Terror strike on CRPF camp in UP

Jan 01:  The New Year day started with a bad omen. In an audacious attempt, terrorists have struck a CRPF camp in Rampur in the wee hours in which at least seven CRPF personnel and a civilian were killed. According to reports, the terrorists were heavily armed with AK-47 rifles and grenades. The security personnel and police patrolling the area intercepted the attackers leading to a fierce gun battle in which seven CRPF jawans and a civilian were killed. According to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Rampur, the civilian killed appeared to be a rickshaw puller. As per the reports, one of the four militants entered the camp hurling grenades and firing indiscriminately.

As the report reaching, the number of militants who attacked the CRPF camp was also not immediately known and the officials were unable to confirm as to how many terrorists were gunned down. Meanwhile, the area has been cordoned off and the combing operation is on.

Close on the heels of a series of blasts that ripped through three court premises in UP in November killing 13 people, this well planned attack is very serious. The attack on the new year day is outrageous in nature, which reminds us how deep terrorism has made inroads in the state. It also reminds us the Hamas style attack on the Indian soil, which if not nipped in the bud, would prove to be a perennial security problem for the country. More importantly, it asks to renew our strategy to deal with the danger.

After Mumbai and Delhi, UP is perhaps the most terrorist-infested state, and at least 57 incidents of “terrorist subversion” in the state between April 2001 and November 2007 were recorded. A UP Police Report in November 2006 indicated that the state had emerged as one of the “major centres of the activities of the ISI and those ISI-trained terrorist modules had infiltrated a number of cities and small towns in the state”.

According to the US National Counter Terrorism Center, India was the site of more than 12 per cent of all terrorist attacks worldwide in 2005, and home to more terrorism-related fatalities than any other nation except Iraq. In fact, India has witnessed over 70,000 deaths at the hands of terrorists, including those of 11,000 security personnel — more than in all the wars fought since Independence.

After the serial blasts in UP last November, the Chief Minister Ms. Mayawati announced the formation of Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on the pattern of Mumbai ATS to deal with the growing menace of terrorism in the state. She also sanctioned Rs 6.75 crore for high-tech surveillance and modern equipment. With its headquarters in Lucknow, the ATS will function as a specialized unit to meet the latest threat posed by militants.

The 59-page paper on the “Internal Security Situation” by the Union Home Ministry recommends measures taken to meet the challenges, and asks the states to strengthen their local capabilities through Police Modernization (PM) and Security Related Expenditure (SRE) apart from revamping the Special Forces.

Although setting up of an elite intelligence cadre like ATS, which includes the chief intelligence officer, the assistant chief intelligence officer, chief intelligence assistant and intelligence assistant, the latest terror attack strike proves that not only terrorism is very much alive and kicking, but it also shows the lacunae of intelligence failure so far.

In the fight against terror, intelligence plays a very important role, which bases its strategy on prevention rather than on cure. With Naxal menace growing unabated in the hinterland and rising terrorism in UP, the governments both at the centre and states need to upgrade the intelligence agencies. People’s role is no less important in keeping vigil of their respective areas by informing the concerned officials about any suspicious activities and movements of suspected persons. A vigorous campaign aided with a serious administrative action against nefarious designs of terrorists will only make this country a safe place to live in, and we hope such incidents will not be repeated in 2008.