LeT operative says terrorists found station too heavily guarded for attack; RPF officers credit their 6-month-old security programme Operation Eagle with averting assault
Fool-proof: Concrete bunkers will be constructed on the entry/exit of the mentioned railway station and on the first floors of the station buildings. file pic
Alleged LeT operative Fahim Ansari, who was arrested by the Special Task Force officers in Lucknow in February, informed the police recently that the 26/11 terrorists did not attack Churchgate railway station because they found it too heavily guarded.
Senior railway officials say they credit their six-month-old security programme called Operation Eagle with saving Western Railway (WR) commuters from the 26/11 attack. Railway Protection Force (RPF) Senior Divisional Security Commissioner Devendra Kasar said the plan did not require deployment of thousands of policemen at a single spot.
"We had warned all RPF men to avoid clustering in groups. We spread them out at different locations at the station so they could protect it from every conceivable angle. We are constructing concrete bunkers at Churchgate, Mumbai Central, Dadar, Andheri, Borivli, Vasai and Virar in a month's time to bolster our security further," Kasar added.
The bunkers will be constructed on entry/exit of railway stations and on the first floors of the station buildings. "Last week, the Railway Board secretary visited Churchgate and Mumbai Central. He was so pleased with the security arrangements that he rewarded Rs 50,000 to the RPF," said Yash Mishra, senior police inspector, RPF, Mumbai Central.
Operation Eagle Operation Eagle involved deployment of 90 RPF personnel in 12 groups at the Churchgate station. The programme was initiated in the month of July after alleged LeT terrorist Faheem Ansari mentioned the railway station as a probable terrorist target during his interrogation. Though Ansari had found the security 'tight' before his arrest in February, the RPF and Western Railway initiated Operation Eagle as they did not want to take any chances.
