MUMBAI: Senior police officers and politicians declared on Sunday that Mumbai is prepared to repel any attack of the magnitude of 26/11 but their words were met with disbelief and scepticism.
On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the bloody assault, home minister R R Patil admitted that law-enforcement agencies were unequipped to fend off the 10 Pakistani terrorists who landed in Mumbai by sea on November 26, 2008, and wreaked terror on the city.
"We have learnt our lessons. In the past four years, we have stepped up security not only in Mumbai but also in entire Maharashtra. We now have state-of-the-art weapons and adequate manpower. I am confident that we are prepared to take on terror attacks of any magnitude," claimed the home minister.
Patil argued that the Democratic Front government had implemented in letter and spirit the recommendations of the Ram Pradhan committee, which was set up in the wake of the 26/11 attack to examine the preparedness of Mumbai police.
Anti-terrorism squad chief Rakesh Maria echoed Patil: "In November 2008, we were taken aback owing to the magnitude of the attack. We were not prepared at all. In the last four years, we have redrafted our strategy. We now have a standard operation procedure in place. Everyone from a constable to the DG today knows his task in the event of an attack."
Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh too said the force had learnt from the past. "I do not say that there is no threat. But the force is prepared and confident," added Singh.
The contentions were, however, decried by a former DGP who asserted that Mumbai police was still grossly unprepared. "A large number of the Pradhan committee recommendations, particularly on manpower deployment, weapons and coordination, have not been implemented," he told TOI on condition of anonymity. "Even today, police personnel do not have adequate ammunition for training and practice." The former DGP's declaration, other ex-policemen said, was borne out by evidence on the ground.
The state government's ambitious Rs 800-crore plan to install 6,000 CCTV cameras around Mumbai was still in tendering stage after a sputtering start. The city's coastal security was still wanting: patrol boats and amphibian vehicles were either out of order or without fuel; policemen required to protect the coastline did not even know how to swim.
Furthermore, the state's elite Force One, which was created along the lines of the National Security Guard, did not have a home of its own in the city for training.
Still, Patil said the only matter of concern was the delay in the installation of the CCTV camera network. "We were in the final stages of allotting the contract but it had to be cancelled after a member of the chosen consortium was found to have been blacklisted earlier. As a result, we initiated the entire process afresh. I am sure that in the next one year, we will have a CCTV network for the metropolis," Patil said.
(With inputs from V Narayan)
26/11 claims and the reality
While the ATS chief and home minister claim the city is prepared for another terror attack, the evidence on the ground suggests otherwise. For example, the plan to install CCTV cameras is yet to be implemented, coastal security is in tatters and disaster management is beset by poor cooperation.
Intelligence sharing and coordination
As Ajmal Kasab and his cohorts went on the rampage, several security agencies came together and worked as a team to terminate the carnage . The result was the death of nine terrorists and Kasab's arrest . But that was in 2008. Since then, ignoring national interest, most security agencies have scrapped with each other to bag credit for passing victories against terror groups. The dearth of intelligence-sharing and coordination was evidenced by the escape of terror principal Yasin Bhatkal earlier this year. Although Delhi police's Special Cell was on his tail, it did not inform Maharashtra ATS, which was working on the same case. In the confusion, Bhatkal slipped away. Similarly, reports said, Special Cell did not keep the ATS in the loop when getting 26/11 co-conspirator Abu Jundal extradited from Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, efforts to bolster intelligence gathering too have only just edged forward. The Maharashtra government set up an intelligence academy to recruit and train specialists. But, of the 200 recruits, 75 soon left for better opportunities in the private sector.
Bulletproof jackets
Joint police commissioner Hemant Karkare's death in 26/11 raised alarming questions about the quality of the bulletproof jacket he wore during the attack. It was said that the jackets the state had acquired were of poor standard . Had Karkare's jacket been better, many argued, perhaps his life could have been saved. The widespread ire aimed at the state prompted it to begin the process of procuring high-quality bulletproof jackets a week after the attack. However, because of technical reservations, no company was awarded the contract for three years. Finally, the state got the right jackets from the agencies that supply such protective wear to the NSG and CRPF. In the last one year, it has procured over 3,000 bulletproof jackets.
Coastal security
The ease with which 26/11 gunmen landed by sea in Mumbai exposed a glaring chink in the city's armour. Eager to be seen as rectifying the fault, the state vowed to beef up coastal security. Yet, its promises scarcely translated into lasting work. Set up to protect the coastline, Sagari police station even today operates from rooms in governmental quarters at Mahim. It still cannot register an FIR, for which it has to depend on the Yellow Gate police station. Together, the two stations are reportedly short of 1,180 policemen. Five of their 14 amphibian vehicles and 13 of their 27 patrol boats are in repair yards. Lacking a jetty, Sagari police park boats at Malad or near the Gateway of India. Worst of all, most personnel at the two stations neither have the expertise to run the patrol boats nor basic swimming skills.
Medical care
Every time a disaster rocks Mumbai, causing mass casualties, the inadequacies of trauma care facilities at public hospitals get highlighted. During 26/11, most victims were rushed to the state-run St George and GT hospitals but soon they had to be shifted to bigger centres like JJ Hospital. Four years on, no lessons have been learnt. Sion Hospital till date is the only civic-run facility to have a dedicated trauma care centre. Hospitals such as JJ and KEM have the capacity to care for 500 casualty patients, but, as JJ Hospital dean Dr T P Lahane points out, it is not the same as having a hub where doctors from neurosurgery, orthopaedics, surgery and anaesthesia are available round-the-clock .
State of surveillance
The state's ambitious Rs 800 crore plan to install 6,000 CCTV cameras around Mumbai has sputtered forward ever since 26/11. To give the plan a boost, home minister R R Patil set up a high-level committee and led a delegation to the UK to study the CCTV surveillance grid there. But just as the contract was to be granted, it turned out that one of the firms in the chosen consortium had been blacklisted earlier . As a result, a fresh tendering process was initiated. Till now, only Raj Bhavan, CM residence Varsha and Patil's residence Chitrakut are guarded by CCTV networks. The city will likely have to wait for at least another year for its surveillance system.
Arms & ammo
Mumbai police received sophisticated arms, ammunition and communication gadgets in the wake of the 2008 attack. While rifles are still used for local policing, police now have AK-47 s and MP5 submachine guns to ward off an assault as big as 26/11. In addition, each office of regional police commissioner is equipped with a bulletproof vehicle.
Bomb suits
In the last four years, there has been no dearth of alert citizens calling the bomb detection and disposal squad, alerting it of suspicious objects on the city's streets. What has been lacking is bomb-disposal suits and sniffer dogs. The squad urgently needs more suits, but the procedure has been held up on account of an alleged scam. The economic offences wing this August arrested a businessman for allegedly cheating the state out of Rs 6.25 crore by providing low-quality bomb disposal suits.
Railway security
Post-26 /11, electronic surveillance was made a priority for securing railway stations. According to the Government Railway Police, there are about 1,500 closed-circuit television cameras at 90 of the 136 stations on the suburban network. The Integrated Security System—to be implemented on CR—will bring in advanced CCTVs, vehicle scanners and baggage scanners. The GRP has also stepped up visibility on stations and introduced random checking of passengers and baggage on platforms, foot overbridges and subways. Armed riot control policemen are deployed at stations like CST and Dadar to handle any situation. Furthermore, city police are frequently roped in for anti-sabotage checks. More AK47s and SLRs with ammunition have been procured.
