NAGPUR: The Nagpur police have stepped up security at and around the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh headquarters in Nagpur after operatives of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), allegedly conducted a recce of sensitive establishments, Nagpur police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said on Friday. The city police have also banned flying drones near the RSS headquarters, the ideological fount of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and taking photographs.

Kumar, who visited the RSS headquarters with senior police personnel this afternoon to take stock of the security arrangements, declined to elaborate on the status of the police probe in this case.

The Nagpur police commissioner said security has been increased at the RSS headquarters and Hedgewar Bhavan at Reshimbagh after reports that a Jaish operative conducted a recce of these places. He said that the RSS headquarters (in Mahal in the eastern part of the city) and Smruti Bhawan in Reshimbagh (in the south-eastern part of Nagpur) are being constantly provided with full-fledged round-the-clock security in and around the area. All vehicles and persons around these installations are thoroughly checked.

“Yes, these terrorists had come from Srinagar to Nagpur a month ago and stayed in the city for a few days,” said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity. A case has been registered in this regard and the Nagpur Crime Branch has formed a team to locate the terrorists.

The information about the terror plan emerged during the interrogation of a man arrested recently in Jammu and Kashmir, the senior police officer cited above said. It turned out that Jaish operatives visited Nagpur in July 2021 and stayed in Nagpur for two days.

Inputs received by security agencies also point to the terrorist plans to attack or trigger explosions to target crowded places, markets, as well as the premises of high-profile politicians and security forces during Republic Day and assembly elections.

The RSS headquarters has been on the radar of terrorists for years. According to the police, three heavily terrorists armed with AK-47 and hand grenades were killed by security forces in Nagpur just before they were about to attack the RSS headquarters in June 2006.

Kumar said the city police has banned photography and the use of drones around the RSS headquarters at Mahal and the Dr Hedgewar Smruti Bhavan, Reshimbagh in view of the threat. Any drone found within a 2-km radius will either be destroyed or seized by the police. The use of drones in a “no-drone” zone could also invite legal action, he added.