NEW DELHI: Top intelligence and Delhi Police officials, acting on a CIA alert, have formalised the plan to fortify the capital. This time, the alert was more specific, indicating that two hotels and the Delhi-Agra highway could be potential targets of a terrorist attack plan by Hafiz Saeed, founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
The agencies fear the LeT is trying to carry out 26/11-type attacks in the capital this time. Although, the potential target, Delhi-Agra highway, was not specifically mentioned in the red alert, sources claimed that the vast stretch of the highway that has a high density of foreign travellers visiting the Taj Mahal could be selected to inflict maximum casualties among foreign nationals.
After the latest red alert, electronic monitoring by Central intelligence agencies—dedicated and random—has increased exponentially. Random electronic interceptions are happening in sensitive areas such as Old Delhi, Okhla, all railway stations, slum clusters and certain bus stops to eavesdrop on the conversation of possible suspects. They are tuning in to different radio frequencies to identify key words used by terrorists indicating attacks and methods. Random interceptions have traditionally proved to be the best monitoring method to track down terrorists. The frequency of the electronic sets automatically changes and tunes in, when a key word is picked up.
Although, the terror advisory issued by the Intelligence Bureau on December 16 has warned of a potential terror threat in Delhi lasting in to January 2015, sources said the deployment of seasoned operatives will continue until February 2015. The joint mechanism working in close coordination with Delhi Police is working round the clock to enhance the protective cover in the capital city.
“Immediate steps are required to scale up security around schools and other educational institutions which are considered more vulnerable due to a variety of factors. Mock drills conducted on the basis of existing Standard Operating Procedures are happening in all vulnerable locations,” the advisory stated.
On December 17, around 172 anti-terrorism officials and hotel managers were called in for meeting in a secret facility outside the police headquarters, in which senior officers briefed them on how to sensitise police officials posted in the field. Anti-terrorism officials (ATOs) were asked to gather intelligence in their designated localities. The ATOs deputed at police stations in Okhla, Jamia Nagar, Seelampur, Trilokpuri, Shahdara, Paharganj and Old Delhi have been asked to verify any new person who has recently hired houses in those areas as tenants. They have also been asked to verify the credentials of people staying in hotels for more than a day in these areas.
“All the hotel managers have been asked to install close-circuit television cameras on their premises and share the footage with local police officials on a day-to-day basis. Even all the big hotels have been asked to do the same,” said Deepak Mishra, Special Commissioner of Police. He also said they have directed hotel managers to increase their security and ask the security staff to remain on high alert. The instructions are to deploy at least four security guards at the main gate of the hotels. It has been made mandatory for them to install bollards (electronically operated steel rods to regulate the entry of vehicles) at the gates.
All Station House Officers have been directed to interact with market associations to ask them to stay vigilant. Security officials deputed at various crowded markets like Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh, Sarojini Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, Connaught Place and Saket have been asked to keep an eye on any person behaving in a suspicious manner. Additional SWAT teams and Quick Reaction Team commandos armed with sophisticated weapons have been deployed in these locations. All the CCTVs installed in crowded markets are being reviewed. “Orders have been given to replace the non-functioning ones immediately,” said another police officer. At around eight places in Delhi, CCTV cameras are installed based on the Surat Model, which has been very effective in Gujarat. The members of market associations and the local DCP form a semi-official body and thereafter businessmen and shopkeepers contribute money to install high-resolution revolving cameras. The members of the association employ staff to monitor the footage and report all suspicious activities to the police.
Security at Lutyens’ Delhi near Parliament, President House, India Gate and Connaught Place has been increased manifold. “From Parliament to Connaught Place, a fail-proof security system is in place,” said Special Commissioner of Police SBK Singh. Security at public meetings in view of the elections has been increased. Security officials have been asked to check and recheck weak and vulnerable spots in Lutyens’ Delhi. The officials are checking and verifying the credentials of Central Public Works Department workers in these areas. Around 400 police officials have been deputed as spotters in various locations, including Old Delhi. They were briefed on operating protocol by central intelligence agencies.
The biggest threat security personnel face is subversion at public meetings and gatherings. The police also suspect that terrorists could take family members of public servants or police officials as hostages and then force them to carry out terror attacks at public meetings. As a counter measure, security personnel have adopted zero-leverage policy. At any public meeting, only those with requisite official passes and cleared security checks would be allowed in. Another big challenge for security officials is sanitising employees working on temporary contracts. Many government officers have employed temps to do sundry work. The police are checking their credentials, too.
At railway stations and metro stations, the deployment of police force has been increased. “All leaves of police personnel have been cut to a minimum. Anti-sabotage units have been asked to check parking lots as well as railway stations,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways) Sanjay Bhatia. Earlier there were 200 policemen deployed in these locations, which has now been increased to around 500. The officer also said they have deployed spotters 24/7 in civilian clothes at railway stations. Local police officers have been directed to interact with vagabonds, beggars and shopkeepers and taxi drivers to gather information on suspicious persons and objects.
The agencies and Special Cell officials are grilling suspected terrorists, particularly members of SIMI, lodged in various jails across the country. While security at Tihar Jail has been stepped up, special cell operatives have rounded up all suspected terrorists in the prison to gather inputs.
Strangely, four days ago two unidentified women walked into the Special Cell office with a letter, which they claimed was from a terrorist organisation threatening to strike in Delhi. The women claimed to have given similar inputs to the Agra police before the bomb blasts happened in an Agra hospital in 2011. “The inputs were very specific and we are verifying the letter,” said a police officer. He also hinted that for the first time, the terror attacks were a possibility on highways connecting Delhi where terrorists can take commuters as hostages.
The central intelligence agencies have prepared a seven-page Standard Operating Procedure for dealing with terrorist attack in schools. As per the advisory, each school should have concrete boundary walls with three to four gates. Each gate should be manned by at least three security guards on a 24-hour basis. A telephone connection should always be active at the school’s main gate. There should be proper illumination along the perimeter of the school so that nobody can jump over the wall into the building during the night hours. The school administration should install CCTV cameras along the entire boundary. Concertina wire may be fixed on the iron grills above the boundary to deter intruders. The school gates should be closed immediately after the arrival of the schoolchildren, and a central alarm system and public announcement system should be installed. The security guards should be provided with walkie-talkie sets. The report asks the schools to carry out regular drills and parents should be regularly informed about the return of the children as a procedure. If there should be a crisis, the parents would not be allowed to rush to the school since it would obstruct police operations against terrorists.
In view of the recent attack by Taliban militants on the Army Public School in Pakistan’s Peshawar, the Indian Army has reviewed its existing security set-up and intensified monitoring all soft and identified targets. According to sources, the army has also reviewed and identified vulnerable areas and has informed the local police officials. “Places like the army hospitals, schools, CSD canteens and parks in the cantonment, which have been considered soft targets, have been put on high alert. Several measures like the deployment of quick reaction teams, security drills, sensitisation and increasing alertness are being carried out to prevent any untoward incident,” said a police officer.
In 2013, Delhi Police arrested 11 terrorists belonging to different groups. This year, the Special Cell arrested seven suspected terrorists. With the arrest of top IM members, the terror organisation seems to have been weakened. However, IM’s top members, Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal, escaped to Pakistan from where they are in constant touch with SIMI operatives. On their instructions, SIMI operatives started regrouping across the country to carry out attacks. Intelligence alerts say that SIMI radicals, who escaped from Khandwa Jail in Madhya Pradesh, might carry out blasts in Delhi. The fear is that terrorist sleeper cells across India will be activated to carry out strikes across the country ahead of the Obama visit.Delhi:
The Soft Target
From the 2001 Parliament attack to the bombing of an Israeli diplomat’s car on February 13, 2012, Delhi has suffered over a dozen terror attacks, which killed hundreds of people and injured thousands. The last one was on September 7 , 2011 when medium-intensity bomb blasts took place outside a crowded entry gate to the Delhi High Court complex. At least nine people were killed and 45 injured. Another major attack was before the Commonwealth Games on September 19, 2010. Armed terrorists attacked two Taiwan tourists near the Jama Masjid. In another incident, explosives were found placed in a car, which caught fire in Chandni Chowk on the same day. But the bombings of 13 September 2008 were the worst—a series of five synchronised bomb blasts that took place within a span of few minutes at Connaught Place, Karol Bagh’s Gaffar Market and M-Block Market in Greater Kailash-1 in Delhi left at least 30 people killed and over 100 injured. Since 1996, 179 have died in terror attacks in Delhi.
Change of Terror Tactics
In the last decade, security agencies have seen changes in terrorist operation methods in Delhi. Earlier, foreign terrorists were directly involved in carrying out strikes in the city. They would enter India through any of the numerous porous border points that India shares with Bangladesh and Nepal. They would strike and flee via the same route they came in. Over the years, some terror outfits started setting up bases in Delhi, and lately have been successful in motivating many local residents to run homegrown terror modules. From 2006 onwards, the homegrown terror module, the Indian Mujahideen, formed by five students in Bhatkal in Karnataka in 2003, started carrying out attacks across the country. Pakistan’s ISI and LeT helped them to spread terror in India.
The ISI used radical Islam and funding from Pakistan and the Middle East to indoctrinate young members of the banned SIMI, ultimately achieving their goal of creating homegrown terrorists. Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal, Aamir, Mohammad Tariq Anjuman Hasan and Fasih Mahmood transformed SIMI into the Indian Mujahideen. The police have managed to bust three IM terror modules so far, and some 42 terrorists have been arrested within four years.