The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Bangalore attack sparks a security debate

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Bangalore attack sparks a security debate

V. Jayanth

What can research institutes and small companies do?

ON THE ALERT: Chennai City Police Commissioner R. Nataraj briefing the Special Action Group policemen. — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI: A positive fall out of the tragic gunning down of an academic in Bangalore earlier this week has been the initiation of a debate on the security environment. The vulnerability of educational and research institutions, as well as industry and trade to such unexpected and indiscriminate attacks by terrorists stands fully exposed. Heads of institutions, captains of industry, heads of small companies and branch offices, the software and BPO companies, as well as the police are now thinking up ways to meet the new security challenge.

Senior police officers here say that an exhaustive list of institutes and companies that may face a security threat will be drawn up at different levels. While the Central and State agencies or institutions, including sensitive installations, have already been provided with security, institutes and the private sector make their own arrangements, except when there are VVIP visits to their premises.

``Special security is provided on request for special occasions. Otherwise, the private sector ties up with private security agencies,'' an Additional Director-General of Police explains. After the Indian Institute of Science incident , a fresh assessment of the security scenario and the needs of the private sector have to be made, security analysts argue. At the moment, retired Defence and police officers may be heading the security departments in the private sector.

Similarly, retired police personnel have also set up many security agencies in Chennai and in the districts. These agencies provide security guards or watchmen for residential colonies, apartment and commercial complexes, and also to some smaller companies. Top-rung security agencies provide more sophisticated service to the medium and large-scale operations in trade and industry. In most cases, the guards are not armed, and even in the few establishments where they carry arms, they are basically small weapons. None of them can stand up to a terrorist attack.

Police and intelligence sources say that there can be no logic or rationale behind the choice of targets, when it is not a Government establishment or a defence unit. In the case of Bangalore, they say the intention must have been to only ``create a scare.'' Otherwise, the terrorist(s) could have slain more academics and scientists.

`It can be just to spread terror, or even a dry run,'' reasons a senior officer. That is what makes the police think, and think again. After Bangalore where? It can be Chennai or Hyderabad, is a guess.

The Human Resources Manager of a medium-sized IT firm on the Old Mahabalipuram Road says: ``Many of our staff have raised security concerns. And we are more worried about the smaller offices we run within the city. We work till early morning. In many places streetlights do not burn. There are no compound walls. We walk on to the roads from office. If somebody chooses to come in a two-wheeler or car, open fire and speed away, there is precious little we or anybody else can do.

At the moment, we are discussing a security arrangement inside the office. But the moment you step out, there can be no security."

A sort of debate has begun within the industry and among the research and educational institutions. Their suggestion seems to be that Chennai's Police Commissioner should convene a meeting of corporates, institutions and others in the Greater Chennai area to discuss security.

They think it may be worthwhile to get the security agencies to also interact with the police establishment to evolve an acceptable system that can be implemented.

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