Checking preparedness: CISF personnel during a mock drill of terrorist attack at Rajiv Chowk metro station in New Delhi Despite claims of breakthroughs and arrests in the recent past, especially in Gujarat and Mumbai, it is apparent that the Indian security networks have failed in detecting and preventing terror attacks.
Although security agencies claim the situation would be much worse were it not for their preventive vigil and crackdowns, their comments do not inspire much public confidence.
Officials also privately admit that the entire security apparatus is geared towards protecting important people such as politicians and their families, leaving little manpower and money for ground-level security and counter-terrorism exercises.
Even if police do manage to arrest the suspects, would the attacks stop? It appears unlikely, and there is even an air of helplessness among those who are supposed to protect citizens. This was reflected in a security review chaired by federal Home Minister Shivraj Patil following the Delhi blasts.
Intelligence Bureau chief P C Haldar is reported to have said that it was difficult to track every terror module of the IM, which has enrolled people from many cities in India. Haldar is reported to have admitted that the hierarchy and structure of the IM are still hazy.
Earlier, in a more damning self-indictment, National Security Advisor (NSA) M K Narayanan, who reports to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh directly, blamed the intelligence agencies that he ironically leads, for not providing "actionable intelligence" on attacks.
The NSA reportedly told the cabinet that there was no warning about the attack on Jaipur in May. "There is no proper coordination between the state intelligence- gathering machinery and the Federal Intelligence Bureau [IB - that looks at internal security matters]. The inputs provided by the IB are imprecise."
Yet, the security agencies cannot be blamed in isolation of the political leaders, who are engaged in another round of brinkmanship, instead of giving serious thought to revamping the security apparatus.
The problem is beyond just laws. The preventive mechanism is woefully inadequate and India's lax security structure has become a fertile ground for terror groups to gain cheap global publicity via easy-to-execute attacks, without incurring much expenditures or risk of lives to their cadres.
Siddharth Srivastava
New Delhi based journalist.
India in the dark over terror attack
Intelligence failure make India vulnerable to terrorist attacks
Poor security blamed for Indian bombs
Intelligence failure to blame: Lalu
No comments:
Post a Comment