"Better safe than sorry."
That is the slogan and approach of the Bangalore police after al Qaeda threatened to attack India recently. The police said they did not want to take chances, especially in the wake of a series of incidents, including the alleged terror link to the Glasgow airport incident.
Security has been beefed up with the screws being tightened on foreign nationals in the city. Foreign students will have to undergo a strict screening process if they want to stay in the city.
Karnataka now hosts at least 500 foreign students, who are mostly from Malaysia, Bangladesh, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Jordan and Palestine. Intelligence Bureau sleuths and the local police are monitoring the movements and activities of students. IB sources said suspects, if found, would be questioned and subsequently deported.
Such students will now have to provide the residential details and also the duration of their stay in the country to the local police. Any change in address will also have to be duly intimated to the police.
Colleges and universities will also have to furnish annual records of such students. Besides, their visa and passport details will also be cross-checked often.
A new plan has even been chalked out to safeguard the prestigious Vidhan Soudha which houses the legislative assembly and legislative council. Vidhan Soudha will no longer be thrown open to the public as it has been classified a Special Security Zone.
Bomb barricades, vehicle scanners, bullet-proof bunkers will also be installed. Work on the installation will commence as early as next week.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Lakshman Singh said all the four gates of the Vidhan Soudha will be protected under the first phase of the plan.
Bullet-proof bunkers will enable guards to open fire from the bunker. Such a facility, the police said, was not even installed on Parliament premises. Besides, security at airports and railway stations has also been upped.