police policy: Strengthen local police station to pack a punch against terror

Terrorists have struck in Mumbai once again. This was the fifth major strike against India's biggest commercial hub, the earlier ones coming in 1993 (257 killed), 2003 (52 killed), 2006 (188 killed) and 2008 (166 killed). Securing Mumbai, with its demographic complexities, cannot be easy, but it should not be that difficult either. After all, New York, Madrid and London were also attacked by terrorists, but those cities were able to secure themselves and the terrorists could not make any subsequent dent.

It is true that in the wake of 26/11, the government took a number of steps to strengthen law enforcement and build its counter-terrorism edifice. National Security Guard (NSG) hubs were established at locations other than Delhi. The National Investigation Agency was set up. Counter-insurgency and anti-terrorism schools were established. The police strength was augmented and its equipment upgraded. A multi-agency centre was activated. Coastal security was beefed up. These measures went a long way, but were obviously not enough.