3,000 cops deployed at Ajmer shrine

Jaipur, April 7 (IANS) For Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's visit Sunday to the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, the Rajasthan government has deputed six superintendent of police from the Indian Police Service to oversee the deployment of over 3,000 policemen, sources said.

Sources in the home department said that an additional director general of police will supervise the security arrangements.

'Superintendents of police from six districts including Nagaur, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Sikar and Pratapgarh will be deputed at the shrine during Zardari's visit,' said a home department officer in Jaipur.

The officer said that the shrine premises will be covered with a tent and only khadims (priests) will be allowed inside the shrine during Zardari's visit.

The hotels and guests houses situated close to the shrine would be scanned for suspicious activities, he said.

The Pakistan president's helicopter is to land in Ajmer at 4.10 p.m., an official said.

'The 12-km stretch between the helipad and the shrine will be dotted with security personnel. To ensure better security, shops in entire Ajmer will remain shut from 12 noon till 5 p.m.,' Ajmer Superintendent of Police Rajesh Meena told IANS.

Zardari, who will be the third Pakistani president to visit the tomb of the mystic Sufi saint, will leave the shrine at 5.30 p.m.

Zardari is likely to be accompanied by an over 40-member delegation that will include his son Bilawal, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, senior aides and more than a dozen journalists.

The 12th century shrine has attracted pilgrims from the US, Africa, Europe, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar and Afghanistan besides India.

The remains of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti lie buried at the shrine.