Intelligence Bureau says the heritage train is on the hit list of Lashkar and Indian Mujahideen
Intelligence Bureau says the heritage train is on the hit list of Lashkar and Indian Mujahideen
More worries for security agencies. Following the Varanasi terrorist attack, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) has tipped law enforcement groups about a possible terrorist threat to heritage entities in the country, including the Palace on Wheels. 
Reports suggest that even the Taj Mahal could be on terror radar. Intelligence Bureau sources said that the matter came to light from intercepts of conversations between militants of terrorist outfits like the Lashkar e-Toiba (LeT) and Indian Mujahideen (IM).u00a0
Local law enforcement agencies are not leaving anything to chance, especially after flak they have been facing following the Varanasi incident. Reports suggest that the UP government and police had received information about possible threat to Shitlaghat of Varanasi in February 2010. But no precautionary measures were taken by cops.u00a0
"We have mobilised our network towards tracking of the functioning of Indian Mujahideen which is basically working under LeT on a local level. IM is nothing but SIMI which changed its name after the government imposed a ban on it," IB sources stated.u00a0
Meanwhile, in the wake of the warning, security around these entities has been tightened. Intelligence Bureau has claimed that terrorists have recced their targets, and also mentioned that the terrorists had also surveyed Shitlaghat of Varanasi before last week's blast. "We suspect that they have clicked some pictures of the train too," the sources stated.
The terror group, Indian Mujahideen, had said in a terror e-mail sent after the blast that the explosion was an act of revenge for the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. IM has also been held responsible for the German Bakery, Jama Masjid and Varanasi blasts in 2010.
A two-year-old girl was killed and about 37 people including foreign tourists were injured in the December 7 blast near the Vishwanath temple in Varanasi.
Sources also said that the Varanasi incident has expedited the analysis of Delhi police investigators of Mehrauli and Jama Masjid blasts as the modus operandi in all these cases was the same. "They were low-intensity explosions and Delhi cops reckon that they can get some clues from the Varanasi investigations," police officers said.
Sources said that it goes both ways as UP cops might get some vital clues from Delhi police as far as initial investigations are concerned. "Even though the UP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) hasn't asked for any help yet, we are ready to assist them at any stage," Delhi police sources said.u00a0
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| The Gravy train |
| The Palace on Wheels is a luxury tourist train. It was launched by the Indian Railways to promote tourism in Rajasthan, and has been highly popular since the first day. Its journey began on January 26, India's Republic Day, in 1982. |
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