New Delhi: Top security experts say that Wednesday's blast outside the Delhi High Court has "exposed the loopholes in our security system" which "has an inadequate and incapable intelligence gathering system and a weak counter-terrorism mechanism".
'More terror attacks likely'
Ajai Sahni, director of the New Delhi-based Institute of Conflict Management, warned that more terror strikes are likely. "Because our intelligence gathering capabilities are highly inadequate," Sahni said.
Sahni said the country's "counter-terrorism mechanism is still very weak". In a country of 1.2 billion people, there are only 5,000 central intelligence officials, he pointed out.
"Even these officials have to handle multiple tasks. They have to gather political intelligence, track separatist movements and keep a watch on social tensions," he said.
'Loopholes in system reason behind terror attacks'
Ved Marwah, former governor of Manipur who was also chief of the Delhi Police, said: "The blast points towards the loopholes in the security system itself."
"While we look out for the terrorists responsible for the blast, we should have a look inside, into our own systems. More than the success of the terrorists, it is the weakness of our systems which cause terrorist incidents one after another."
'Delhi Police had intelligence report in July'
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday regretted the bomb blast had taken place despite intelligence being shared with Delhi Police in July and the force being on high alert.
He told Parliament it was not possible at "this stage" to identify the group behind the attack but asserted government will not be intimidated by terrorist groups and was "determined to track down the perpetrators of this horrific crime and bring them to justice."
Making identical statements with "profound sorrow and regret" in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, Chidambaram noted Delhi is a target of terrorist groups and when Parliament is in session and during certain other times of the year, the capital is placed on high alert.
"Intelligence agencies constantly share intelligence inputs with Delhi Police. Intelligence pertaining to threats emanating from certain groups was shared with Delhi Police in July, 2011," the Home Minister said.
'It's a long-drawn war'
P.H. Hormis Tharakan, former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), said that setbacks are natural in the "long-drawn fight against terrorism".
"Terrorism is a continuing phenomenon which the security forces are able to control many times. But there will be ups and downs in the fight against terror. It is not a battle but a long-drawn war," Tharakan said.
Ajai Sahni said the country should have a "re-energised, dedicated and capable intelligence gathering system to counter terror". "It should not be a set-up where people go to sleep after the news about a blast dies down."
However, all the experts were certain that jidhadist organisations were behind Wednesday's blast, which killed at least 11 people and injured more than 75. But it was too early to say which organisation or a combination of the outfits conducted the blast, they added.
'Sept 7 blast looked handiwork of Jihadist'
Marwah said though it was too premature to verify the claim of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI) owning responsibility for the blast, it certainly "looked the handiwork of the jihadists, maybe with the help from extremists outside the country".
About the HUJI claim, Marwah said: "It is too premature to verify. In terrorism, nothing can be taken on face value and nothing can be ruled out."
Tharakan said the initial needle of suspicion pointed to Indian Mujahideen (IM). "The IM has a network in and around Delhi. It has been charge-sheeted for the 2008 serial blasts, the major terror strike in the capital before this," he said. But the HUJI claim has to be trailed, he added.
To Sahni, the blast appeared to be a continuation of the blast in May outside the high court premises. The police had doubted the IM hand behind the May blast.
He felt the strike was "nothing extra-ordinary" as it happened outside the earmarked security cordon area.
Tharakan said other angles - whether anyone with vested interests in some high-profile case or anyone having any scores to settle against the bench or the bar - in the two explosions also should be probed.
'Why no CCTV despite May 25 blast'
Hours after a high intensity blast ripped through the security arrangements of the Delhi high court, the bar association passed a resolution and forwarded it to the Chief Justice of the Delhi HC stressing to expedite the process of installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras on the court premises and also outside. "The May 25 blast was an eye-opener for all of us, so why aren't we still prepared.
For CCTV installation only tenders were floated, which is a shame," said DK Sharma, secretary, Delhi high court bar association.
The resolutions were deploy police officials outside and inside the premises in plainclothes, expedite the process of installation of CCTVs and equip security personnel with more technical gadgets.
"There is human neglect on our part. It could have been prevented if CCTVs were in place," said Rakesh Tikku, chairman of the Bar Council of Delhi.
Anti-terror preparedness: A comparison between India and US
The aftermath of 26/11 saw the UPA government announce a plethora of expensive schemes like the NATGRID (National Intelligence Grid) which promised the moon, but delivered a damp squib.
Marred with issues of its efficacy and legitimate concerns of privacy, it has failed to inspire much confidence. It was supposed to connect 21 databases to help intelligence agencies zero in on terrorists lurking around the corner to launch attacks against India.
This works in theory, but in the absence of good human intelligence, is almost useless.
In fact, the United States intelligence community began a long journey towards efficiency after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Towers by constituting a 9/11 Commission. It created a director for National Intelligence and a separate ministry for Homeland Security.
The programmes that were started by the Commission led to the human intelligence that finally helped the Americans pinpoint 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden in the cantonment town of Abbottabad, Pakistan, earlier this year.
In India, the selection, training and tasking of intelligence officials is mired in controversy and red tape. People are selected on the basis of their ability to lobby with powerful political masters rather than their expertise. This has led to severe erosion of expertise in key areas of counter-terrorism that has not been filled for years.
As a result, India’s security agencies lurch from one “intelligence failure” to another in the hope that their luck continues to hold. Unfortunately, for the determined terrorist, this does not even offer a credible deterrence, thus exposing the common Indian citizen to repeated deadly attacks.
(With inputs from IANS, PTI, DNA)
'More terror attacks likely'
Ajai Sahni, director of the New Delhi-based Institute of Conflict Management, warned that more terror strikes are likely. "Because our intelligence gathering capabilities are highly inadequate," Sahni said.
Sahni said the country's "counter-terrorism mechanism is still very weak". In a country of 1.2 billion people, there are only 5,000 central intelligence officials, he pointed out."Even these officials have to handle multiple tasks. They have to gather political intelligence, track separatist movements and keep a watch on social tensions," he said.
'Loopholes in system reason behind terror attacks'
Ved Marwah, former governor of Manipur who was also chief of the Delhi Police, said: "The blast points towards the loopholes in the security system itself."
"While we look out for the terrorists responsible for the blast, we should have a look inside, into our own systems. More than the success of the terrorists, it is the weakness of our systems which cause terrorist incidents one after another."
'Delhi Police had intelligence report in July'
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday regretted the bomb blast had taken place despite intelligence being shared with Delhi Police in July and the force being on high alert.
He told Parliament it was not possible at "this stage" to identify the group behind the attack but asserted government will not be intimidated by terrorist groups and was "determined to track down the perpetrators of this horrific crime and bring them to justice."
Making identical statements with "profound sorrow and regret" in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, Chidambaram noted Delhi is a target of terrorist groups and when Parliament is in session and during certain other times of the year, the capital is placed on high alert.
"Intelligence agencies constantly share intelligence inputs with Delhi Police. Intelligence pertaining to threats emanating from certain groups was shared with Delhi Police in July, 2011," the Home Minister said.
'It's a long-drawn war'
P.H. Hormis Tharakan, former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), said that setbacks are natural in the "long-drawn fight against terrorism".
"Terrorism is a continuing phenomenon which the security forces are able to control many times. But there will be ups and downs in the fight against terror. It is not a battle but a long-drawn war," Tharakan said.
Ajai Sahni said the country should have a "re-energised, dedicated and capable intelligence gathering system to counter terror". "It should not be a set-up where people go to sleep after the news about a blast dies down."
However, all the experts were certain that jidhadist organisations were behind Wednesday's blast, which killed at least 11 people and injured more than 75. But it was too early to say which organisation or a combination of the outfits conducted the blast, they added.
'Sept 7 blast looked handiwork of Jihadist'
Marwah said though it was too premature to verify the claim of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI) owning responsibility for the blast, it certainly "looked the handiwork of the jihadists, maybe with the help from extremists outside the country".
About the HUJI claim, Marwah said: "It is too premature to verify. In terrorism, nothing can be taken on face value and nothing can be ruled out."
Tharakan said the initial needle of suspicion pointed to Indian Mujahideen (IM). "The IM has a network in and around Delhi. It has been charge-sheeted for the 2008 serial blasts, the major terror strike in the capital before this," he said. But the HUJI claim has to be trailed, he added.
To Sahni, the blast appeared to be a continuation of the blast in May outside the high court premises. The police had doubted the IM hand behind the May blast.
He felt the strike was "nothing extra-ordinary" as it happened outside the earmarked security cordon area.
Tharakan said other angles - whether anyone with vested interests in some high-profile case or anyone having any scores to settle against the bench or the bar - in the two explosions also should be probed.
'Why no CCTV despite May 25 blast'
Hours after a high intensity blast ripped through the security arrangements of the Delhi high court, the bar association passed a resolution and forwarded it to the Chief Justice of the Delhi HC stressing to expedite the process of installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras on the court premises and also outside. "The May 25 blast was an eye-opener for all of us, so why aren't we still prepared.
For CCTV installation only tenders were floated, which is a shame," said DK Sharma, secretary, Delhi high court bar association.
The resolutions were deploy police officials outside and inside the premises in plainclothes, expedite the process of installation of CCTVs and equip security personnel with more technical gadgets.
"There is human neglect on our part. It could have been prevented if CCTVs were in place," said Rakesh Tikku, chairman of the Bar Council of Delhi.
Anti-terror preparedness: A comparison between India and US
The aftermath of 26/11 saw the UPA government announce a plethora of expensive schemes like the NATGRID (National Intelligence Grid) which promised the moon, but delivered a damp squib.
Marred with issues of its efficacy and legitimate concerns of privacy, it has failed to inspire much confidence. It was supposed to connect 21 databases to help intelligence agencies zero in on terrorists lurking around the corner to launch attacks against India.
This works in theory, but in the absence of good human intelligence, is almost useless.
In fact, the United States intelligence community began a long journey towards efficiency after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Towers by constituting a 9/11 Commission. It created a director for National Intelligence and a separate ministry for Homeland Security.
The programmes that were started by the Commission led to the human intelligence that finally helped the Americans pinpoint 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden in the cantonment town of Abbottabad, Pakistan, earlier this year.
In India, the selection, training and tasking of intelligence officials is mired in controversy and red tape. People are selected on the basis of their ability to lobby with powerful political masters rather than their expertise. This has led to severe erosion of expertise in key areas of counter-terrorism that has not been filled for years.
As a result, India’s security agencies lurch from one “intelligence failure” to another in the hope that their luck continues to hold. Unfortunately, for the determined terrorist, this does not even offer a credible deterrence, thus exposing the common Indian citizen to repeated deadly attacks.
(With inputs from IANS, PTI, DNA)
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