The Hindu : National : "Poor security" for science meets deplored

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Tuesday, Jan 03, 2006

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National

"Poor security" for science meets deplored

Special Correspondent

Call to modernise police photography department

CHENNAI: Scientists' conferences are no less important than political meets, according to president of Forensics International P. Chandra Sekharan.

Prof. Chandra Sekharan, a former Director of the Tamil Nadu Forensic Sciences Department, deplored "the scant respect being shown by the Central and State governments to meetings of scientists." They did not show the same interest in providing either security or carrying out pre-meet surveillance as was done for political meetings.

Referring to the attack on the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, on December 28, he said the incident showed that science conferences could no more be portals of frank academic meetings but were vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

Terrorists chose scientists as their targets as it was the latter who exposed the recalcitrant elements by their technology, he pointed out.

Prof. Chandra Sekharan suggested that the police photography department be strengthened and modernised. Routine videographic surveillance should be carried out before and during science conferences, he said.

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