Goa vigil up after terror alert

Vigil in Goa has been beefed up following a Mumbai-specific alert about Indian Mujahideen terror group planning to target places of Jewish worship, police said Wednesday.

"The alert is Mumbai-specific and related to synagogues and other places of Jewish worship in Mumbai, but there is a general west coast alert too," a police official said.

"We have increased police patrolling, especially at night. Anyone without identity cards loitering at night is being taken to the nearest police station for questioning," the official said.

The alert from central intelligence agencies comes in the wake of revelations made by co-founder of terror group Yasin Bhatkal to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley had reconnoitered the two chabad houses (Jewish prayer houses) in Goa, namely in Anjuna and Arambol, both coastal villages, according to reports.

Incidentally, the house which was rented by Bhatkal during his stay in Goa was also a short distance away from the chabad house in Anjuna.

Out of the 4.5 lakh foreign tourists who visit Goa, the state attracts several thousand Israeli tourists annually during the season, which begins from October and winds up in March.