‘Petty crimes linked to terror ops’

“Petty offences, which are not taken seriously by security agencies, are often found interlinked to a major terror operation. Our intelligence system should be in place. Effective security systems are needed to counter terrorism,” says security expert and analyst, Ajay Sahni.

On Monday, just three days before the first anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, a seminar, ‘Preparedness for Terrorism’, at NCPA hall, Nariman Point, discussed this and other issues in a needed to counter terrorism.

Apart from Sahni, those present at the seminar included home minister RR Patil, former IPS officer KPS Gill, Mumbai police chief D Sivanandhan, state DGP AN Roy and Jammu & Kashmir DGP Ashok Bhan.

“Often we caught people getting SIM cards and ration cards using fake documents. We do not bother much to go deep into these cases, as these are bailable offences. But often, such petty offences are in someway connected to terrorism,” said Sahni.

He said that some time ago, when security agencies carried out an assessment of the earnings of a known militant sympathiser in J&K, it was found that his monthly expenditure was close to Rs1.5 lakh, when he had declared an income of Rs7,500 per month to the I-T department. “Later, it was learnt that the person was indeed in touch with terrorist organisations across the border. A watch should be kept on dubious earnings, petty crimes and the grey market,” Sahni said.

Bhan shared his experience of tackling terrorism in J&K, saying that between 1995 and 2001, Pakistan planned andcreated terror structures and set up systems to plan attacks across India. “In 1994-95, 6,000 terror violence cases took place inJ&K. Thereafter, a reduction was seen, but in 1999 again, there was an increase in violence,” Bhan.

“Post 26/11, an increased focus onJ&K is seen. Recently a DIG rank oficer and a political party leader were killed in terrorist attack in J&K. Infiltration has picked up in the current year, with as many as 250 terrorists suspected to have infiltrated already,” said Bhan.

“As home minister, I am aware of the role of the intelligence [department]. We have taken adequate steps to better our intelligence systems,” RR Patil said in English, an uncharacteristic departure from his preferred Marathi.