A high-intensity blast in a car near the Red Fort Metro Station in Delhi on November 10 killed 13 people and injured more than 20 others. Delhi has witnessed such terror incidents in the past: In the year 2000, a unit of the Rajputana Rifles in the Red Fort was attacked; in 2001, terrorists stormed the Parliament complex; in 2005, there were blasts in Sarojini Nagar and Paharganj; in 2008, there were blasts in Connaught Place, Greater Kailash and Karol Bagh, and finally, in 2011, there was an explosion outside the Delhi High Court.
For the last 14 years, however, the national capital had respite from terror incidents. A sense of complacency was also perhaps creeping in. That has now been shaken. Eternal vigilance, as they say, is the price of liberty, and one can now see the security personnel in a state of high alert all over the country, especially in the states of Haryana and Uttar
Pradesh, and the Union Territory ofJammu and Kashmir.
The striking features of the latest incident of terror and the lessons it conveys deserve to be properly analysed.
One, the battle against terror is going to be a long and drawn-out one. A pause of some years only conveys that the terrorists are perhaps regrouping and waiting for the appropriate time to hit again.
Two, terrorists have graduated to recruiting educated persons with scientific, medical, and technical skills. This was particularly evident in the latest incident in which the prime suspects are Dr Umar Un Nabi of Pulwama, the most prominent member of the Faridabad module who was driving the car that blew up, Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie, who was teaching at the Al-Falah University, Dr Shaheen Shahid, a doctor from Lucknow, and Dr Abdul Majeed Rather, who worked at Famous Medicare Super Speciality Hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur.
Three, the security agencies did a great job in the sense that a “spectacular” terror attack, which was being planned at different locations across the country, was foiled. However, there was a serious lacuna in intelligence gathering. Reports so far indicate that this plot had been incubating for about two years.
Four, the fact that terrorists were holding a stock of nearly 3,000 kilograms of explosives is very disturbing. They could have created havoc across the country. Its source must be identified. Is there leakage within the country?
Was it obtained from outside the country’s borders?
Five, it is even more alarming that biological attacks were also being planned across the country. These can inflict horrific mass casualties. The anti-terror squads (ATS) of the Gujarat and UP police claim to have unravelled a plot to mix the deadly toxin, ricin, with temple prasad across cities.
Six, there is a Turkey angle also to the conspiracy. Dr Umar Un Nabi is reported to have recently visited the country to meet his handlers.
It is a grim scenario. Much has been lost, though much has been saved, too. A tremendous challenge lies before the government.
The writer, a retired IPS officer, has served as Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF) and was a member of the National Security Advisory Board
