Terrorists Strike Mumbai Again
A catastrophe of the magnitude of the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 26, 2008 demands a quick revamp of the Indian intelligence apparatus.
After the last terrorists are flushed out from the Oberoi and Taj hotels in Mumbai, one of the first tasks before India’s Ministry of Home is to revamp the domestic and external intelligence agencies – the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) respectively.
Time and again, India’s intelligence agencies have proved woefully inadequate to anticipate and prepare for the nightmares that terrorists have unleashed at frequent intervals with impunity.
As we have written on other occasions, lack of strong intelligence has always been the achilles heel of India’s law enforcement.
One of the first to be kicked out must be P.C.Haldar, Director of India’s Intelligence Bureau.
A 1970 batch Indian Police Service officer of the Bihar cadre, Haldar has been at the helm of India’s domestic intelligence agency for nearly two years now. He was a Special Director at the IB before that.
In the last 22 months, India has witnessed repeated attacks on its soil as terrorists pick and choose various sites at will.
Under Haldar’s watch, Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and other Indian cities have been the sites of horrendous terrorist attacks with Indian security forces invariably being in reactive mode.
This incompetent officer Haldar is scheduled to retire on January 1, 2009.
But to let this incapable man stay at the helm of India’s domestic intelligence apparatus even till then would not only be unwise but also demonstrate gross disrespect to the several hundred people who have lost their lives and the thousands who have been injured in attacks over the last two years.
A more competent officer is need at the helm of India’s Intelligence Bureau.
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Incompetence is not at the IB or RAW Level … they pass on information …at the ground level …there is no coordinated effort …for various reasons
The terrorist came via sea.
In this case ..RAW had warned that the sea Route between Karachi and Mumbai would be used for terrorist attacks in future …this information has already been passed on …
Fools in the govt will tell you ..that this is vague information … Can you get specific information every time ????
SEA maybe big … but there are very few landing points …any govt in the world would have acted upon this info by increasing patrolling at those landing points … the very presence of some patrolling would have been a deterrent for these terrorists …
It is our Politicians and Bureaucrats who should be screwed ….not IB or RAW … They do all that they can …
To expect that they come up with precise information everytime is not possible …
Also there is something called as Intelligence at the state level …the boat landed at Mumbai and the police did not receive any information …shows that they dont have any intelligence at the ground level …
Has anybody ever heard of Students coming to Mumbai from Pakistan in a private boat via Karachi ?????? .. and then leaving the boat there unattended ….Even a fool would know that there is much more to it
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We’re not talking about just Mumbai here.
The repeat attacks in different parts of India demonstrate that IB (and RAW too because of foreign connections) definitely needs to be revamped.
forget the Intelligence… I saw a disgusting thing in TV this moring, a NSG commando is dropped at one of the operation spot by a chopper.. he start talking in a walkie talkie… he doesnt even have a handsfree communication system to get orders or co-ordinate with other commandos…. pathetic…
the ATS chief was killed due to lack of bullet proof jackets… I was seeing the MH police in the early times rushing inside taj with 303 rifles which wont even self load, you need to cock and fire every time..
but int the other end those m***f&&&ers had machine guns 10-15 bullets/sec emmiting… My god… this is pathetic
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write above: the ATS chief was killed due to lack of bullet proof jackets…
But we saw pictures of Hemant Karkare donning a bullet-proof jacket & helmet at the site. Did he remove them later?
Please read the Times of India piece – Better bulletproof jackets for police.
You write above – “But we saw pictures of Hemant Karkare donning a bullet-proof jacket & helmet at the site. Did he remove them later?…”
Looks like he did. From what I read from newspapers, Karkare rushed to Cama Hospital along with others where a gunbattle was on. But by the time he reached the spot, the firing had abated and Karkare removed his Bullet Proof Jacket and helmet,mistakenly assuming that the terrorists have left the place. But the terrorists lurking in the darkness until then, immediately opened fired and shot him to death….Like you, we were also perplexed as to how he could have got the fatal chest wounds if he had been wearing a Bullet Proof Jacket. One of my colleagues even suggested that the manufacturer of the Jackets should be sued. However, the newspaper reports unravelled the real story.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Moral of the Story – You can’t be too careful in these kinds of situations.
If anything, the 21st century will be marked by extraordinary increase in the level of paranoia in society.
the guns part is true …one more on that
In the initial stages …in VT Station ..though the Police outnumbered the terrorists …they could not do much since …most had lathis and very few had those 303 rifles …
luckily the announcer saw two terrorists moving and immediately announced – asked people to move away from Platform 1 …by the time the terrorists came the platform was nearly empty ….otherwise the casualities in the station would have been in 100’s …
we rely far too much on luck and other factors