Each time there is a terror strike in the country, security agencies start taking steps to secure all possible establishments, especially railway stations and airports. However, all these are mere knee-jerk reactions at best. The hangover lasts barely a few days and soon it is back to “business as usual”.
As usual, the Delhi Police swung into action to make the railway stations secure after news of the blasts at a Chennai railway station on Thursday morning. In an attempt to make arrangements as fool-proof as possible, they even started video-recording in trains bound for long distances. With the idea to record suspicious elements and activities in trains, a constable was seen carrying a handycam to record the happenings inside the coaches. Another tagged along carrying a loud-speaker, announcing safety instructions to passengers.
The video-recording, according to the police, will serve a dual purpose. It will help detect suspicious activities on the spot as well as store the footage for future reference.
Another way to spot suspicious activity at Delhi railway stations involves police personnel dressed in civil clothes scanning the crowds with a pair of binoculars. The personnel scans the railway station with the binocular and informs the back-up team in case he spots suspicious activity.
In the past too the Capital has seen many such temporary security beef-ups at places where terror struck, but these measures were not lasting ones. For instance, after the 2011 Delhi High Court blast, the police claimed that the security had been upgraded at all court complexes. However, they arrested a gang planning to a murder an undertrial inside the Rohini court premises on Wednesday! One of the arrested men was caught while trying to enter the court in a lawyer’s attire. Interestingly, the arrest was made only because the police had prior knowledge about the murder attempt. Otherwise, lawyers are not frisked at entry points.
As for the latest security beef-up, how far and how long these measures work, only time will tell!
