Karnataka - Bangalore   

State to have a functional anti-terrorist squad

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

Saluting the heroes: Police personnel paying tributes to those who died in the terrorist attack in Mumbai, at the police headquarters in Bangalore on Friday.

BANGALORE: After terrorists held Mumbai for ransom, the Karnataka Government woke up from the slumber and said this time it is serious in having a fully functional anti-terrorist squad (ATS).

After a meeting with Director-General and Inspector-General of Police R. Sri Kumar and other senior police officers at the Police Headquarters on Friday, Home Minister V.S. Acharya told presspersons that the Cabinet would immediately decide the framework of ATS. The squad would be headed by a Director-General of Police, he said.

Conceding that the Karnataka police were ill-equipped to handle terrorist-related activities, Mr. Acharya said they were trained in the traditional functions such as maintaining law and order and detection of crime. “They need to develop expertise in handling terrorist-induced crimes. Focus is being put on creation of intelligence gathering stream, which forms an integral part of ATS,” he said.

Two squads, one for the State and one for Bangalore, are presently involved mainly in intelligence gathering. They have not become a fully operational unit to launch assaults like squads in Maharashtra, he added.

Principal Secretary (Home) Upendra Tripathy said Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has convened a meeting of representatives all hotels, industries and important establishments and review the security arrangements.

He said the State police have established a hotline with the Defence and paramilitary forces. Mr. Sri Kumar is in touch with central intelligence agencies and State intelligence sleuths.

Mr. Tripathy claimed that there were no foreign nationals who have gone missing either in the city or in the State. He said information has been gathered from central agencies about all the foreign nationals who have visited the State. “We have got all the addresses,” he said. Mr. Tripathy added the Government would look into the reported statement of Bangalore Police Commissioner Shankar M. Bidari about the absence of records showing the return of 56 Pakistani and some Bangladeshis from Karnataka to their home countries.

Mr. Sri Kumar said work was on to launch the service “Dial 100” which will enable people to call the police control room from any part of the State. “We want this service accessible across all telephone networks and have State-wide operation.”

Mr. Acharya said the Fire and Emergency Services had deployed six Advanced Emergency Rescue Vans in places such as Bangalore, Mysore and Mangalore. He said the security in high rise buildings in the city and the working of machines, including the elevators, were also being looked into.

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