School girl who saw terrorists in Uran admits she was lying
Sketches of suspected terrorists
A week after the alleged sighting of terrorists in Uran, causing the Navy and other security agencies to call in reinforcements and conduct city-wide search operations, the school kid who had set off the chain of events confessed that the whole incident was nothing more than a figment of her imagination.
The UES school student told authorities that she had spotted 4-5 pathani-clad men whose faces were covered and who were ‘speaking a different language’ near the ammunition storage facility of the naval base in Uran.
The girl also stated that the suspects, who were carrying something that ‘looked like weapons’, said the words ‘ONGC’ and ‘School’ during conversation.
Since the sighting was reported merely four days after the Uri attack, the Western Naval Command (WNC) issued a high alert along the Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Raigad coasts and roped in local police and Coast Guard for the search task.
Navy, Coast Guard, NSG and Maharashtra ATS had launched a massive operation to track the suspects, but came up empty.
Reportedly, in a second round of questioning merely two days after Uran was put on high alert and the search operations failed to yield any results, the girl confessed that she had seen pictures of Islamic State terrorists on which she based her story.
The girl also admitted that she spread the word about terrorists in Uran for ‘some thrill’.
While agencies were exasperated after her confession, the minor was counselled about the adverse effects of such pranks and allowed to leave with a warning.
According to sources, the first responders bought in to her fairy tale after other school students also admitted to spotting such men in the area.
While the Navy had called off the search operation a day later, local authorities, unwilling to take any chances, had been conducting search operations till Sunday. However, they were unable to find any men matching the sketches of the ‘suspected terrorists’.
