Paris terror attacks: 'Mumbai Police needs an ear to the ground'

As the world watched a terror attack unfold in Paris on Friday night an eerie sense of deja vu struck Mumbai The eight terrorists of the Islamic State armed with automatics and wearing suicide vests mdash who killed 127 people injuring over 200 mdash reminded Mumbai of the 10 men who had seven years ago launched a similar attack here In fact many reports suggested that even the choice of weapons and modus operandi were similar to those used in the 2611 attacksAlso read Paris terror attacks The rightwing is against MuslimsPeople on the pavement at the tarrasse of Cafe Bonne Biere in Paris on November 13 2015 following attacks in and around the city which left more than 120 people dead AFP photoAnthony DorfmannSuch was the similarity between the two attacks that it forced Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to direct the Director General of Police to put his force on high alert in the state However while the state may have the capability to counter such strikes what it requires is the human intelligence network that will help it nip them in the budOn November 26 2008 10 LashkareTaiba terrorists attacked six sites in Mumbai including the iconic Taj Mahal Palace amp Towers Over 160 people were killed in the attacks and 308 were injuredHunting for sleepersIntelligence and Senior IPS officers who have worked to keep the city safe on many occasions believe that even today sleeper cells are active in and around Mumbai The police however do not have the capability to sniff them outAlso read Post Paris attacks Mumbai security tightenedBaggage being checked at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus on Saturday in the wake of the alert announced in the city following Saturdayrsquos Paris attacks PicAtul KambleKP Raghuvanshi former State Anti Terrorism Squad chief Director General of Police retired who probed the 711 serial train blasts admits that much remains by way of building an intelligence gathering networkHowever he cautioned against seeing too many similarities between the Paris and Mumbai strikes ldquoThere is a difference between the two The Paris terror attack was the work of sleeper modules and it included suicide bombers whereas 2611 had no suicide bombersrdquo he said adding that while French security agencies were apprehensive and had intelligence of such an attack post the Syria unrest this was not the case with the 2611 attackAlso read Paris attacks sees 127 dead one terrorist identified as French nationalHe added ldquoAlso it is important to understand that attacks in Mumbai prior to 2611 were all conducted by sleeper modules in and around the city mdash for instance the 2011 Opera House and Dadar West blasts which killed 26 and injured 130 people 2006 serial train blasts that killed 209 people and injured over 700 These modules had played an active role in planting or providing logistical support to the terrorists And it is a fact that such sleeper modules may be existing even todayrdquoHe added that while the state has its own counterattack force in the form of Force One and the National Security Guard ldquoThe need of the hour is to penetrate deep within the population to gather human intelligence with the help of technology and then bring both together for analysing and decoding the plan before any strikerdquoldquoIf they state agencies are vigilant in their networking they will be able to ward off attacks as terrorists need sleeper modules for logistical supportrdquo said Former Union Home Secretary GK Pillai adding that central agencies would find the job difficult given the size and population of the countryChanging tech societyColonel retired Mahendra Pratap Choudhary 75 who raised and commanded the first antiterrorist black cat commando force now known as NSG in 1982 said the Mumbai police also needs a separate team dedicated to gathering intelligence especially to keep an eye on radicalized people who can be trained and used as terror modules and activate them as and when neededldquoApart from intelligence we have no access to advanced technology to track communications made through Skype or to decode nontraceable encrypted calls Had our ground intelligence networking been efficient the security agencies would have had prior information about the four Kalyan boys who had joined ISISrdquo he saidAlso read No Indian casualty in Paris terror attacks so far says embassyAgreeing to the concerns raised by Col Choudhary a senior intelligence officer admitted that grassroots penetration of intelligence network was a major challenge in a city where people donrsquot care to know much about their neighboursldquoEarlier people would know their neighbours or people in their locality by name and face Today itrsquos different Rampant urbanization in and around Mumbai especially in places like Thane Mumbra Nallasopara Bhiwandi Padgha and Navi Mumbai has witnessed a large number of migrating population which can easily become a hideout for sleeper cellsrdquo he addedIt didnrsquot help he said that the police agree to bribes of a few hundred rupees to sign off on a verification form for those signing on new leave and license agreements mdash a security measure to ensure that every resident of an area is verifiedForce One wonrsquot helpWhile Raghuvanshi believed that having its own forces mdash Force One and NSG mdash would help the city counter another 2611 Col Choudhary said itrsquos best not to get our hopes up too highHe added ldquoThese units need to be at the site of attack within three to five minutes and be able to eliminate the terrorist immediately Remember the terrorists themselves will be keen to take control of the location or target and cause severe damage to innocent lives and property The force cannot be mobilized by road since they are paralyzed with traffic They need to be airlifted followed by proper landing arrangementsrdquoAlso read Paris attack similar to 2611 Mumbai assault feel expertsHowever Additional Director General of Police Housing Himanshu Roy who was earlier heading the Anti Terrorism Squad ATS said ldquoThe 2611 terror strikes were a learning lesson not only to Mumbai and Indian security agencies but for the entire world While we need to upgrade our intelligence gathering system technically it is an issue that is being addressed Moreover post the incident of the Kalyan youth joining ISIS we have discretely started a deradicalisation programme for youth which has got overwhelming supportrdquoWhen SUNDAY midday spoke to State Director General of Police Praveen Dixit all he would say was ldquoWe do not have any specific intelligence at this moment However we have asked all concerned security agencies to be on alert including the state intelligence department in order to ensure that no untoward incidents happenrdquo