The emergence of fringe groups and its repercussions

The investigations into the serial blasts have shown us one thing and that is the emergence of smaller modules cannot be ignored. Today Karnataka Home Minister, R Ashok has recommended a ban on an outfit called as the Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD) on the ground that it is turning into a notorious organization and could be involved in incidents pertaining to terror.

Yesterday the agencies which are investigating the blasts said that the incident could have been the handiwork of smaller groups and the operation was carried out by 6 to 10 persons.

The question that needs to be asked if this has marked the end of bigger outfits in India and will fringe operations such as these be carried out by self motivated groups. Assembling a bomb, planning the attack and executing it has become as easy as ABC. The bigger outfits are easier to curtail when compared to these smaller groups, the Intelligence Bureau points out.  Bigger outfits execute operations on a larger scale and there is always a lot of planning that goes into such an operation. The Lashkar-e-Tayiba which is very meticulous in its planning stood completely exposed post 26/11 and this was largely because several intercepts were picked up thanks to the operatives communicating over phone and also sharing emails. Moreover such outfits apart from causing a great deal of damage also have message to send out after these blasts. The messages are always on a large scale and would deal largely with the ties between two countries. Hence at some level they would want to announce that they are the masters of a particular attack. The case of the Indian Mujahideen was the same and after each attack they raised volatile issues such as the Gujarat riots or the Babri masjid demolition trying to indicate that they are the saviours of the community in India.

This is however not the case with smaller groups. They believe in a quick fire operation. All they look for is some destruction with an intention of satisfying their egos. There is always a set of disgruntled youth who want to take revenge on the police for some arrests made. It has become a cat and mouse game for them and the message is clear, “ you pick up our men, we will hit back.” There is no larger political or ideological agenda in their attacks. Apart from seeking revenge they also want to expose the vulnerability of the security appratus which in turn causes a great deal of embrassment for the police.

Smaller groups are also aware that they are not on the Intelligence radar and hence their movements are not restricted. There is no previous record on these men which only makes the job easier for them. They have easy access to the material and hence preparing a bomb too becomes very easy for them.

This is a growing risk for us security experts say. What can anyone possibly do if a group of five persons plan this attack in their house and then come and plant the bomb. They have not used mobile phones or emails which again makes it next to impossible to track them. These people are not even taking orders from anyone and such operations are planned without the approval of any large force. Experts say this is the main reason why the police continue to grope in the dark. It could be a small group which subscribes to the ideology of the Indian Mujahideen or another group from the second rung of the underworld trying to put terror groups out of business. It is very hard to tell in the absence of any record or dossier on such persons. There are few 100 such persons in the country who could carry out a strike of this nature at will and this without a doubt is becoming a major security threat. Intelligence alone will not help solve this problem since it is difficult to pick up intercepts on such operations. Constant monitoring of crowded places and proper security measures such as better policing and more CCTVs is what will provide a solution in dealing with such fringe groups who carry out strikes at will.

Locals didn’t carry out blasts

The investigations into the serial blasts case is gradually taking shape with vital clues coming out. In New Delhi the Union Home Secretary said that the scooter had been identified on which the bomb had been placed. In addition to this the investigators also have found that the men they have seen in the CCTV footage were not locals and they were foot soldiers who were sent from different states to plant the bombs.

The police had termed this as a crucial piece of evidence and had even sent the same to the forensics for examination. A scooter which was damaged was found at the Zaveri Bazaar and it was discovered that the bomb was placed on it. Investigators are trying to find out more clues regarding this scooter and are trying to ascertain whether it belonged to one of the bombers or was the bomb placed on it randomly. If it had been placed randomly then it becomes evident that the bombers were at the spot minutes before the blasts occurred.

They will also study the similarity between this and the Malegaon case in which the case was cracked by identifying the bike on which the bomb was placed. In that case they had managed to track down the number on the chasis which finally led to the culprit.

The cops are examining the footage from at least 30 cameras of the various locations to find more clues regarding the bombers. Earlier it was found that there were three men speaking on a cell phone and they were at the venue for over an hour. It was also found that they were conversing among themselves and also speaking on the phone. Initial reports have now indicated that these boys were not locals and this clearly points to the fact that a module from outside has executed these blasts.

Apart from the ATS the intelligence bureau and also the National Investigating Agency is tracking this case. The NIA has been focusing on the rest of the states which house the modules which could have triggered this attack. SIMI is emerging as a very strong suspect in this case and some of the modules in Ranchi have come under the scanner. Raids are being conducted in various places across the country since there is strong intelligence inputs which point a finger at a joint operation by the SIMI and IM.

A closer look at the CCTV

The police have once again relied on CCTVs to crack the serial blasts case and increasingly this technology is being used. The question however is whether the number of CCTVs installed in high profile cities are sufficient. More often than not the police are depending on private CCTVs to pick up footage of an incident. However the question is whether it would be sufficient for the police to depend only on the CCTV footage that has been obtained from private cameras.

Speaking of this technology the government has ensured that large etsablishments, hotels and shops have CCTVs installed. While this aspect has been taken care of to a large extent, the question remains what the government or our police department is doing to put up CCTVs of its own.

The answer is obvious and there is a clear tussle on between the traffic department and the crime wing regarding this aspect. The crime wing thinks that the CCTVs that have been set up to monitor the traffic is sufficient to track down crime and hence they do not find the need to do it. The traffic police however argue that in crowded market places and areas of very high sensitivity, it is not their job to install these cameras since it does not fall under their jurisdiction.

Large cities would need anything between 800 to 1500 CCTVS installed at crucial locations. A police officer who is involved in the implementation of this programme says that it is necessary to have CCTVs in large numbers of our own since these cameras fall under our direct control. What tends to happen is that we end up relying on private cameras which are not connected to our control rooms. Hence in such ocassions we end up picking up the feed after the incident is over.

It is for the police department to act suo motu on this issue. Following the spate of terrorist attacks, the government has been funding the police departments to install CCTVs. Earlier there was a rule that out of the fine collected by the traffic police 30 per cent remained with the police while the rest of the 70 per cent went to the government. However now the governments have ensured that the entire funding goes to the police which should be utilized for traffic management which includes installation of CCTVs.

In cities such as Bangalore, Delhi and Bombay there are an average of 900 CCTVs that have been installed by the police department. However most of these cameras have been put up by the traffic department which once leads us to asking the crucial question as to who would set up cameras in crowded market places. Another observation regarding this cameras is that it is good at picking up pictures, but is very weak when it comes to recording voices. A good voice recorded would be the need of the hour to deal with cases of terrorism especially when the terrorists move around in buddy pairs.

The situation regarding the installation of CCTVs is more or less similar in every city in India. Speaking to police officials of various cities one gets the picture that they are on the job but there are proposals that are pending.  Another problem that the police seem to be facing is that they are not paying too much attention to the maintainence of these CCTVs. Take Bangalore for instance. At one shot 310 camera were set and before one knew 150 fell defunct and 50 others were stolen.

The police usually deploy private companies to set up CCTVs for them. The complaint however by the private companies is that they lose interest in carrying out the job since the payment is too slow and the cops never pay for the maintainence of these cameras. The police however add that to set up 1000 cameras in any city the cost would be Rs 10 crore and there would be an additional amount for the maintanence.

Security experts say that CCTVs in cities should work exactly like the way they work in airports. The CCTVs set up there are closely monitored at all times and the movement of each person is thoroughly scrutinized. At the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport there are around 40 high sensitive cameras. If similar cameras are set up in all parts of the city and is continuously monitored it will not only help in crack a case but prevent it too. Suspicious activity needs to be monitored at all times, police say.

Parking lots in major cities are another issue. Usually the parking lots are owned by private people and they are the ones who set up the cameras. These cameras are again not connected to the control room and the police often pick up inputs by the private security of these places. This in fact delays the response time since it takes a while for the information to be passed. Moreover private security agencies are not trained to assess such situations like the police would do.

The police however add that the entire onus cannot be placed only on them. Following the attack at the Jama Masjid last year a circular was issued to all hotels in the country to install CCTVs in restraunts and also corridors of hotels. Private establishments must install more CCTVs since what we have been noticing as of now is that there are cameras only at entry and exit points.

The police also add that there is a greater fund that is required to install CCTVs. Some private establishments are not ready to spend and the police department does not have the kind of funds it would require to install so many cameras and also maintain it. It has to be constantly checked and due to various issues there is a chance of these cameras going defunct too. The police also add that some establishments have complained about privacy issues which have prevented them from installing cameras in many locations. It is time that we realize that security is more important and there is a greater need to take this issue more seriously, the police also add.

Blasts despite the alert

Photo courtesy: TOI

As the investigations into the serial blasts progress, it becomes clear that the police were caught napping despite warnings and alerts from the Intelligence Bureau over the past couple of months.

Intelligence Bureau intercepts go on to suggest that the Indian Mujahideen has been making desperate attempts to strike back. First they made an attempt just before the Common Wealth Games and then an attempt was made at Varanasi. The most recent one was at the Delhi High Court. In all these cases the explosions were of low intensity. Barring the Varanasi blasts in all other incidents the detonators had malfunctioned, but today they seem to have got it right.

The Mahatashtra ATS has always been the target of the Indian Mujhahideen and there have been blasts everytime there have been arrests made. The most recent were two arrests of Indian Mujahideen cadres who were involved in the Gujarat blasts. Guaging by the mails that the IM had sent out in the past, the ATS has always been spoken about. The IB had warned that security should be at an unprecedented high following the arrest of any Indian Mujahideen cadre.

However this does not appear to be an immediate retaliatory measure and the planning was on for a couple of months since the attacks were not hurriedly executed. It just appears that they have timed it to retaliate against the recent spate of attacks, the IB adds.

The intelligence bureau does not rule out more such attacks and adds that this is the time that the outfit has been trying to re-group and hence would look to announce its return by carrying out such brazen attacks.

There have been indications that in the past couple of weeks about a possible terror strike and the police too had been warned about the same. Although routine checks and balances were in place, the police have been caught unawares by the entry and exit of certain fringe elements of the IM into the city.

The other targets that security agencies have been speaking about are Delhi and Bangalore. There is unprecedented security at the moment in these places and the entry and exit of all persons is being closely monitored.

Serial blasts again

The serial blasts have been confirmed as terror attacks according to the Intelligence Bureau.  The Home Ministry while confirming the same has declared a red alert across the nation.

A team of the Intelligence Bureau which is examining the case says that it is too early to determine as to who is behind this blast. However we are examining the Indian Mujahideen angle, IB sources also add.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that 7 IEDs were used and the explosive device was wrapped in cloth bags and tiffin carriers. This bears the signature of the Indian Mujahideen, a member of the NIA who is also investigating the case says.

The entire nation has been put on high alert following this attack. These groups may try and trigger off similar blasts in other parts of the country and hence all police stations have been put on high alert, IB sources also add.