KOLKATA, Jan 24: Security was beefed up for India’s cricket captain Sourav Ganguly on Friday after police indicated his life may be threatened by suspected Kashmiri militants.

Ganguly, who leaves for the World Cup in Africa on Tuesday, found his residence in Kolkata surrounded by security personnel and sniffer dogs.

“Commandos, riot police and a number of plainclothes policemen have been posted in and around Ganguly’s residence because of a threat from militant outfit Lashkar-i-Taiba on his life,” a police official said.

“For security reasons, we cannot disclose the source from where the threat came from, or when it came.”

Another policeman said federal intelligence officials had recently intercepted a message from the Lashkar indicating Ganguly was a target before Sunday’s Republic Day celebrations.

Witnesses said that sniffer dogs had been deployed along with security guards outside Ganguly’s residence.—AFP