From paradise to terrorist haven

A paradise slipping into the hands of terrorists
New Indian Express

Not long ago, Bangalore was a pensioner’s paradise - safe, quiet and peaceful.

People had plenty of time to build a rare warmth over a steaming cup of coffee or unwind mothballed memories or pull a couple of strands of thoughts from the past and either laugh over it or roll down tears.

Now the city has its heart pounding with pace and pressure and Bangalore is not only the hub for IT dream merchants but also an emerging multi-hued metropolis.

But from a pensioner’s paradise to an investors’ dream city, Bangalore is also becoming a safe haven for terrorists.

Every time there is a terrorist attack, the perpetrators of the crime find it safe to cool off in Bangalore and hide in the Garden City.

The recent triple terror that rocked Delhi had its needle of suspicion pointing to Bangalore.

At least two to three terrorists involved in the Oct 29 triple blasts are learnt to have come to the City.

Every time there is a terror attack anywhere in India, it is Bangalore that is automatically becoming a place to look out for.

And it is not a recent phenomenon. In 1992, the assassins of the late Rajiv Gandhi – Sivarasan, Shuba and three others – were holed up at Konanakunte on the outskirts of the city and were eliminated in a shootout.

Similarly, the police killed five extremists, including Imam Ali, in 2002 at M S Ramaiah Nagar.

These people were involved in 1998 serial blasts in Coimbatore.

In the same year, some of the Tamil revolutionaries of Peoples’ Liberation of Tamil Elam (PLOTE) were arrested at Frazer Town.

Even the Naxalites are finding Bangalore a cool place to beat the heat of the police.

Every time the police in Andhra Pradesh turn the heat on the Naxalites, the leaders troop to Bangalore to hide and plan their future operations.

In December 1999, three top Naxal leaders were picked up from Bangalore - Nalla Adi Reddy, member of the central committee, Santosh Reddy, secretary of the AP State committee and S Naresh Reddy, member of AP State committee.

They were subsequently killed in an ‘encounter in Karimnagar, raising a hue and cry from civil liberty lovers.

There are now serious and concerning reports that core Naxal leaders keep meeting in the city to plan their operations in the south.

The extremists are also spreading their wings and active in Udupi districts and parts of Chikmagalur, mainly because of the thick forest cover that the terrain provides.

But is Bangalore in trouble? There are two thoughts on this. Some feel that the extremists would dare not terrorise what they consider a safe haven; others feel that once the terrorists find Bangalore no longer a safe hideout, they may start targeting the city’s vulnerable spots and draw global attention.

But what is worrisome is the Intelligence information that Bangalore could be a possible target of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists.

The LeT men have surveyed the City for a vulnerable target to wreak havoc and strike at its IT economy in mid-August, according to sources.

That need not be Vidhana Soudha or big IT firms as everyone seem to believe.

The terrorists may target public places to create a terror wave like what they did in London. Why mid-August? Around Independence Day Delhi and Srinagar get formidable security.

So the LeT is trying to explore places beyond Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir.

Their first target looks like Bangalore, the fastest growing IT hub, and there are reports that a team of LeT members had surveyed potential targets in Bangalore, Mysore, Mandya, and Dakshina Kannada districts.

Apart from Vidhana Soudha, ITPL and IT firms like Infosys and Wipro, the militants have surveyed crowded places like Bangalore Railway Station, Kempe Gowda Bus terminus, KR Market, KRS dam, Mysore Palace, Dharmastala temple among others, according to sources.

LeT has a history of orchestrating attacks in India and its cadres are well networked, as well as very savvy with computers, gadgets and gizmos, making them very difficult to track.

Laptops recovered from the terrorists, who attacked the Parliament on December 13, 2001, had revealed a detailed mapping of the Parliament building before the attack took place.

With new facilities on the Net, like Google Earth, it is not difficult to get a detailed map of the area of attack.

Security has been beefed up in key cities like Mysore, Mangalore, Belgaum, Hubli-Dharwad, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Udupi districts among others.

But that is not enough. A strong intelligence network that can act as a pre-warning system must be put in place.

The police have already asked the public to be alert and are going through all information with the proverbial fine toothcomb.

Extreme and sensitive vigil round the clock, a well-oiled intelligence network and public support can make Bangalore a safe haven for its citizens, not terrorists.