Cops take guard at DY Patil for IPL

SECURITY TIGHTENED: Sniffer dogs and personnel from the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad will be deployed at D Y Patil stadium

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: Soon after the Indian Premier League (IPL) authorities announced its decision to shift both the semi-finals from Bangalore to Navi Mumbai, the Mahrashtra police swung into action for the grand bandobast at D Y Patil stadium. IPL officials took this decision following Saturday’s twin blasts at the Bangalore stadium.

Declining to comment why D Y Patil was chosen over Brabourne Stadium, DCP (Navi Mumbai crime branch) D T Shinde said, “We are taking all precautionary measures and making arrangements for water-tight security at the stadium.’’ Shinde is also in charge of stadium security for IPL matches. The police and personnel in the security establishment have been keeping a watch on suspects and criminals. On Sunday, sleuths from intelligence agencies visited the stadium and reviewed the security arrangement in place. A source said all the gates would be equipped with metal detectors and explosive-detecting devices.

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi said in a statement that even though the IPL security agency did detect the two low-intensity blasts at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore in which 15 people were injured, the authorities had no other option but to shift the matches to the Navi Mumbai stadium, which would also host the final on April 25. Senior police officials in Mumbai said they had not been asked to provide extra manpower to their counterparts in Navi Mumbai till late on Sunday.

Senior police officials promised a safe match. “Sniffer dogs and personnel from the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad will be deployed at the D Y Patil stadium,’’ said an official, adding that additional forces from the State Reserve Police could also be called in. In Bangalore, apart from the twins blasts, for which the match could not begin for another 45 minutes, another bomb was found outside the stadium and was defused. An unexploded device and some explosives were also found near the stadium on Sunday.

The Navi Mumbai stadium will host the semifinals on April 21 and 22, the third-place play-off match on April 24 and the final on April 25.

The Times of India, April 17, 2010