NEW DELHI: Evidence has emerged that poor communication and bureaucratic delays might have resulted in the squandering of an opportunity to pre-empt the December 28, 2005 terrorist attack on the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

Sources told The Hindu that an identification document, issued by the Election Commission, belonging to Mohammad Ashraf Paddar, a schoolteacher from Jammu and Kashmir, detained on suspicion of having participated in the attack, was found outside a military facility in Bangalore on September 5.

Concerned at a possible terrorist strike on their premises, the Army authorities promptly forwarded the card to the Police Commissioner, asking for verification of his antecedents.

The Bangalore police officials, however, forwarded this request to the Jammu and Kashmir police, through the Intelligence Bureau, only on December 29. Jammu and Kashmir police officials, contacted by The Hindu , said their Bangalore counterparts' failure to follow the common-sense procedure — of phoning Srinagar for verification of the document — highlighted serious problems in the functioning of the force.

"We get calls several times a week from our colleagues in other States," a senior official said, "and teams often visit us for follow-up investigation. The Bangalore police could have just picked up the phone or put someone on a flight."

The Jammu and Kashmir police authorities say they are still unsure whether Paddar visited Bangalore in the weeks before the attack or whether the card was used by another individual with or without his consent. Paddar reported the loss of his card, issued just before the 2002 Assembly elections, soon after he obtained it. In 2003, he applied for and received a fresh card from the Election Commission.

With no record of his involvement in terrorism, Paddar is an unlikely suspect. The Jammu and Kashmir police say his brother was murdered by terrorists some years ago. Investigators say Paddar has given a number of contradictory statements that have fuelled suspicion of his possible role in the Bangalore attack.

For example, Paddar first said he had not travelled outside the State in years but then admitted to visiting Shimla in Himachal Pradesh some months ago.

Whether or not Paddar was involved in the attack, sources close to the investigation seem increasingly convinced that the assault rifles and grenades used in the Bangalore strike were transported from Jammu and Kashmir. Local Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives are thought to have made arrangements to transport and harbour an assault unit from Jammu and Kashmir but did not participate in the attack. News that Paddar's card was found outside a military facility means it may also be considered a target.

The Lashkar cells have often used similar tactics. Several separate Lashkar units, for example, carried out the recent serial bombings in New Delhi, communicating only through Tariq Ahmad Dar, the organisation's alleged principal organiser in Srinagar.

For the 2002 attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, separate cells were charged with transporting fidayeen to the city, moving their weapons and transporting them to the site of assault.

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