The Pathankot terror strike could not be seen as just another attack orchestrated by radical groups as the target this time around was a strategic area where a prominent airbase is located.
The failure of our defensive forces in preventing the terror attack is shocking. Our intelligence agencies had given specific inputs to the Defence Ministry of possible attacks prior to the 26/11 Mumbai terror strike and the Pathankot attack. It is a matter of grave concern that the authorities concerned totally failed to act on the terror alert on both occasions.
Of course, given the sudden nature of the attack there was evidently no time to prevent the onslaught in Mumbai. However, the terrorists managed to strike at Pathankot overcoming security forces including the National Security Guards (NSG) who were deployed after the central intelligence agencies had alerted the police about the possible terror attack on the sensitive installation.
I strongly believe that such an attack could not have carried without the ‘help’ of hostile elements within the army or those who are in the know.
In India, hundreds of thousands of people live in crammed lanes close to military bases, airports, railway stations, historical monuments as well as major strategic locations in the country. It poses two challenges to the security forces; firstly, civilians get killed in terror attacks, and secondly, the high population density makes these areas vulnerable to infiltration.
The authorities need to take a serious note of this threat and relocate the people residing adjacent to all protected areas. We should act rapidly to address this issue in the wake of the warnings issued by terrorist organisation such as Islamic State (IS) to target India.
I do not want to blame our army men for the security lapse. We need to evolve strategies to ensure vigil at our key military bases by adopting effective and systematic measures to monitor them.
Unfortunately, it takes such major tragedies and causalities to prod us into action. Metal detectors and other explosive detection gadgets lying unused in our railway stations and other crowded and sensitive areas is a telling example of the lackadaisical attitude of our security officers. Anyone can enter a railway station and board a train with any amount of luggage without facing any security check. It should also be considered as chink in our security system.
I have come across a statement made by the Punjab deputy chief minister in the aftermath of the Pathankot incident. He sought deployment of more BSF troops along the State’s border with Pakistan and a special police team as a ‘second line of defence’’. To ensure national security what we need is a centralised strategy, other than such incohesive calls for meeting eventualities.
The death of Lt. Col. E. K. Niranjan may raise several questions in the coming days, I fear. Why did Niranjan, who was leading the bomb disposal squad attached to the NSG commando, go by himself to defuse the bomb instead of ordering a subordinate to do the job. It reminded me of the tragedy occurred to my son Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan.
Sandeep, who was well aware of the armed terrorists who were hiding on the top floor of the Taj Hotel, could have ordered the men under him to raid the floor. However, he charged into the area to gun down the terrorists. Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare also met the same fate on the same day. He could have easily passed the orders sitting in his office, but he bravely entered the battlefield and made the ultimate sacrifice.
I’m deeply pained by the fact that the death of such fearless souls who waged a valiant battle against terrorists is a great loss to our army and the country.
(The writer is the father of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, who was killed in action while fighting terrorists in the November 2008 Mumbai attack)
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