Lucknow, May 15 : Uttar Pradesh Police have upped security in the state after a SMS threat was received to blow up Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a State run premier aeronautics company. The threat was sent to the police in Lucknow.

"We received SMS threatening to cause harm to HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) and we are not paying much importance to it since such kinds of messages keep on coming. But, now that we have received this message, we are taking proper steps to investigate the matter,” said Brijlal, Additional Director General (ADG) Police, Lucknow.

“It is true that when we receive such a message, we take proper steps to ensure the safety of the people, but we don't think that any terror outfit would send such a message to us,”he added.

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government has sounded a security alert following which police personnel were seen patrolling the most revered Hindu shrines and places of pilgrimage.

"We have alerted all the regions and districts and have also beefed up security at all important religious institutions and other places as well," said Ashok Kumar, Inspector General (IG), Garhwal Range.

Security was beefed up in holy city of Haridwar and shrine of Badrinath situated deep in the Himalayas.

In the past few years, a number of places of worship in the country have been targeted by the terrorists.