Friday, October 22, 2010

Mission accomplished: Securing the Commonwealth Games

Bibhu Prasad Routray

Daily Star (Dhaka), October 23, 2010

Notwithstanding the glitches and shoddy preparations that went into organising the Commonwealth Games (CWG), India certainly delivered in terms providing full proof security to the athletes of participating nations. No terrorist attack took place during the games. In addition, no significant criminal activity targeted either the athletes or the foreign spectators during the entire period over which the games were held.

The sheer number of personnel deployed for the games is something to take note of. 28,000 police personnel belonging to the Delhi Police and 20,000 para-military personnel belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were deployed for the Games duties at the eleven CWG venues, the Games Village and other key locations. The Delhi Police, with 65000 personnel, is the biggest police force in charge of capital of any country. It had recruited 12,000 additional personnel months prior to the CWG. Delhi Police's dog squad had been augmented by 123 canines before the Games. In addition, 1,500 commandos from the National Security Guards (NSG), the para-military forces and Delhi Police were deployed at the stadiums and the Games Village.

For the first time in the country's history, devices to detect CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) assaults had also been deployed at key venues. The Indian Air Force (IAF) too had deployed its sophisticated radars to scan Delhi skies while UAVS kept a watch for air intrusions. IAF helicopters also hovered over the Games Village.

In spite of such elaborate arrangements, very few believed the repeated assurances of both the Delhi police commissioner and the Indian home minister that security will be full proof. A terror attack was highly anticipated. Such predictions appeared to be coming true with the attack carried out outside the Jama Masjid in Old Delhi area on 19 September. Delhi police believes that the terror group Indian Mujahideen had outsourced the attack to the local youths and criminal gangs. Moreover, the attack was directed at creating panic rather than killing foreigners.

On 9 October, a western intelligence input alerted Delhi police of the possibility of a frontal terror attack on a games venue with multiple weapons including rocket launchers. The input suggested that a retired major from the Pakistan military had trained terrorists in a camp on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to carry out the attack.

Few would know that apart from the deployment of a large number of security force personnel, security plans for the CWG were only an extension of the security architecture for the national capital that has evolved since the 2001 terrorist attack on the Indian parliament. Especially since the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 2008, such plans have been rigorously implemented. Delhi police has closely collaborated with countries like the US, the UK and Israel to finesse its skills to deal with terror attacks. With the help of Israel, Delhi police put together its Delhi Police Special Weapons & Tactics (SWAT) Unit in 2009. Hundreds of Delhi police personnel who have undergone training in Krav Maga, an Israeli hand-to-hand combat technique, were deployed all across the city during the CWG.

Providing security to Delhi is no child's play. With 15 million population and spread over more than 1484 square kilometres, Delhi is the largest metropolis in the world. New Delhi with 42.7 square kilometres is only a tiny part of the National Capital Region (NCR). Security threats to the capital emerge not only from within the NCR region, but also from states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh with which Delhi shares its borders.

Thus, insulating New Delhi from the rest of the NCR was one of the key components of the security plan during the CWG period. Although such a plan has been implemented for a number of years since the 2001 parliament attack, terrorists have managed to carry out several attacks in the national capital. Multiple terror attacks that took place on 29 October 2005 killed 59 people and injured nearly 200. A series of explosions took place on 23 September 2008 killing 25 and injuring 150 persons. Another explosion on 23 September 2008 killed three people.

What has helped the Delhi police enormously in this direction is its 'eye and ears scheme', initiated during last couple of years. It has strengthened the ground level intelligence gathering mechanism of the police by way of eliciting information from beggars, shopkeepers, vendors, etc on suspicious activities. In the last couple of years, information generated through this scheme has helped Delhi Police in busting several terror modules.

The screening of the foreigners entering the country prior to the games was another important component of the security arrangement. With the help of a Major Events Support Team (IMEST) of the Interpol, Indian authorities carried out screening on over half a million foreign visitors. Each foreigner's antecedent was checked against the Interpol's global database to ensure that no terrorist gains access to the country. The CIA too provided India its inputs and worked in close collaboration with the Delhi Police.

The Games are over, but challenges to terrorism continue to hover over New Delhi. However, it is without doubt that the Delhi Police would be enormously benefited both from its improved infrastructure and enormous experience in the years to come.

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