Burqa-clad men with arms spotted in Uran near Mumbai; Indian Navy on high alert

Maharashtra's Uran houses an ammunition dump of the Indian Navy.

Pic courtsey: ANI

Mumbai: A high alert was sounded in Maharashtra on Thursday after school children spot four `suspicious men` in Navy fatigues in Raigad's Uran this morning.

Students alleged that they spotted the men opposite INS Abhimanyu base and heard them saying 'ONGC' and 'school'.

Notably, Uran houses an ammunition dump of the Indian Navy and also an ONGC plant.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Home, Deepak Kesarkar, told Zee Media that the men were clad in burqas. However, news agency ANI quoted Navy sources as saying that the men were dressed in Pathani suits and were talking to each other in a different language.

Kesarkar further urged people not to pay heed to rumours and panic, and keep trust on security officials.

Treading cautiously, the Navy sounded an alert across naval bases in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, and Raigad.

Following the information, the Navy has begun a search operation.

Maharashtra DGP Satish Mathur has confirmed the news and said that 'suspected' terrorists were spotted at 6:30 am today. A search operation has been initiated in the state, Mathur added.

Also, locals are requested to share any information they have in this regard with police. The number is 022-22852885.

Uran is about 50 km from Mumbai, where around 166 people were killed in 2008 when landmarks in the city were attacked by 10 terrorists who came by sea. It is close to important locations like the Jawaharlal Nehru Port and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. 

This comes amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri on Sunday in which 18 soldiers were killed.