) is parked, so the person who dropped it must be fully aware of the railway station's layout.

Railway Protection Force Asst. Commandant RP Tomar told India Today that vigil has been increased on all railway stations following this threat and intensive checking has been ordered. SSP Agra Pritinder Singh said that the security of the railway stations was analysed and strengthened following this threat and the military police has also been brought into the loop since Sadar Bazar falls inside the Cantonment area. Bomb Disposal Squad and SWAT teams have been deployed in the market.

LETTER LINKED TO PAST BLASTS

The letter is in the name of ISI Commander Mohd. Mirza who has even written details of the bomb blast in that took place in Jai Hospital on December 17, 2011, along with the name of the owners of the hospital. The letter also takes responsibility of the Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple and Delhi High Court blasts as well as the time bomb that was discovered at Vishal Dhaba on the highway in Agra a few years back.

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The writer of this letter has boasted that he has been running 400 terrorist training centers in India and has been working in Agra since 2006. Before this, he has also written letters of extortion to local industrialists.

Talking to India Today, Vishal Sharma, Secretary Agra Tourist Welfare Chamber said that although this letter appears to be a brainchild of someone who wanted to create panic in Agra by making empty threats. Sharma added that the police should be extremely vigilant still in view of the current low in Indo-Pak relations and the possible threat to tourists visiting Agra.