State works on steps to tackle aerial attacks

The state government is working on a new standard operating procedure to handle emergencies triggered by security alerts of a possible aerial terror attack on Mumbai.

The state government is working on a new standard operating procedure (SOP) to handle emergencies triggered by security alerts of a possible aerial terror attack on Mumbai. The move comes in the wake of intelligence inputs in September,which suggested that a small aircraft hijacked from Hubli could be diverted and crashed into a highrise here.

The first joint meeting,which was held on November 28 at Mantralaya,saw aviation heads,along with officials from IAF,Navy,Maharashtra ATS,Force One,Commissioner of Police,Maharashtra DGP and members from Home Department. This is also the first initiative where the police machinery will have to co-ordinate with the senior naval and Air Force officers to arrive at an action plan.

Officials said that on September 24,it took several minutes to co-ordinate phone calls soon after the alert was received,with several agencies unsure about their role in such an event. While the alert was specific about the source of the attack,it was unclear about the target location and the possible time of target.

Mondays meeting was the first in the line of joint co-ordination; primarily outlining the role of each agency in threat situations. For now,only the Air Force has the powers to shoot down a hijacked aircraft if its clear that it is going to be used for a terror attack. The other aspects that the meeting looked into include the need to cut hierarchies for quick decision making and co-ordination.

In such situations,you just have 10 minutes to take a decision and execute it. One cant be making calls and holding lines, said an official. The orders have to be specific and direct. The SOPs first purpose hence is to list officers who will be put on the job with defined roles.

Agencies like ATS will be asked to list sensitive locations based on their intelligence pool,with the security apparatus then coming together to analyse the aerial routes to figure out a counter-action plan. A senior official said agencies like Force One will also have the role of a preventive team and also a team of first responders.

Senior police officers were also asked to prepare an analysis of the threat to offshore installations from underwater divers and swimmers.

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