Mumbai :It was business as usual for the United States consulate and the American Center here on Nov. 24, a day after it was closed following a terror threat.

U.S. consulate officials said there were additional security checks and frisking, but they expected the normal flow of visitors.

In response to information provided by the Americans, police were on the hunt for an Afghan national with links to terrorist groups who could be planning to set off a car bomb in the premises of the U.S. consulate.

Senior U.S. officials met Mumbai Police chief A.N. Roy on Nov. 22 and briefed him about the threat.

While Maharashtra’s Deputy Home Minister R.R. Patil sought to reassure the Americans over the issue, city police sources said they were not taking chances.

Surveillance had been tightened against radical Muslim groups in the city and guests at hotels and lodges were scrutinized, police officials said. Additional security has been posted at the American Center and the U.S. consulate to provide maximum protection.

Apart from armed security personnel posted behind sandbags, visitors are frisked and subjected to metal detectors.

While the U.S. consulate is located at Breach Candy in south Mumbai, the American Center is at New Marine Lines just outside the busy Churchgate railway station.

U.S. authorities are planning to shift the consulate to another location since its present address in a residential colony makes it vulnerable to attack.

“Based on information received by the U.S. government, terrorists may be planning attacks on U.S. interests in India in the near future, the U.S. consulate said in a statement on Nov. 23.

Although not specific, the information suggests that an attack could be aimed at U.S. interests in the cities of New Delhi or Mumbai,” the statement added.