Govt plans I-Day bash amid war-like security

August 12: The government has stepped up security in its capital, the troubled Kashmir region and the remote northeast ahead of the August...

August 12: The government has stepped up security in its capital, the troubled Kashmir region and the remote northeast ahead of the August 15 Independence Day celebrations.

The Indian Air Force has been asked to patrol the skies in Delhi on Tuesday during the speech by the Prime Minister at the historic Red Fort, the third such vigil since India gained independence from Britain in 1947.

"Indian Air Force helicopters will maintain a strict vigil on the Red Fort area from where Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will address the nation on August 15," Delhi’s Commissioner of Police Ajai Raj Sharma said.

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Traditionally the Prime Minister addresses the nation from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in the old city to mark the day. Sources said the air force has been asked to shoot down planes flying over the National capital without permission.

"We have asked for more personnel to maintain a vigil on August 15. We have begun intensive patrolling and are keeping a close watch in crowded areas," New Delhi’s deputy commissioner of Police R.S. Krishnia said.

In Srinagar, security forces have launched intensive search operations to flush out any militants in hiding.

A massive security net has been thrown around the Bakshi stadium where the Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah will unfurl the National flag on August 15.

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"We expect more violence in the next three days across the valley," a police official, who did not wish to be identified, said.

At least 12 people including a photo-journalist were killedin a car bomb blast in Srinagar on Thursday.

The authorities have also stepped up security in the northeastern region where a dozen rebel groups, have vowed to sabotage the Independence Day celebrations.