IND vs NZ: Mumbai Police receive threat message showing 'gun, hand grenades' ahead of semi-final clash; security heightened

Ahead of the much-anticipated clash between India and New Zealand today, Mumbai Police received a threat message on X (formerly Twitter) that a nefarious incident would be executed at the venue during the match. Following this, vigilance has been increased in the area and around the Wankhede stadium.

Mumbai Police said, "An unidentified person posted a threat message to Mumbai Police on X (formerly Twitter) that a nefarious incident would be executed during the India vs New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium today. Strict vigilance is being done in the area around the stadium and nearby areas. The person had tagged Mumbai Police on his post and shown gun, hand grenades and bullets in a photo."

The match between India and New Zealand is scheduled to begin at 2 pm and the winning team will play the ICC World Cup 2023 final at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.

India have been the most dominant team in this World Cup having won all their nine league matches to finish at the top of the points table.

Earlier, the Mumbai police, while investigating a case of black marketing of tickets of the upcoming India-New Zealand World Cup cricket match, arrested a man after recovering two complimentary tickets worth Rs 1.2 lakh each.

The police had previously nabbed an event organiser, Akash Kothari, for allegedly black-marketing tickets of the World Cup semi-final match.

Kothari was selling tickets at four to five times the original cost, police earlier said, as per PTI.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Police has also issued a traffic advisory in anticipation of large crowd at the venue today. The traffic advisory has been shared by Mumbai Traffic Police on X (formerly Twitter).

"Traffic Arrangements for citizens & spectators visiting Wankhede Stadium for #IndvsNZ Semifinal: Effective on 15/11/23, from 11am to Midnight (12:00 am). Let’s navigate through the World Cup 2023 smoothly!," it said.

It may be noted that India and New Zealand had also met in the semi-finals of World Cup 2023. At that time, New Zealand had emerged victorious by a margin of 18 runs.