Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Security lapse

Security review, sounding alerts and the like always come after serious damage has been done. The failure of the police to provide adequate protection, despite being armed with information of possible terror attacks from the Central intelligence agencies, is unacceptable. The Registrar-did-not-inform-us argument (Dec. 29) is at best an excuse. How is it possible for 56 foreigners to enter a State without police knowledge? Would the DGP have said something similar had the conference been of a political party or politicians?

N. Jayaraj,
Chennai

* * *

It looks like only politicians are important to the country — they alone are given maximum security. Intellectuals apparently do not matter much to nation building.

Rameeza A. Rasheed,
Chennai

* * *

Terrorists seem to have turned their attention from politicians to the real wealth of the country. It is unfortunate that adequate security was not given to scientists attending an international seminar.

A.S. Ganesh,
Bangalore

* * *

Why did the IISc not ask for police security on its campus when 56 foreign delegates and 250 Indian delegates assembled there for an international conference? But that is no excuse for the security lapse. The police knew there was a threat to vital installations and information technology firms. It is complacency at its worst.

K.M.G. Vivekanandam,
Madurai, T.N.

* * *

The attack could have been prevented had adequate security measures been in place. Condemnation alone will not stop such attacks; tight security will.

P. Sreehari,
Hyderabad

* * *

That neither the IISc Registrar nor the organising secretary of the conference asked for security is no excuse. When the police were forewarned of possible attacks, they should have stepped up security throughout the city. At least their presence in large numbers would have averted the abominable incident.

R. Rajesh Prabhu,
Chennai

* * *

Even a timely warning does not seem to have had any impact on the police. As it is, India suffered the worst calamities in 2005 and it is painful that the year should end on such an unfortunate note. The Silicon Valley of India should rise to the challenge and prove that nothing can shake its determination.

R.S. Vasan,
Chennai

* * *

The scourge of terrorism has made inroads into yet another cosmopolitan city. The attack is distressing in view of the fact that the intelligence agencies warned the Karnataka police of terrorist plans.

D.K. Singh,
Visakhapatnam, A.P.

* * *

Security should have been tighter in a place where delegates from many countries congregated. At such sensitive spots, mere lathi-wielding policemen are an anachronism.

Panchapagesan Kothandaraman,
Chennai

* * *

Bangalore has for long been in the hit list of terrorists. Yet the police failed to set up even checkpoints outside a premier institution hosting an international conference. Very unfortunate indeed!

Ancy Mathew,
Kozhikode, Kerala

* * *

What is worse than the attack itself is that the attackers escaped from the centre of the city. It is sickening to hear statements of incompetence from authorities. That all high-value targets are vulnerable when a threat perception exists is plain commonsense.

Kodali V. Rao,
Reston, Virginia

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

New targets of terror
Wise King Jigme Wangchuk
A tangled web called the Bharatiya Janata Party
Chance to lobby Putin
Concern in Russia over Chinese toxic spill
Air traffic management foggy
Of holocausts, past and future
How the Web will link us all
Terror attack
Security lapse

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu