Close to a year after 26/11, Home Minister R R Patil on Monday said that the state government, learning from its past mistakes, has implemented several measures to increase the state police's capacity to counter any similar incidents. A revamp of state intelligence machinery and cyber surveillance has also been given attention, Patil said addressing a seminar on terror preparedness organised by the Mumbai Police at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Nariman Point.
"Taking into account the importance of intelligence gathering, the intelligence machinery has been strengthened. The first batch of dedicated intelligence officers trained by the Maharashtra Intelligence Academy is already on the job while the next batch is being trained," he said.
"We have created a new post of Director General of Police, in charge of the Anti Terrorism Squad, the Force One and the Anti Naxal Operations. About 15,000 new recruits will be added to the state police force this year. Bomb disposal capabilities, CCTVs and coastal security have been strengthened. Funds are being made available at highest priority level, and procedural delays are being addressed. I have great confidence in the ability of my police force to deliver," Patil said.
Acting Director General of Police A N Roy and Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandhan convened the seminar. Also on the panel were retired Director General of Police (Punjab) K P S Gill, Director General of Police (J &K) Dr Ashok Bhan, executive director of the Institute of Conflict Management Dr Ajai Sahni and associate editor of The Hindu Praveen Swami.
Outlining some of the capacity-building measures of the Mumbai Police, Sivanandan said, "We have Quick Response Teams in each of the five police regions in the city, 39 combat vehicles, 585 men with GPS sets, 13 units of the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad, and 900 beat marshals. Besides this, there is the National Security Guard's Mumbai hub, and Force One is being unveiled tomorrow. New weapons, bullet-proof boats, and amphibious sea legs have also been procured."
According to the Police Commissioner, rehearsals of the Standard Operating Procedure have been conducted, and 1,000 CCTV cameras would soon be installed in important places across the city. The Mumbai Police Control Room is being upgraded at a cost of Rs 2 crore, and executive health check-ups have been lined up for the entire force at a cost of Rs 6.5 crore. New gyms have also been set up at 12 police stations, and several citizens networking initiatives have been undertaken.
Gill stressed on the need to strengthen the police stations "as it was the basic unit of policing." He also spoke on the need to treat policemen better, and to develop political consensus to fight terror.
Speaking about the situation in Jammu&Kashmir, Bhan said, "After the 26/11 attack, focus on J&K has again increased as infiltration has picked up," Bhan pointed out.
Sahni spoke on the need to crackdown on all forms of crime, however insignificant they may seem, in order to eradicate the threat of terrorism.
R R Patil : State in much better situation to handle terror attacks
Manmohan : China's non-democratic path is not for India
Washington, Nov 24 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to downplay the recent US-China joint statement saying it's not of 'direct concern' to him, but asserted that India will not choose the 'non-democratic' Chinese path of high economic growth, but its own route of democracy and development.
'What happens between President Obama and Chinese President Hu is not of direct concern to us,' he said Monday during an interaction with policy wonks at the Council on Foreign Relations, the influential US think-tank.
He was responding to a question on a section of the recent US-China joint statement envisaging a role for Beijing in South Asia's developments and in India-Pakistan affairs that triggered apprehensions in India about the Obama administration appeasing China at the cost of India.
The joint statement was issued after the talks between US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing last week.
The statement cast a shadow over the visit of Manmohan Singh to the US, strengthening the impression among some quarters that the Obama administration was more focussed on China than maintaining momentum of ties with India which were transformed by a landmark nuclear deal last year.
In a bid to repudiate any impression of rivalry between India and China, the two rising Asian powers, Manmohan Singh underlined that engagement was the best way to promote the peaceful rise of China.
'We want the world to prepare for the peaceful rise of China as a major power. Engagement is the right path for India as well as the US,' he said.
In a veiled critique of China, Manmohan Singh said although India's economic performance may not match that of China's, but it would still prefer the Indian democracy rather than the Chinese non-democratic path.
'There is no doubt that the Chinese growth performance is superior to the Indian performance,' he said in response to another question on why the Indian economic performance was lagging behind that of China's.
'But I have always believed there are other values which are more important than the growth of gross domestic product like respect for fundamental human freedoms, respect for rule of law, respect for multi-religious, multi-ethnic rights,' he said.
'Certainly, I would like to choose the Chinese path. I would like to stick to the Indian path,' he stressed.
Sonia Gandhi assures Karkare's wife of support
New Delhi, Nov 23 (PTI) Kavita Karkare and Smita Salaskar, the widows of slain Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar, today met Congress President Sonia Gandhi here and apprised her of problems following the death of their husbands. The hour-long meeting came three days before the first anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks that left about 180 people dead.
Both Karkare and Salaskar died while fighting terrorists near Cama Hospital. "We have got assurance from her (Sonia Gandhi).
She has been very supportive and emotional throughout the meeting. We have discussed all the problems of Martyrs," Karkare told reporters after the meeting.
However, she declined to give details of the meeting saying, "We do not want to reveal our personal things here." Karkare said, "We do not have much complaints.
She understood our plight and the tough time we are facing and assured us of all help. We have got a very positive response from her.
" Demanding that Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist captured during the attacks should be sent to the gallows, Karkare said, "all victims and martyrs families feel that he should be hanged." When asked to comment about her husband''s lost bullet proof jacket, she said "jackets have been disappeared.
That is true. It should not happen again to anyone.