Chandigarh: Haryana will set up an Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) comprising DIG- and SP-rank officials, Home Minister Anil Vij said Wednesday, just days after a rocket-propelled grenade was fired targeting a police building at Mohali in neighbouring Punjab.
Metal detectors will be installed at all crowded places and busy markets in the state as part of enhanced security measures, he said, and also asked senior states officials to ensure all important buildings in the state are covered by CCTV cameras.
There is a need to increase security in Haryana in view of the explosion at the intelligence wing headquarters in Mohali, and the recent arrest of four suspected Pakistan-linked terrorists who were nabbed with explosives in Haryana’s Karnal, Vij said, according to a statement.
He said he has directed his police officials to further strengthen the security measures in the state in the wake of the Karnal and Mohali incidents.
“From the security point of view, Anti-Terror Squad will be formed, in which DIG and SP rank officers will be included,” he said, while presiding over a meeting on security-related matters with officials of the Home and Police Department here.
Additional Chief Secretary of Home Department Rajeev Arora and Director General of Police P K Agrawal were among others present in the meeting.
In an audacious attack on Monday, a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the third floor of the highly-guarded building in Mohali’s Sector 77 at 7.45 pm, which sent the state in a high alert mode. Nobody was injured in the attack.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Vij said the Haryana government is ready to offer any help to Punjab in this matter. “Our senior officers will be meeting their Punjab counterparts soon.
He said a constant watch is being kept on the activities of terrorists and anti-social elements.
In Karnal, four terror suspects arrested on Friday — all residents of Punjab — near the Bastara toll plaza after the Haryana Police intercepted them.
He directed the police to keep an eye on those trying to spread anti-national messages by posting objectionable videos on social media.
In the meeting, held in the wake of Karnal and Mohali incidents, Vij said that the entire discussion was related to security matters.
—PTI

Press Trust of India