Alarmed by a confidential report from ATS indicating that airports in the city are on the radar of terrorists, the Maharashtra State Home Department has sought help from the Centre.
MUMBAI: Alarmed by a confidential report from the state’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) indicating that airports in the city are on the radar of terrorists, the Maharashtra State Home Department has sought help from the Centre.
The report says the recent spate of attacks on temples, mosques, railway stations across the country have increased the likelihood of an imminent strike at the airports. It has also listed the measures that should be undertaken to counter such strikes.
In its assessment sent to the state Director General of Police (DGP), PS Pasricha, the ATS has talked about specific areas within the airport where it believes
security should be tightened.
These include the area between the parking lot and the entry gate of the terminal and the path from the entry gate to the x-ray machines. The waiting lounge inside the departure section is also listed as a soft target. The DGP, who sent the report to the IB, was tight-lipped on its content. “We keep sending confidential reports to the Intelligence Bureau. This is one of them. I don’t want to reveal anything on any specific report,” Pasricha said.
Denying knowledge of any such report, MIAL managing director, GV Sanjay Reddy said: “The CISF is in charge of security at the airport, we are not directly responsible for it.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) also oversees security at the airport."
A source in the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security in Delhi confirmed the report has been received and that steps are being taken to enhance security at the airports.
Acting on the report, the Centre has directed the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) (which is primarily responsible for security within the airport) to now include peripheral areas of all airports across the country within its ambit, a source in the Home Ministry said.
Till now, the city police had been tasked with keeping vigil on these areas. The surveillance plan has provisions for additional dog squads and training more personnel.
The report has listed various loopholes detected in security systems:
- After entering the airport with his luggage, a person can come out on the pretext that he has forgotten his passport in the car.
- Once the baggage is left behind in the airport, explosives can be triggered off by a remote from outside.
- Terror outfits can even send a suicide bomber to trigger a blast.
The report gave various suggestions to counter the threat:
- Security agencies must make it mandatory for airline authorities to shift screening machines outside the main terminal and set up enclosures where baggage can be checked.
- A dog squad could also be stationed along with the X-ray machines to double-check the baggage.
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