The Indian security establishment is mounting special precautions as it faces a new challenge of Islamic terrorists teaming up with remnants of Sikh extremism.
The Indian security establishment is mounting special precautions as it wakes up to a new and more complex challenge of Islamic terrorists teaming up with remnants of Sikh extremism.
Sources said security forces in and around Chandigarh and other sensitive installations in Punjab and Haryana have been put on high alert, in the wake of reports about the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) trying to work together to carry out terrorist strikes in India.
KCF has been involved in several attacks, including the assassination of former Army chief General AS Vaidya in Pune in 1986. A few months back, the Punjab police claimed that members of KCF, which has a base in Pakistan, tried to smuggle in weapons.
The German government has alerted New Delhi to a meeting between LeT and KCF representatives in Germany last November. It is not clear if the meeting was before the Mumbai attacks, but the alert came in the wake of the November 26 attack.
Sources said the Germans said the representatives decided to carry out a terrorist strike in northern India, especially in Chandigarh or in Punjab-Haryana. Among the possible targets is Indian Oil’s refinery in Panipat.
According to sources, the two groups plan to carry out an aerial attack that will be more sensational than any India has seen till date. The government has warned the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and aviation regulators to tighten formalities and security for private helicopter rides and chartered aircraft.
The attacks may have been planned for Republic Day. Indian air force sources said they will impose an airspace blockade in and around Delhi, stretching up to Chandigarh during the few hours of Republic Day parade.
For the security establishment what is most worrying is the effort to revive violence in Punjab, around Sikh insurgency, which died out almost two decades ago. “That would be disastrous,” said an official who has worked on Punjab extremism in the 1980s.
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