Ho Chi Minh Sarani, a street that runs in front of the American consulate continues to be out of bounds for ordinary people and traffic. Large contingents of heavily armed policemen keep sitting in sandbag-filled bunkers and keep a constant watch on a stretch that had been closed to traffic ever since the attack.

Senior police officers justify the blockades on the street saying that threat alerts are received every now and then about possible attacks on the consulate. “Since the attack on the USIS, we keep on receiving terror alerts from the Central Intelligence Bureau and the Union Home Ministry. We have received two-three terror alerts last month,” said a senior police officer.

“We will keep the stretch blocked until we do not get any order to remove the barricades,” said Javed Shamim, Joint Commissioner of Police, headquarters.