Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 01, 2007
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Online edition of India's National Newspaper Saturday, Sep 01, 2007 ePaper |
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Tamil Nadu
Chennai has been insulated from recent terrorist attacks in the country, but the threats have reached Hyderabad. L. Srikrishna analyses what the city police could do
Are Chennai police geared to tackle threats and emergencies? Is Chennai safe? These are some questions that are making rounds among many people in the city. Though Commissioner of Police G. Nanchil Kumaran said that the entire force is fully geared to meet any emergencies, reports like bomb threat calls are keeping the custodians of law on the toes. After the twin blasts at Hyderabad, as a precautionary measure, checks were intensified wherever it was essential across the city, police officers say. Keeping in mind the need to ensure safety at public places, they convened meetings with major shopping mall operators, officials in charge of security in corporate houses, cinema house managers and hoteliers. Though there is no specific threat or message so far to Tamil Nadu or any specific city, it is just a matter of keeping the system on alert and ensuring that the police are prepared. Such drills not only discourage the law offenders but keep the machinery on vigil. However, a retired police officer said that general alert messages from intelligence officials are insufficient as they are only warnings. The law and order police can act more productively when the information is specific. For instance, information that a man carrying explosives is moving on a four-wheeler along a particular stretch and is heading towards a specific spot would enable the law and order police to secure the accused immediately. In the absence of such vital information, the police cannot be efficient. For this, he said that the intelligence officers should be given adequate powers to intercept, tap and tape any calls of the conversation of criminals and suspects. In the absence of such specifics, the police will have to adhere to checks of all four-wheelers and have to alert all check-posts, which may not be possible. Hence in the larger public interest, intelligence police should be given more powers, if they are to be made accountable, he summed up. A year ago, there were threats from a fundamentalist organisation that explosions might occur at a few places in the city, but stringent checks and round-the-clock vigil ensured that there was no such incident, an officer recalled. Though some of the shopping malls like Spencer Plaza have security personnel at various points on their premises, police have now suggested the guards to carry out frisking at random. A senior intelligence officer said that the bomb detection and disposal squad is fully geared that the response time is swift. Whenever the police control room received anonymous calls, the teams rushed to the spot. In the event of any major trouble, the Rapid Action Force personnel would rush in no time, he noted. The Chennai police are prepared to face any eventuality despite its limitations , another officer said.
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