India's deadliest attack in 15 years shows that little has improved in Mumbai's ability to thwart terrorists since bombs on commuter trains claimed 187 lives only 2 1/2 years ago. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
MUMBAI - THE 60-hour killing spree by less than a dozen terrorists in Mumbai last week underscores the failure of India's police force to keep pace with better armed, equipped and trained militants, a former intelligence agent said.
'That system has collapsed,' said Vikram Sood, former director of India's foreign intelligence agency, known as the Research and Analysis Wing. 'Police are overworked, understaffed and undertrained.'
At least 20 officers, including the head of the Maharashtra state Anti-Terrorism Squad, were among almost 200 people killed in the gun and grenade attacks, Bloomberg news reported. Militants roamed through a railroad station, cafe, hospital and three five-star hotels, all less than 10 minutes from the headquarters of the state police.
India's deadliest attack in 15 years shows that little has improved in Mumbai's ability to thwart terrorists since bombs on commuter trains claimed 187 lives only 2 1/2 years ago, said Bloomberg. Last week's carnage started at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, one of two main stations that had installed closed-circuit cameras and metal detectors since the 2006 attacks.
'I don't understand how this happened,' said Jorge Vellena, 29, an Argentinean engineer who was cutting short his six-week vacation in India. 'If a person appears at a train station with a gun, how could he not have been stopped? How could so many people have been shot with all these policemen around? I don't understand.'
Slow Response Miscommunication, a delay in calling in special forces troops and a lack of intelligence about the number and location of the terrorists dogged the police response. Mumbai police chief D.N. Roy said all guests and staff had been rescued from the luxury Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel on Nov 27, more than 40 hours before the last terrorist was killed.
The close proximity of police stations didn't ensure a speedy response. The Leopold Cafe is opposite the Colaba police station and a block from the Taj, which is about 200m from the Maharashtra police headquarters. The railway terminal, which used to be called Victoria Terminus, is close to the Mumbai crime branch's head office.
'This couldn't have been prevented but after the incident, it could have been dealt with much faster,' said Dennis Van Egmond, who is visiting from Leiden, Holland. He works in his family business of designing and selling chandeliers and has visited India more than five times. 'After the attack on Leopold, security didn't show up until much after, even though the Colaba police station is right there.'
Automatic weapons While the terrorists who mounted the Mumbai attack were armed with AK-47s and other automatic weapons, the policemen who initially fought them were mostly armed with rifles, said Bloomberg news.
The officers usually carry rifles and batons as they guard buildings and patrol roads in Mumbai, where at least 422 people have been killed in attacks since 2000.
In India there is an average of 122 policemen for every 100,000 people which is much lower than the United Nations' average of 222, according to the Institute of Peace and conflict Studies. Most western countries have ratios between 250 and 500 per 100,000 people, according to the institute.
Policemen are also used for protecting politicians, straining resources.
'It's the beat constable who provides the best intelligence,' Suba Chandran, deputy director at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, said in a telephone interview from the capital, New Delhi. 'Unfortunately, what has happened over the years is that the local police are highly politicised and overworked.'
Preparing target In September, the domestic Intelligence Bureau issued warnings that a unit of Lashkar-i-Taiba, a Muslim extremist group from Pakistan, was preparing to target the Taj Mahal hotel and the Research and Analysis Wing warned of attacks in Mumbai, according to a newspaper report.
'It was not a total blackout as there were some intelligence reports,' said former intelligence official Mr Sood. Local policing has to be strengthened, he said in a telephone interview from New Delhi.
The National Security Guard commando force took about nine hours to reach the site of the attacks from their New Delhi base. The NSG is also used to protect key politicians in the capital, stretching their resources further.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday that another four NSG hubs would be established as the government sought to counter criticism that it hadn't done enough. Mr Singh also replaced the home minister, appointing Palaniappan Chidambaram in place of Shivraj Patil, who resigned, taking responsibility for the attacks.
Mr Singh plans a crime-fighting agency modelled on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, he told leaders of other political parties yesterday. More than 300 people died this year in attacks on markets, bus stations, mosques and theaters before the Nov 26 shootings.
'This is the real world. We cannot stop it in New York, we cannot stop it in London, we cannot stop it in Tel Aviv, we can't stop it here,' Mr Van Egmond said. 'India's naive, which is part of the charm. There is only one SWAT team and it is located in Delhi.'
