UP on high alert after intel input on militant presence

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh has been put on high alert following intelligence inputs that seven terrorists have entered the state through the Nepal border.

The inputs have come days ahead of the much-awaited Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya title suit.

“Pakistani terror groups are targeting Uttar Pradesh and this input has put us on high alert. The 14 Kosi Parikrama has begun in Ayodhya on Tuesday morning and will conclude on Wednesday morning. The event attracts lakhs of devotees from all over the country,” said a senior police official.

According to the intelligence input, the seven-member group that has entered the state is linked to terror groups operating from Pakistan. As per the inputs, the terrorists could be hiding in Ayodhya, Faizabad, and Gorakhpur, the official said.

Five of the seven terrorists have reportedly been identified as Mohammed Yakub, Abu Hamza, Mohammed Shahbaz, Nisar Ahmed, and Mohammed Qaumi Chaudhary.

Sources, however, said that the group is likely to enter Ayodhya as Hindu men, which will make it easy for them to mingle with the devotees.