Goa under alert as Coast Guard warns of possible terror strike from sea
07 Apr 2018
Goa government has sounded an alert to all ships and casinos operating off the state's coast after an intelligence agency warned about a possible terror attack from the sea.
Goa ports minister Jayesh Salgaonkar said the warning, issued on Friday, applies to all offshore casinos, water sports operators, and barges.Security instructions have been given to cruises and boats and all water sports operators have also been warned, he said.
Salgaonkar said the alert is not specific to Goa. "It is also for Mumbai and Gujarat coast," he added.
The intelligence input from the Indian Coast Guard warned about the possible arrival of terrorists to the western coast on board a fishing trawler.
"A fishing trawler from India which was seized by Pakistan has been released and there is intelligence input that on its way back, it may carry terrorists," the minister said.
Agency reports quoting captain of ports, James Braganza, also said the port authorities have received intelligence input from District Coast Guard that anti-national elements have boarded an apprehended Indian fishing boat in Karachi and (are) likely to land on Indian coast and attack vital installations.
The tourism department and all the water sports operators, offshore casinos and cruise vessels and barges in Goa have now been put on alert.
In a letter sent to the owners and managers of the ships and casinos, the ministry has asked them to increase the security of the vessels and report any sighting or untoward movement to concerned authorities.
Terrorists from Pakistan have used the same sea route during the 26 November 2008 Mumbai terror attack. The ten terrorists, who had come ashore at two locations in Mumbai's Colaba on inflatable speedboats, wrote havoc in the city, killing nearly 200 people in the terror strike that spanned three days.