NIA arrests: Security beefed up at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium

Security has been beefed up at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad following the arrest of four Sri Lankan nationals by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Sunday.

Over 3,000 personnel, including five Deputy Commissioners of Police and 10 Assistant Commissioners of Police, will be deployed.

This evening, Rajasthan Royals (RR) will clash with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The winner of the match will play Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on May 24.

Gujarat ATS on the lookout

Following the arrest on Sunday of four Sri Lankans with alleged ties to the banned Islamic State (IS), the Gujarat ATS is now on the hunt for those people said to be behind the planting of weapons hidden under construction debris in Chiloda, on the Ahmedabad-Himmatnagar highway, said media reports.

Acting on a tip-off, Gujarat ATS had apprehended the four suspects at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel airport in Ahmedabad. The suspects are said to have travelled to Gujarat from Colombo via Chennai.

The men travelled to India to carry out terror activities at the behest of the IS and are members of IS radicalised by a leader from Sri Lanka who is living in Pakistan, according to the police.

The ATS reportedly recovered three pistols and 20 rounds of ammunition from an undisclosed location. The officers claimed the men were allegedly plotting a suicide attack in Gujarat. The increased security at the cricket stadium is a cautionary step.

Sri Lankan team

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka police on Wednesday said a senior Deputy Inspector General will head a team appointed to investigate its citizens arrested in Gujarat. 

“A senior Deputy Inspector General-headed police team has been appointed by the Inspector General Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon,” police Spokesman and Senior Superintendent Nihal Thalduwa told PTI.

He said the police chief’s action followed official intimation of the Lankan citizens' arrests by the Indian authorities.

The accused, Mohammad Nusrat (35), Mohammad Faarukh (35), Mohammad Nafran (27) and Mohammad Rasdeen (43), informed investigators that they were earlier associated with the banned Sri Lankan radical militant outfit, National Thowheeth Jamath (NJT), and joined IS after getting in touch with Pakistani handler Abu Bakr Al Bagdadi, said Gujarat Director General of Police Vikas Sahay.

Ammunition recovered

The ATS team recovered three Pakistan-made pistols and 20 cartridges lying abandoned at a location in the city's Nana Chiloda area based on geo-coordinates and photographs found on the mobile phone seized from the accused, Sahay said, adding that the men were allegedly directed by their Pakistani handler to collect these.

"They got in touch with Abu (the IS leader in Pakistan) in February this year and remained in contact with him through social media and were completely radicalised by the ideology," he said.

Their leader ordered them to carry out terrorist activities in India, to which they agreed, and even showed readiness to carry out suicide bombings, Sahay said.