On 26 November 2008, terrorists from across the border managed to wreak mayhem in Mumbai, killing 170 people and leaving more than 300 injured. These meticulously planned and executed operations by the terrorists exposed India’s failure to sniff out such a major attack.
Seven years after the most audacious terror attacks India has ever seen, the Mumbai Police is a better trained force but its challenges have multiplied.
It is equipped with sophisticated weapons unlike the night of November 26, 2008 or 26/11 when its constables had just sticks to take on terrorists. The Paris attacks earlier this month brought back memories of 2008 prompting the Mumbai Police to review its preparedness for such attacks.
Even after seven years of 26/11 attacks, there are many questions that still remain unanswered.
1.Why weren’t Mumbai Police and Intelligence prepared to counter such a terror attack?
According to many reports, the Mumbai Police had received 16 secret intelligence alerts from 2006 onward about the likelihood of a major attack. The alerts should have alarmed the government to enhance its resistance capacity. If the state or the central government had acted on the intelligence inputs, such a major attack could have been averted.
2.Did Local People Supported Terriosts?
Despite so many years after the terror attack, the police completely failed to answer whether the attackers got local support. Hasan Gafoor, the then Mumbai Police Commissioner had said in February 2009 that there were “14-16 locals” involved in the attack. Nothing concrete came out of this observation.
3.Is Mumbai Safe Now?
Certain areas in Mumbai – like posh office complexes, starred hotels and some government institutions – have layers of security around them. However the city itself is cursorily protected. Railway stations, bus stands, Mumbai local trains, buses, markets, streets and schools still remain vulnerable. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, that witnessed a ghastly massacre on 26 November night and registered the highest number of deaths (58) is still an easy target. The 26/11 attacks were the third most-deadly terror strike on Mumbai. Previously, the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts had claimed lives of around 257 people and the 2006 Mumbai local train bombings had claimed the lives of around 209 people.
Conclusion:
if the terrorist attacks like 26/11 cases aren’t resolved on time, it shows the careless attitude of our system. We fail to learn from our mistakes again and again and wait for another major incident to happen, so to pass the blame again.
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