The police have gone on a high alert in Hyderabad and other major centers in Andhra Pradesh after a local news channel received a mail purportedly sent by Al-Qaeda threatening to bomb several places and also target Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. However, the mail spelled Al-Qaeda “Al-Khaida Zihad,” arousing suspicion that it could be a hoax. But the sender warned the police against treating the threat lightly. The sender said that the Al-Qaeda had chosen to send the mail to the channel because it is popular in Andhra Pradesh. The mail, which created a flutter in the state police, also claimed that Al-Qaeda has supporters in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Karimnagar, Kadapah and many other places. Soon after the news of the terror mail spread, policemen spread around the city and started searching vehicles and frisking road users. The security was also tightened at the Parade Ground, the venue of the official celebrations of Independence Day, mosques, temples, cinema theaters, shopping complexes, railway stations, bus stands and other public places. Bomb squads and sniffer dogs have also been called in. The Hyderabad city police commissioner B. Prasad Rao told a hurriedly convened press conference that the police was put on high alert and additional force was deployed at all the sensitive places. “We have already distributed a CD containing the instructions and guidance to the people on how to deal with a situation of threat. We have asked them to immediately alert the police if they come across any suspicious person or unclaimed baggage or vehicles,” he said. __
