100 Shiv Sainiks held in Chennai
Sena adamant, immolation bid by man

CHENNAI, Jan 20 (PTI, UNI) — The Shiv Sena’s Tamil Nadu unit today asserted that it would muster all its strength to prevent the India-Pakistan Test from being held here, even as an autorickshaw driver set himself ablaze and over 100 Shiv Sainiks were taken in preventive custody from various parts of the state.

Earlier, an autorickshaw driver, Palani, reportedly owing allegiance to the Hindu Munnani, set himself ablaze, protesting against the Pakistan team playing here. He was later hospitalised and his condition was stated to be serious.

NEW DELHI: The Shiv Sena supremo, Mr Bal Thackeray, will be put on "trial" at a students assembly in Delhi on January 28, to be observed in campuses as ‘save sports from communal vandalism day’.

Three Left-affiliated students unions, including the All-India Students Federation (AISF) and the Students Federation of India (SFI), alleged that Mr Thackeray was a ‘communal vandal’ who consistently propagated a culture of intolerance and communal hatred.

A statement by the unions issued on Wednesday said a ‘student assembly’ would be called in every campus to try Mr Thackeray on the opening day of the India-Pakistan cricket Test match to be played in Chennai from January 28.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the students unions which also asked the student community to rally against the violence and religious hatred unleashed by the Shiv Sena to oppose Pakistan’s upcoming cricket tour.

The meeting also criticised the Vajpayee government for allegedly staying back as a silent onlooker instead of initiating stringent action against the ‘culprits’.

Meanwhile, the Youth Congress demanded dismissal of the Maharashtra Government and arrest of Mr Thackeray over the ransacking of the BCCI office in Mumbai.

Party activists led by the YC Treasurer, Mr Jagajit Singh, staged a day-long dharna, shouting slogans and demanded Mr Thackeray’s arrest and dismissal of the Manohar Joshi government in Maharashtra.

Multi-tier security for players
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Jan 20 — An unprecedented security operation has been mounted for the Pakistan cricket team, which is scheduled to arrive in the country tomorrow for a two-match Test series against India.

Security agencies in the country are not leaving anything to chance with trained commandos armed with sophisticated weapons providing cover to the players as part of arrangement in which ‘surprise element’ would play a key role.

Heavy police bandobast and spotters, on the other hand, will be pitched against Shiv Sainiks to ensure that there was no untoward incident of any kind.

The Delhi Police Commissioner, Mr V.N. Singh’s assurance about a foolproof security cordon for the players and the arrests of 14 Shiv Sena activists to buttress his claim may bring peace of mind to the cricket-loving public of this city.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs is keeping a close watch on the security arrangements for the team right from the time of its arrival in India till departure.

"The situation is being monitored and reviewed on a day-to-day basis. The Monitoring Review Committee set up in the MHA after the Kotla incident is keeping a tab on the situation," Mr Nikhil Kumar, Special Secretary, Home (Internal Security), said today.

A senior Delhi police official said that surprise element would be the key ingredient in handling this situation. "The strategy will stress upon protection, detection and coverage," he said.

The city police is aiming to plug the gaps, coordinate and monitor access and provide security to the players, especially at the Indira Gandhi International airport, where they would disembark, Hotel Taj Palace, where they would stay, National Stadium, where they would practise and Ferozeshah Kotla ground, where they would play.

The multi-tier security is already being set into place. The security setup has already been divided into four stages — the arrival, the trip from the airport to the hotel, security at the hotel and media interaction.

Plainclothesmen will be deployed near the players’ dressing room and "there will be physical barricade around the room. No one will be allowed to go inside the stadium without being frisked."

Spotters will also be deployed at the ticket sales venues. The DDCA has been asked by the city police to furnish the names of those purchasing more than 10 tickets.

The Akali Dal has already offered its services to the city police in helping them in crowd management.

While the bigger enclosures are being divided into smaller ones for better crowd management, tickets will be sold in such a manner that the crowd is equally distributed in the stadium and not restricted to one enclosure.

As the arrest of the seven Shiv Sainiks from near the IGI airport has already revealed that the Sainiks plan to target the bus carrying the Pakistani players from the airport to the hotel, the bus will be escorted by police vans and deployment will be made along the route.

"There will be commandos armed with sophisticated weapons inside the bus to prevent any untoward incident," the officer said. He pointed out that a proposal for fixing of iron mesh on the bus windows is also being considered.

The names of all persons purchasing 10 or more tickets would be recorded and their antecedents would be verified.

To ensure that no food article or water container is used as a projectile to harm the players, no food or drinks would be served inside and near the stadium premises.

The city police is still grappling with the lack of adequate information on Shiv Sainiks and their sympathisers in Delhi. They have, however, requested the neighbouring states to send spotters who may be able to pinpoint the Shiv Sainiks who may troop into the city before the match.

Meanwhile, the Congress today demanded that the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, stop talking and start taking action.

The party spokesman, Mr Ajit Jogi, said the Centre in association with the Maharashtra Government should take stern action against those who are resorting to disruptive activities.

The party said action should be taken irrespective of the position a person holds in the party or public life.

Mr Thackeray, meanwhile, has said that party MP Satish Pradhan was sent to Chennai ‘to make an assessment about the arrangements to prevent the match’ being played there between India and Pakistan from January 28.

‘Right now be won't disclose our plans but the truth is that Pakistan won't be allowed to play,’ Mr Thackeray said an interview to the television programme, ‘Ru-Ba-Ru’.

Meanwhile, the Cable Operators Federation of India (COFI) on Wednesday sought the government’s protection against Shiv Sainiks in view of the ban announced on the Indo-Pak cricket series by some cable operators aligned to the Shiv Sena in Mumbai.

In a letter to Home Minister L.K. Advani, COFI President Roop Sharma demanded that the government give protection to cable networks, particularly in Maharashtra, against cutting of cables and damage to equipment.

PANAJI: Youth Congress (YC) activists have been asked to ‘combat any attempts by Shiv Sainiks to disrupt the ensuing India-Pakistan cricket matches’, the party president, Mr Manish Tewari said on Wednesday.

"They will do it peacefully without giving any cause for confrontation and by mobilising public support against attempts to politicise sports", Mr Tewari told newsmen here.