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England rules out terror threat to Delhi Games

August 20, 2010 14:55 IST

Commonwealth Games England (CGE) has ruled out any specific terror threat to the Delhi event in October but has warned of attacks on "soft targets" in India to scare away athletes before the sporting extravaganza.

According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, CGE has written to England's 17 Commonwealth sports federations after "receiving positive feedback about the Indian security plan from the Metropolitan Police Specialist Protection Group."

But it has still asked the athletes to be on guard during their stay in Delhi.

"Whilst the current advice is that there is no specific threat to the Games, we will continue to keep channels of communication open with the relevant authorities, particularly the Delhi Organising Committee, who carry ultimate responsibility for security provision at Games-time," CGE said.

"We are also aware that there continues to be a likelihood of pre-Games attacks on 'soft' targets, such as the Pune cafe bombing in February of this year, as part of a tactic to scare team members and to stop them attending," the statement read.

The CGE has told athletes to only visit designated tourist hot-spots and not explore too much.

"You may wish to inform your team members that they should expect this tactic to continue," it said.

CGE is responsible for preparation and participation of England team in the event.

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