The Indian government has warned authorities in western Maharashtra state to step up security against a possible hijack attempt on a civilian aircraft, a government minister said Thursday. State home minister Jayant Patil said he received the federal "advisory" Wednesday, asking security agencies to tighten security at airports in state capital Mumbai.
The "advisory received by Maharashtra government directs authorities to keep a watch on private aircraft at Mumbai airport," the Press Trust of India quoted Patil as saying. Federal home ministry officials confirmed that an alert had been sent to Mumbai, the site of the massacre of 165 people last November by 10 gunmen. The national government also put federal troops guarding civilian airports across Maharashtra on high alert, the official who did not wish to be named, told AFP in New Delhi.