Give terror laws more teeth, RR Patil urges Centre

Home minister RR Patil has urged the Centre to make provisions for stricter laws to enable the states to tackle terrorism effectively. Patil feels that the current laws have shortcomings which impose restrictions on the police department in terror-related investigations. Chief minister Ashok Chavan has supported Patil’s concern for plugging loopholes in the terror laws. 

“The Democratic Front government feels its biggest challenge is to identify the internal mercenaries through whom the ultras network and carry out their operations. Identifying the channels through which the funds flow for anti-national activities is the biggest hurdle and this has not been adequately addressed in the current laws,” a senior officer in the home department said.  

Insiders in the home department revealed that the Union home ministry is seriously considering the state’s concern.

Apart from the financial support from the Centre, the state home department has sought some basic amendments like extending the time period for preparing the charge sheet in terror cases from 90 days to 180 days. This, it feels, will give the investigating team more time to get to the bottom of the probe. 

The state government faced a series of setbacks when it came to substantiating evidence against individuals/establishments in the court. This has been attributed to the limited time frame in which they are forced to prepare the charge sheets.

“I totally justify the demand raised by the home minister for stringent laws to tackle terrorism. After the repeal of Prevention of Anti-Terrorism and Activities Act (POTA), there has been a vacuum to deal effectively with terrorism,” said former police officer and activist YP Singh.

“It is strange that we have draconian laws like Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Activities (MCOCA) Act to address gangsters or Narcotic Drugs Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act to deal with drug peddlers, but far more lenient laws to deal with terrorism.” 

Some of the Congress and NCP ministers admitted that the states undoubtedly require laws on the lines of POTA. Though its misuse in states like Gujarat might have earned it a bad name, certain provisions in it were good, they said.

“We require more teeth in terror laws such as allowing confessions before superior police, disallowing bail till proved not guilty or more powers to police to record interception, etc. It’s lack of political will as government fears strict laws may antagonise the minorities,” Singh said.