Gujarat plans to prime its security and intelligence-gathering agencies as al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahari’s recent announcement of setting up an Indian wing of the terror organisation had a special mention of the State.
The Home Department has taken steps to intensify internal surveillance, especially of targeted areas, and keep a watch on those entering the State.
Impoverished and congested areas with a concentration of Muslims, such as Juhapura, Sarkhej and Dariyapur, to name a few, have been put under the scanner. While the Indian Mujahideen is alleged to be active with its State-based modules, it is the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) which holds sway in Gujarat, official sources says.
“The Gujarat model is sustained by SIMI. The video [of Zawahari] is not so much a cause for concern,” a Home Department official told The Hindu .
Security agencies have been tracking movements of people for a year in specific areas. Websites which could serve as a possible recruitment hub for terror outfits are being keenly tracked. Activities of people coming from abroad and other States and settling down in Gujarat are under the scanner.
A major area of surveillance is the money trail. Dollar transactions are being tracked as these are considered to be the footprints of any terror activity.
“It has been our observation,” said an official, “that it is the poor Muslims who get drawn into terror-related acts because of their dismal existence. The rich are not bothered about participating, but they are the financiers, especially those from Doha and Saudi Arabia.”
Tracking camelsIn an initiative to track infiltration and gather intelligence, S.K. Nanda, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, has decided to recruit a cadre of “puggies” (people with traditional knowledge of reading camel footprints) in Kutch and Banaskantha near the Pakistan border. One batch of “puggies” has already been recruited.
“These are a community of people who are experts in reading camel footprints. From the footprints, they can track the direction in which the camel has travelled. It is impossible to cross the desert in one night and camel is the only mode of transport. Reading their footprints is a lost art. The State Home Department decided to revive it and use it for security purposes,” Mr. Nanda said.
In a covert operation, the police will also increase the recruitment of “friends of police” from border villages, who basically serve as informers.
A raft of measures to tighten the 4,000-kilometre coastline of Gujarat is also on the cards. Many of the fisher-folk on the radar belong to the Hindu community, who is not exempt from surveillance. In the past, fishermen who stray into Pakistani waters have forged cross-border deals with the neighbouring nation in exchange for their release.
The State Home Department has called for stringent immigration-like checks for people taking a sea voyage to Dubai, Karachi and other places.
“Many times travellers go abroad by sea, for which they just need a card to be stamped. It acts like a passport. While returning they take the air route and demand that the card be treated like a passport. We have strengthened this system and made immigration clearance mandatory. Nine embankment ports have been identified, which are attached to police stations,” Mr. Nanda said.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will pay a two-day visit to the State to review the security situation. He will attend a programme of the Indian Navy in Porbandar, visit a Border Security Force base in Koteshwar in Kutch, visit border outposts in Bhuj and hold a meeting with State security and Intelligence agencies.
