Ahmedabad under tight security cordon for India-Pakistan cricket match; Gujarat police on 'alert mode'

Ahmedabad, October 14

Security has been tightened in Ahmedabad and at the Narendra Modi Stadium in view of the India-Pakistan World Cup match on Saturday with the police heads of various units across Gujarat being on “alert mode” to keep a close watch on anti-social elements and sensitive areas to avoid any untoward incident, officials said.

The match is scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, the world’s largest cricket stadium, between 2 pm and 10 pm.

More than 6,000 personnel of the Gujarat police force along with those of the National Security Guard (NSG), Rapid Action Force (RAF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), among others, have been deployed in the city and at the stadium located in Motera area.

Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) Vikas Sahay said during his media briefing on Friday that the overall security set-up had been divided into five key pillars – security for stadium and spectators, traffic and parking arrangement, security for the cricket teams, a close watch on anti-social elements and making sure that no untoward incident takes place in the entire state.

Various units of police across Gujarat have been instructed to remain on alert mode to keep a close watch on anti-social elements and sensitive areas to avert any untoward incident during and after the match, an official said.

Different security agencies such as Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), city crime branch, and Special Operations Group (SOG) have been roped in to deal with anti-social elements and terrorists, he said.

At the same time, the units of Gujarat police across the state have been directed to be on alert mode after 8 pm tomorrow, as the match ends at 10 pm on Saturday. State Reserve Police (SRP) units remain on “alert position” for a quick deployment in case of an emergency, officials said.