Probe against cops for terror ‘lapses’

The House had discussed the Opposition’s adjournment motion on the Mumbai terror issue on Tuesday as well and on Wednesday, the newly-appointed state Home Minister replied to the debate, but dwelled more on details of the actual attacks rather than on the issue of the Government’s culpability. He also defended the Mumbai Police who, he said, acted promptly and valiantly. The Home Minister added that a special court would be set up to try the terror case and a chargesheet would be filed against surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab within 60 days. Ujjwal Nikam has been chosen as Special Public Prosecutor in the case, he added.

Patil also unveiled a plan to check future attacks (see box). He said, advisories (intelligence inputs) received by the state were general in scope and did not specify when and where the attacks would happen.

The Home Minister also denied that an advisory mentioned by the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis had ever been received. Fadnavis, however, maintained he had reports of it being sent and that it was “issued by IB Joint Director Prabhakar Alok on November 21.” Its reference number was “PIBUO No 21/ITF-7 Nodal/2008(23)-4405”, he added, and said it contained details about the attack. He also insisted that Roy and Gafoor knew about it. The BJP’s Eknath Khadse added that if politicians could take responsibility and quit, it was not fair to let officials escape blame. “Were they also not responsible?” he asked.

In another allegation, leader of Opposition Ramdas Kadam alleged that slain encounter specialist Vinay Salaskar had moved to slap MCOCCA against a prominent gutka manufacturer linked to Karachi-based underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. “But DGP Roy stopped him. The Government hasn’t removed Roy despite the court indicting the Government on his out-of-turn appointment as DGP,” Kadam alleged.

Mumbai’s anti-terror plan

• Setting up a State Security Council on the lines of the Centre’s National Security Council

• Starting a special NSG-type commando force called Force One

• Adding more bomb disposal squads

• Recruitment of 85 dedicated intelligence personnel within two months. They would not be liable to transfer to other police departments and would be brought in directly and not through the Maharashtra Public Service Commission

• Training state police personnel in some of world’s best-known police departments in terror combat operations. Patil said that he had already spoken to the Chicago Police about combat training for Mumbai cops

• Purchasing 36 fast, bullet-proof boats

• Latest 250 MP5 guns to be given to proposed Maharashtra commandos

• 41 landing points along the coast to be manned by security personnel

• Subjecting crowded private premises like malls and hotels to security audits

• Insitutionalising an identification system for fishermen and maintaining an account of those going in and out of coastal areas