Srinagar, Nov 5: A day ahead of the arrival of US President Barack Obama in India, security has been beefed up in Jammu and Kashmir to prevent any militant attacks during his stay, officials said today.
Forces have been asked to remain on alert in the Valley and other militancy-hit areas of the state during the visit of the US President, they said. The Unified Headquarters, the top security apparatus in Jammu and Kashmir, headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and comprising of top army, police, CRPF, intelligence and civil administration officials, have met twice to review the security arrangements since the date for Obama’s India visit was announced late last month.
 The Core Group of security forces had also held a meeting recently and finalised the strategy of keeping the militants at bay.
 Patrolling by joint team of various security forces has been intensified in the areas inhabited by minorities in the Valley and Hindus in the Muslim-dominated areas of Jammu division, they said.
 They said the vigil has also been intensified around major security installations including army camps, paramilitary camps and police establishments to thwart any publicity stunts by the militants.
 Random search operations have been carried out at many places in the Srinagar city and its outskirts as a counter-offensive to the attempts by militants to sneak in, they added.
 They said although there are no intelligence inputs to suggest that the militants are planning any attacks, the security agencies do not want to be caught off-guard during the US President’s visit.
 The Chief Minister has said the state government would take all necessary steps to ensure that no untoward incident takes place during the visit but also cautioned that the apprehensions might be hyped beyond necessity.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 5 Nov 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 5 Nov 2010 18:30:00 GMT
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