Opinion - Editorials

Lessons not learnt

Last Saturday’s twin bomb blasts that claimed 40 lives have delivered yet another stern message not just to Andhra Pradesh but to the Central and all State governments. Unfortunately, no lessons seem to have been learnt from the past. It was only on May 18 that the Mecca Masjid in the old city of Hyderabad witnessed a provocative act of terrorism. Within three months, the city has seen a repeat, this time with so much more devastation. By a strange coincidence, just on the day of the blasts, the Hyderabad police unearthed a huge fake currency racket involving a Dubai national and running to over Rs.2.5 crore. It would seem that the underworld-terrorist network in Andhra Pradesh is fairly well established, and this nexus runs parallel to the extremist track of the Maoists. A hard look at the terrorist strikes and the question whether the Intelligence Bureau’s warning was acted upon are relevant not so much for fixing the blame as for the pointers they throw up for the corrective action required. The focus must shift to ways of preventing such tragedies and, should they occur, responding to them. The latest bombings have exposed not only the lack of local intelligence, but also the woeful inadequacy of the mechanism, if one exists at all, to handle tragedies and disasters on so massive a scale.

The success of any anti-terrorism strategy depends on the strength and credibility of counter-intelligence. Though a counter-intelligence mechanism does exist in many States, including Andhra Pradesh, it has obviously not been effective or efficient. Hyderabad has not been able to concentrate on counter-terrorism measures as much as it has done on combating naxalite extremism. Its achievement in cracking the Hiren Pandya murder case is a measure of the capability that exists. Chief Minister Rajasekhara Reddy must now focus on revamping the State’s intelligence machinery, strengthening the counter-intelligence unit, and getting the right persons to man them. Such personnel need to be protected at all costs, sometimes even after retirement. The threat perception level in Andhra Pradesh remains very high and available intelligence points to the presence of fundamentalist groups, sleepers, and cash flows with foreign links. All these need to be watched, monitored, and analysed thoroughly if dastardly terrorist attacks are to be prevented. A greater coordination among various wings of the State police and regular exchange of information and intelligence with the Central agencies acquire importance in this exercise. To meet the challenge of terrorism successfully, these issues need to be addressed with a sense of urgency.

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