Jan 1, 2011

Shattering Complacency and Poor Anticipation

Complacency and poor anticipation by the local police was evident when on 7 December India’s third terrorist incident in 2010, a blast at a crowded temple in Varanasi occurred, killing an eighteen-month-old girl and injuring 32 others. Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility attributing the attack to ‘retribution’ for demolition of the Babri Masjid and injustice done by the Allahabad High Court verdict in the Ayodhya title case. The blast was perfectly timed to occur 5 minutes after the evening Ganga aarthi, when large crowds are present at the ghats.

The blast was of low intensity and casualties were possibly due to collapse of structures near the site rather than the explosion per se. the Home Secretary blamed the blast to a lapse by the police “In the normal course, adequate precautions should have been taken following the alert. Enough policemen should have been deployed at vulnerable sites, especially at temples which are an obvious target of terror attacks,” said Mr G K Pillai. The Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility through a five-page e-mail signed by 'Al-Arbi' from a location in Malad a suburb of Mumbai

The government had issued a general warning to states on the eve of the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary that falls on 6 December, possibly there was laxity on the part of the administration at Varanasi though it is difficult to manage security in this city where there are hordes of pilgrims and tourists at any time of the year and particularly on Tuesday there is always a rush to visit the ghats.

The characteristics of a terror attack by the Indian Mujahideen immediate follow up by an elaborate Email which is prepared in advance thereby indicating that the attack was well planned. The Email is generally sent from a proxy address either by hacking through an Email account or a Wifi network. Primary security measures such as pass words for Wifi networks are essential and thus need to be implemented by all those using multiple computing devices in one area.

The High Court verdict on the Babri Masjid issue came about a month ago had not invited any adverse reaction. The Indian Mujahideen wanting to keep the issue alive and also underline its presence ensured this through the incident. Effective measures would be required to educate the local police on what is to be done to make the country terror proof though on the whole there has been substantial improvement in the overall response.