Mumbai police on high alert after Delhi shooting

MUMBAI - Mumbai police Sunday went on high alert in the wake of the shooting near New Delhi’s Jama Masjid as well as the ongoing 11-day Ganeshotsava festival in the city, officials said.

Besides increasing vigilance and security checks at all the Ganesh mandals across the city, police have also turned their attention to the 200-plus mosques and mausoleums, including Haji Ali dargah and Mahim dargah, and others dotting the metropolis.

While the Ganesh ‘visarjan’ is scheduled to take place all over the city and elsewhere in the state Sep 22, the Ayodhya judgement is expected Sep 24 - both of which have necessitated the heightened security measures in Mumbai.

The curtains will come down Wednesday on the state’s biggest public festival Ganeshotsav when around 150,000 big and small idols of the elephant-headed god will be taken for immersion at all the beaches, creeks, rivers, lakes, ponds and other artificial water bodies created for the purpose around the city. Around six million people are expected to participate.