Chandigarh, May 7 (PTI): Pahalgam terror attack victim Lt Vinay Narwal's father, Rajesh Narwal, on Wednesday hailed India's response and said the Modi government has sent a strong message and now the perpetrators of the April 22 attack "will think 100 times" before repeating such attacks in the future.
Retaliating against the terror attack, Indian armed forces on early Wednesday carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke.
"When this (Pahalgam) incident happened, even then you (media) came to my home and asked what I expected from the government. My answer was that I had faith in our government. And today, the government has justified that trust," Rajesh Narwal told reporters at his residence in Karnal.
"I had said that such a thing (retaliatory strikes) has to be done so that no one dares to do such a cowardly act again...the strikes carried out on the terror targets (in Pak and PoK) will resonate in their minds forever.
Responding to a question on the mission's name, Rajesh said, "This operation has been aptly named Operation Sindoor."
Earlier, when Vinay Narwal's mother, Asha, was asked to comment about India's response to the Pahalgam incident, she told reporters, "It is a very good thing that (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi has avenged the (Pahalgam) attack. I am with them (the government), people are with them, and our entire family is with them".
"I want to tell our Army to give a befitting reply so that such incidents (like Pahalgam) do not occur again," she said and added that those who got martyred have got justice.
Married about three weeks ago, Narwal (26), accompanied by his wife Himanshi, was on a honeymoon in south Kashmir's Pahalgam town when terrorists shot him at point blank, an incident in which 25 others, mostly tourists, were also killed.
Karnal, Haryana: Father of Navy officer Vinay Narwal's Rajesh Narwal on #OperationSindoor says, "When this incident happened, even at that time you came home and asked me what I expected from the government. And my clear answer was that I have complete trust in the Indian… pic.twitter.com/eYPVFP6YIK
— IANS (@ians_india) May 7, 2025
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Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
