The Ram Pradhan committee report on the 26/11 attacks states that the State Intelligence Department (SID) chief never received terror alerts from central agencies.
But the office of the director general of police (DGP) got inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
Quoting the then state intelligence chief D Sivanandhan, at present Mumbai’s commissioner of police (CP), the report says: “Another glaring systemic loophole was observed in the way intelligence from central agencies is processed at the state level in the DGP’s establishment.”
Sivanandhan told the committee that though he was the nodal authority on intelligence in the state, central intelligence alerts come first to the DGP and/or CP. The SID chief comes to know of an alert only if the DGP marks a copy to him or her. Copies of even the proceedings of the Multi-Agency Centre (MAC) are not marked to the SID chief.
There were 17 central alerts since August 7, 2006, about the possibility of seaborne and simultaneous attacks and three alerts about the possibility of fidayeen, or
suicide, attacks.
The committee noted that after 26/11, copies of intelligence alerts are being marked to the SID chief as a matter of practice.
The committee also found that security intelligence, especially on terrorism, in Mumbai is handled by several police officials: the Anti-Terrorism Squad chief, additional commissioner (special branch) and additional commissioner (protection).
“How to bring about co-ordination and cohesion in their working ought to be carefully examined by the CP with the involvement of concerned officials,” the report says. “We strongly advise that systems once placed should not be tampered with by successors, as that seems to be one of the reasons why in the case of an emergency the instruments cannot be used. Revisions are necessary but these should be done after careful study and involvement of all concerned and not on the whims of individuals.”
With agency inputs
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