Pakistani terror groups can target Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi as he attends the popular public rally venue Ramlila Ground on Sunday, an Indian news agency has reported, citing intelligence inputs.
The intelligence agencies have informed the Special Protection Group (SPG) and the Delhi Police, IANS news agency reported on Friday.
Modi is scheduled to address a mega rally organised by his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the issue of regularising unauthorised colonies in India's capital. These communities, which number over 1,700 consist of unregistered homes where residents lack official registration as living there.
The agencies said they have fresh inputs that “terror organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) operatives have been mobilised in India to hit the prime minister at Ramlila Ground, where a huge gathering of people and presence of media persons is expected” Modi along with various state chiefs and cabinet ministers will be present at the rally.
The central agencies have directed the security establishments to fully implement “instruction contained in the Blue Book for the protection of the prime minister while making the security arrangements”.
The agencies have also said the guidelines contained in Chapter 10 of the Blue Book titled “Security Arrangements in a Democratic Polity” may be followed so as to avoid harsh and impractical measures.
The agencies said that in the given situation reprisals launched by Pakistan-based terrorists groups cannot be ruled out. It has also been stated that Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) continues to provide infrastructural and other financial/logistical assistance to terror groups.
As per the agencies: “In October 2019, a letter received by National Investigation Agency (NIA) purportedly published by Lashkar-e-Taiba, threatened to target Indian dignitaries, including the prime minister, to avenge the alleged excesses by the Indian Armed Forces in Jammu and Kashmir.”