Terror threat to World Badminton C’ship

Hyderabad: A terror alert has been sounded for the World Badminton Championship site at GMC Balayogi Stadium here from August 10 to 16, with the shadow of the dreaded Lashkar-e-Taiba looming over the tournament. Sleuths of the Intelligence Bureau visited the stadium as well as the badminton academy being run by player-turned-coach Pullela Gopichand at Gachchibowli on Saturday to take stock of the situation and alert the organisers over the possible threat from the LeT, highly-placed police sources told reporters. The Badminton Association of India confirmed the visit by Intelligence Bureau sleuths though the Cyberabad police, under whose jurisdiction the event is being held, remained tight-lipped.“Yes, the IB people have visited the stadium and the Academy and issued a general alert,” BAI joint secretary K Ch Punnaiah Choudary said. Cyberabad Police Commissioner S Prabhakar Reddy, when contacted, refuse to comment on the issue. State police spokesman and Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) A K Khan too was evasive saying the issue was being looked after by the Cyberabad police. Bureau Report