Amid apprehensions about Wankhede stadium becoming a possible terror target during the cricket World Cup, a laptop containing vital information about the renovated stadium and the Bandra-Worli Sea Link has been stolen, setting off alarm bells in the police establishment.
A theft case was registered by the Azad Maidan police station on Monday morning after a window on the seventh floor of PWD's building in south Mumbai was found broken and the laptop missing, said B L Bhavle, senior inspector at the police station.
Recent media reports attributed to intelligence agencies have said that Wankhede stadium, which is scheduled to host three World Cup matches including the final, could become the target of a terror attack during the event, while the landmark Bandra-Worli Sea Link has been on the radar of terror groups for quite some time.
Wankhede's World Cup fixtures include New Zealand's matches against Canada and Sri Lanka on March 13 and 18, besides the final on April 2. Deputy Police Commissioner Cherring Dorje said that the data stored in the laptop included information about the two Mumbai landmarks.
"Yes, there are (the data about the stadium and the sea link), but the officials do have hard disks in which all the details are safe. No data has been lost," he said.
"It is a serious matter," said another police officer on condition of anonymity, adding, "We are not looking at the issue like any other theft case."
According to sources, the laptop also contains details about the city's prisons and various redevelopment projects taken up by the government in the past five years.
Inspector Bhavle said the engineer, who handled the laptop, had been questioned and his statement recorded.
