After 11/7 and reports that the Centre had “specifically” warned the state about impending terror strikes, the question on everyone’s lip is: Why did the state government not act?
Experts are divided on why the government failed to prevent the serial blasts.
MUMBAI: After 11/7 and reports that the Centre had “specifically” warned the state about impending terror strikes, the question on everyone’s lip is: Why did the state government not act?
The Union home ministry had passed on intelligence about the Lashkar-e-Tayiba’s plan to attack Mumbai’s public transport system to the state’s chief secretary and director-general of police, and the commissioners of police of Mumbai and the Government Railway Police.
Two streams of opinion have diverged from this point. One — the more conspicuous — suggests that the state’s security machinery was caught unawares because of complacency. The other suggests that the state could not have done much to apprehend the events as such alarms from the Centre arise with routine frequency: hence, the state develops a blind spot to alarms that may be genuine.
Votaries of the first opinion include former IPS officers YP Singh and AA Khan, who was also the first chief of the Anti-Terrorist Squad.
“They are detaining and questioning people and frisking and checking passengers now,” said Singh. “The ground-level police staff is on intense alert as is the entire intelligence mechanism. But all these steps should have been taken before the blasts.”
“Considering that we had prior information, we could have increased frisking in the city by means of nakabandis,” added Khan. “They should also have put checks at railway stations, which could have deterred the terrorists.”
Another top officer, who did not want to be named, raised questions on the “failure” of Suresh Khopde, commissioner of police, GRP, to stop the blasts. “Why is nobody questioning his role?” he said. “What did he do with the alerts?”
But former police commissioners RD Tyagi and MN Singh take a more nuanced view. “Such intelligence inputs are a routine affair,” Tyagi said. “It may have helped had we had more specific information. Even then, there is too much political interference and too little infrastructure and finances with the police to act.”
“After numerous seizures of arms and RDX across Maharashtra, a specific trend had emerged,” said MN Singh. “Yet, it would be unfair to say the police were complacent. Just that the terrorists outsmarted us.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=spacer}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}