Fourteen Sainiks held 48 hrs before Pak team lands

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 19: The Delhi Police yesterday arrested seven Shiv Sainiks from IGI Airport; today they picked up another seven, who w...

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 19: The Delhi Police yesterday arrested seven Shiv Sainiks from IGI Airport; today they picked up another seven, who were throwing soda bottles and raising slogans outside the Pakistani High Commission. With just 48 hours to go before the Pakistani cricket team reaches Delhi en route to Gwalior, the Delhi Police today promised they would do everything to prevent any disruptions.

Around 2.45 p.m. today, 10 Shiv Sainiks raised pro-Shiv Sena and anti-Pakistan slogans outside the Pakistani High Commission in Chanakyapuri. Some of them threw soda bottles into the mission compound, even as securitymen rushed towards them.

The group dispersed within five minutes. While some boarded a city bus passing by, others hitch-hiked. The policemen, however, managed to stop the bus and arrest seven Shiv Sainiks. Security in and around the high commission has been beefed up.

Meanwhile, Pakistan High Commissioner to India Ashraf Jehangir Qazi told agencies that Islamabad8217;s main concern was the security of its players during the tour. 8220;I am in touch with the authorities concerned in Delhi,8221; he said.

Last night, the airport police arrested seven Shiv Sainiks because of an alert taxi driver. Five of the Shiv Sainiks are reportedly employees of Cambatta Aviation, a private agency which supplies ground staff to several airlines.

Airport police officials said the group had hired a taxi from the airport last night. Even as the driver started the vehicle, he overheard them discussing a plan to confront the Pakistani cricket team when they reach Delhi on Thursday. The driver also figured out they were Shiv Sena members.8220;An ardent cricket fan, he the taxi driver admonished them. This led to a heated argument between the two,8221; says an official. A police patrol van, passing by, intervened. And when the taxi driver recounted what he had heard, the policemen arrested the seven Shiv Sainiks.

Both the incidents have prompted the Delhi Police to chalk out a strategy to identify Shiv Sainiks among spectators for the test match. Police Commissioner V.N. Singh said today that the security arrangements for the Pakistani tour will cover every movement of the team from the moment they touch down at IGI Airport till they leave for Gwalior next day.

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Separate arrangements have been made for the test match at Ferozeshah Kotla, now rescheduled to February 4, said Singh. Singh said he has requested the Delhi and District Cricket Association DDCA to give names of individuals buying more than 10 tickets. These people will be asked to prove their identity before they enter the ground. Singh said: 8220;No food items, bottles, sticks or any other material which could be used as missiles will be allowed inside the stadiumquot;.