India vs England fourth Test under terrorist threat? Why has security been increased in Ranchi

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India vs England fourth Test is under threat of a terrorist attack and the security has been beefed up in the Jharkhand capital of Ranchi where both the teams arrived for the match which starts from Friday, February 23.

US-based designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has threatened to disrupt the Ranchi Test match, and has also appealed to the banned CPI (Maoist) to disrupt the match through a video uploaded on social media.

An FIR has been lodged against Pannun, who has been designated as a terrorist by the Home Ministry. The fourth Test will be played at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi. The visiting England team reached the city on Tuesday.

Terrorist attack threats in IND vs ENG Ranchi Test?

"Gurupatwant Singh Pannun has threatened the India and England teams to cancel the match in Ranchi. He also urged the CPI (Maoist) to create disturbance in a bid to cancel the match.

“An FIR has been lodged against him at Dhurwa police station under the IT Act and investigation has been initiated," Deputy Superintendent of Police, Hatia, P.K. Mishra told reporters on Tuesday.

Pannun has been on the National Investigation Agency’s radar since 2019, when the anti-terror federal agency registered its first case against the "designated individual terrorist", who has been spreading fear and terror in Punjab and elsewhere in the country through threats and intimidation tactics.

Non-bailable warrants of arrest were issued against Pannun by the Special NIA Court on February 3, 2021, and he was declared a "Proclaimed Offender" on November 29 last year.

Tightening its noose around the US and Canada-based Pannun, the NIA had in September 2023 confiscated a house and land of the self-styled general counsel of the outlawed Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) outfit in Punjab's Amritsar and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

(With Input from PTI)