One villager claiming that two “armed men” were seen entering the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station near Surat led to a scare that saw security forces comb the entire area in and around the station which houses two nuclear power plants. And for almost half an hour created a flutter in the top security establishment in New Delhi with the Prime Minister being informed and the Home Minister, his Secretary and the National Security Adviser all burning the wires. Until late tonight, CISF and Gujarat Police personnel had not found anyone fitting the description provided by a villager prompting CISF Director General S I S Ahmed to declare that although his force was on alert, there was no “breach of security” and that no armed men had entered the station. Mahesh Vasava, the villager, told CISF personnel posted at the power station’s main gate that he saw two persons, dressed as sadhus and carrying what looked like a rifle, enter through a side-gate. Maintaining that it was not possible for anyone to get in undetected, the CISF, not taking any chances, sealed the complex and launched a search.CISF commandoes took positions around the control room and the reactors. The Surat police searched the nearby villages, including Kakrapar. The CISF and Surat police also questioned Vasava. Surat SP B K Jha said that 250 security personnel, including 150 CISF jawans, combed the area but they did not find anyone who matched the description Vasava provided.According to Ahmed, Vasava later altered his claim to say that he saw the two persons “about 1.5 km away from the power station.” Surat Range Inspector General G K Parmar, who also questioned Vasava, said, ‘’He usually goes to cut grass near the power station. He was there today with his daughter when he claimed he saw them.”Meanwhile, the CISF has barred entry of visitors to all vital installations. The Gujarat Police has also stepped up security at government-owned installations across the state.
