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New targets of terror

Terrorists aim to hit a nation where it hurts the most. In India's case, its high-tech institutions and skilled manpower could be the new targets. The attack on the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, in which one scientist, a retired IIT-Delhi professor, was brutally killed and five others were injured, signals what could be a new phase. By choosing a premier research institute in a south Indian city, the perpetrators of the outrage wanted to be seen as lengthening their arm and widening their choice of targets. This is the first time Bangalore, an important base for several Information Technology companies that have become the new face of India, has been marked out for an actual terrorist hit. The police investigation into the incident is at a preliminary stage, but the needle of suspicion points to Lashkar-e-Taiba. To ask why such an outfit would indulge in firing at random or `hit and run,' rather than fidayeen attacks, is to fail to understand the mind of Lashkar-type organisations. Terrorism may do precision-targeting or it may not. Shock-and-awe serves to demonstrate the softness of civil society, the vulnerability of a whole system. IISc was a soft target, if ever there was one. Praveen Swami's exclusive report published on page one sets out a disturbing context in which two dozen intelligence warnings over the past four years should have better prepared the Bangalore authorities for Wednesday's heart-rending tragedy. Evidence emerged in recent months that Bangalore remained a key target for the Lashkar. Specifically, the last warning, issued some days ago and based on an intercept of communication between two Lashkar operatives in New Delhi, spoke of possible strikes against high-profile IT facilities and individuals.

But can anything be done to prevent trained gunmen fielded by a resilient fanatical outfit from spraying bullets or lobbing hand grenades on unsuspecting scientists coming out of an international conference? Provided intelligence inputs can be acted on quickly, in a coordinated way, and the system can be made to assign a high enough political priority to vigilance and pre-emptive action against terrorism, the answer could be `yes.' That terrorists placed Bangalore in the crosshairs surfaced as early as 2001. Information gained from a Lashkar operative sentenced to death for his role in the December 2000 attack on the Red Fort unravelled plans to attack the farmhouse of Wipro chairman Azim Premji. Terrorist groups were known to be planning to extort money from the hugely successful IT firms in Bangalore and other southern cities. The Lashkar apparently came to the conclusion that an attack on Bangalore — India's No. 1 `new economy' metro — could not fail to catch the attention of the international community aside from having a devastating economic impact domestically. Professor M.C. Puri, an unassuming retired teacher, didn't need to be in Bangalore. His love of knowledge and attachment to his students brought him into terrorism's firing range. The best tribute to his memory will be swift apprehension of the killers and intelligent steps to minimise, if not totally rule out, the chances of such tragedies happening in future.

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