HYDERABAD, Dec 16: Hyderabad region has been placed under a security blanket by the police authorities with a special focus on the areas of Hyderabad, Kotri and Mirpurkhas.

Hyderabad police are using a rented system for jamming remotely controlled devices the first time for Muharram security this year.

Roughly, over 8,000 policemen in addition to Rangers personnel deployed would perform security duty on Ashura day on Friday. The authorities have started tightening its security cordon in the areas which are the traditional venues of Zuljinah, mourning and Tazia processions in Hyderabad and other areas.

On Thursday afternoon, Rangers and police conducted searches in hotels located in the vicinity of Station Road where Qadam Gah Maula Ali is located. All mourning processions emanate from there in the morning to finally culminate in Karbala Dadan Shah after covering a distance of about two kilo meters.

The search followed apparently by a demand by the office-bearers of Markazi Tanzeem-e-Aza (MTA) that the mourning processions from Latifabad, Hussainabad and other areas should pass through this area to reach Qadam Gah.

MTA president Syed Aftab Hussain Jafri said he also accompanied a team of police officers which visited the Shah Makki road and bridge for removal of old vehicles and rollers as well as garbage that could be used for subversive activities. He appeared satisfied with this latest sweeping exercise by law enforcers.

“We know that we are always easy target of some forces in the country. But we are concerned simultaneously about those people who don't belong to our sect but they have to meet their religious rituals during Muharram. So these people shouldn't fall prey to any such activity,” he said. He added that some rollers and vehicles had been removed while police had warned the people concerned to remove the remaining by the night.

DPO Munir Sheikh confirmed that a search was conducted and all concerns of the president of the federation of various Anjumans were being addressed. “We were already in alert position but since some more points are brought to our notice, we are going to sweep all those as well.

We will be visiting the area at midnight to see if still anything needs attention. We will do it accordingly,” the DPO added.

DCO Aftab Khatri said: “We are removing all those things that are considered objectionable from security point of view.” He said that administration officials had been directed to clean all areas by midnight.

The route of the main procession Station Road and its connected links are being closed with barbed wires and other obstructions. The area is quite congested and connects different localities. Policemen have been deployed on rooftops, especially in the area of Qadam Gah, where security around it found to be reasonable.

Volunteers of Anjuman-e-Hyder were also searching mourners turning up there to listen to a speaker who has come from Kuwait, Maulana Shahid Abbas Sindhu. The morning Majlis would be addressed at 8am by Zamir Sheikh. Different camps are established for provision of first aid to mourners. Raza Irani of Anjuman-e-Hyder which holds permit of 10th Muharram procession was also satisfied with security measures.

According to an office-bearer of a body, Syed Fazil Hasnain Jafri, the movement of siren-blaring ambulance, that normally takes critically injured mourner to the Civil Hospital of Hyderabad while passing through the mid of the route, should be directed to alternate routes. “They create disturbance in 'azadari'. So it will be fine if an alternate route form outer limits is adopted for the transportation of injured mourners,” he said.

Since Thursday evening, Rangers personnel started searching motorcyclists near St. Mary School. Shops in Tilak Incline, Saddar, Station Road remained closed. The business in Khokhar Mohallah area were also closed because it is another main venue of Majlis.

In Hyderabad police are using a jamming system that is effective as far as remote devices of TV and cars are concerned. “We used it by parking a car at Sultan Hotel and operated it from Qadam Gah. It really worked,” said a police officer. He, however, said it was not effective for jamming mobile system.

The official said that six such systems were obtained on rental basis from Karachi at a cost of few thousands rupees per day. Three of them would be used in the main procession between Qadam Gah and Karbala Dadan Shah route by policemen and the remaining three elsewhere wherever considered essential.

DIG of Hyderabad Tahir Naveed said that if the system gave better output, police would buy it. “Police have made an effort and that should be appreciated in the given resources,” he said. He commended coordination between the civil administration, office-bearers of Anjuman and police. “Our main concern is to curb terrorism at all costs,” he said.

Regional Police Officer (RPO) Syed Mushtaq Shah said that around 8,000 policemen would be deployed in the entire region which covers two defunct divisions of Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas. “Our priority areas are Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Kotri,” he said, adding that Rangers were part of the entire security operation.