Terror intel inputs rose by three-fold last year

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: Statistics provided by Maharashtra home minister R R Patil show a drastic increase in the number of intelligence alerts sent to the state by the Centre in 2009. During 2008, the Centre had sent 52 alerts to the state, while the figure rose to 169—more than three times—in 2009.

The central government has been sending alerts to the state whenever it got information about some terror related case or suspect. “This year, till March, we have received 35 alerts from the Centre,’’ Patil said outside the Vidhan Bhavan on Thursday.

If the security agencies are to be believed, of the 169 inputs sent by various security agencies, none of them was “actionable’’. However, sources in the security establishment opined that such alerts are never specific as the preliminary information is passed on to the agencies concerned. In addition to this, the bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS) received an overwhelming 1,426 calls. Of these, 1,067 were about movement of VIPs in the city while the remaining 359 were threat calls, according to data available with the TOI.

If that’s not all, officials also had to look into 25 threat emails, which are currently being probed by the cyber crime investigation cell. Two other threats e-mails were forwarded to the anti-terrorism squad (ATS). Recently, the central agencies sent an input about a probable terror attack in Mumbai on the lines of Pakistan’s JW Marriot strike. The alert had stated that an explosives-laden vehicle could hit a high-rise and then explode, causing mass casualties. However, no one knows what happened later since there was no untoward incident on the given date. Moreover, the security agencies are never pulled up or examined for sending such alerts, most of which are not fully authentic.

For instance, last year, the intelligence agencies issued an alert about a possible fidayeen attack. The input stated that trained women pilots had entered the country. “However, this information too proved not actionable,’’ said a senior police officer.

Senior police officials said such alerts can’t be ignored, but some cops termed the alerts as a “waste of time and manpower’’. “In the absence of specific information, where are we supposed to deploy our men?’’ the officer asked.

STATE OF ALERT
No of intelligence calls sent to state
2008: 52
2009: 169
2010 (till March): 35

No of calls received by bomb detection and disposal squad in 2009: 1,426 calls. Of these, 1,067 were about movement of VIPs in the city while the remaining 359 were threat calls

Officials also had to look into 25 three e-mails in 2009

The Times of India, April 9, 2010