If you are wondering why a massive, multi-agency search mounted last week by the Navy, Coast Guard, NSG and Maharashtra ATS for "a group of suspicious men dressed in black and heard mentioning 'school' and 'ONGC'" near the Uran Naval base in Navi Mumbai, failed to yield anything, it is because their "spotting" was figment of a 12-year-old's fertile imagination. The schoolgirl had first reported the "presence of 4-5 Pathani suit-clad men speaking in a different language and carrying what looked like weapons" in Uran, sending the security establishment into a tizzy just four days after the Uri attack left 18 Army personnel dead.

Intelligence sources explained that though it was the 12-year-old girl who first claimed to have seen the "suspicious looking men", her account got credence after some other students of her school also reported spotting them.

"Though such faux alerts remain a concern, we cannot afford to ignore any of them as, if proved correct, they are a valuable tool in preventing terror attacks. But frequent false alarms contribute to force fatigue. Citizens must also realise that false alerts cost resources and money," said an officer.