Southern states on high alert after Army warns of terrorist attack

"Security has also been stepped up at vital installations in the state by deploying the AP Special Protection Force," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Ravi Shankar Ayyanar told PTI. "Our control room is in constant touch 24x7 with all the coastal police stations, as well as the SPF personnel at vital installations and closely monitoring the situation," he added. In particular, security has also been beefed up at Tirumala, the abode of God Venkateswara and the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. In Tamil Nadu, a senior police official said the state has been on high alert since last month following intelligence inputs indicating intrusion of suspected terrorists.

Vilgil was heightened across the state and in particular in cities like Coimbatore, he said, adding that coastal areas were brought under a security blanket. Security was beefed up at vital installations and in view of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, there was no let up in security preparedness, he said adding that the police department continued to be on alert mode. A senior police official in Telangana said adequate precautionary and security measures have been put in place in the state, though the state had not received any specific inputs so far on the possible attacks. "As far as the inputs are concerned, we don't have a specific input so far. In general, we are keeping an alert in the state," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Jitender told PTI. "We are keeping an general alert. For the ongoing Ganesh Chaturthi festival and Muharram also, we are taking all precautions", he said.

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