Mock drills held hours before real attack

Three hours before motorcycle-borne assailants fired at tourists in front of Jama Masjid,the Delhi Police and other civic authorities,including DMRC,NDMC,fire services and the Delhi Disaster Management Authority were,ironically,busy preparing themselves to deal with such a scenario.

Mock drills were conducted at six Metro stations at RK Puram,Karkardooma,Vishwavidyalaya,New Delhi,Botanical Garden (Noida) and IFFCO Chowk (Gurgaon). The police are supposed to be on a high alert during the entire duration of a mock drill.

A drill also took place at the New Delhi Metro station,merely two km from Jama Masjid. The drill started at 8 am when information was passed on about two Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts inside the Metro station to agencies like the Delhi Police,Fire department,the bomb disposal squad,NDMC,Traffic Police and Civil Defence.

Metro officials said it was a surprise drill and prior announcements were made on the trains and stations minutes before the drill started so that commuters did not panic.