BSF to receive nine floating outposts soon -
Units to help patrol riverine borders

            New Delhi - June 8, 2003 - The Border Security Force will soon get nine floating border outposts to effectively guard riverine borders in the Gujarat-Rajasthan frontier with Pakistan and the eastern frontier with Bangladesh. "Supplied by the Mazagon Docks Limited, the floating outposts will be equipped with sophisticated gadgets to monitor any kind of movement along the riverine borders," the sources said.

The Asian Age - June 9, 2003

Biometric Checks - Access Secured

            It is no longer James Bond's forte. It is in the domain of the everyday life of Mumbaikars. Either their palms, fingers, faces or eye-balls get identified at the entrance to various places, including the airport, the BSE and the RBI, not to mention all vital installations. A biometric reader - an electronic device that identifies a person's individual body parts to allow access - has hit the Indian market. Says Pramod Kumar of Zicom Security Systems Limited: "In the age of remote services, face-to-face security checks are not possible and new techniques are required." In the past nine months, Zicom has installed over 300 units across the country. So PIN numbers are passé and passwords are forgettable as biometrics make security more consumer friendly.

  India Today - June 16, 2003

Mumbai Don - Revival and Undone

              Call it audacious or hare-brained, here is what D company had planned. Faced with a higher level of vigilance and pressure from the UAE authorities in the post 9/11 scenario, the D Company had to curtail its activities. Many of its men were being deported to India form the Gulf. So Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, along with his brother Iqbal Kaskar, invested in property and men to revitalise the gang. The deportations of close confidant Lambu Shakeel in January and of Iqbal himself on February 20 were viewed as opportunities to strengthen the network in Mumbai. Last week the Mumbai Police presented transcripts of 65 conversations from 141 calls intercepted between November 22, 2002, and January 26, 2003, in the MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organnised Crime Act) court. Iqabal, along with associates Gulam Nabi Tanvar, Altaf Patani and Ashraf Rehman @ Lallubhai builder, was charged with aiding and abetting the acquisition of property worth Rs.30 crore, including the Sara and Sahara shopping complexes - now attached - in up-market south Mumbai, opposite the police headquarters. Says public prosecutor, Rohini Salian: "It is a clear case of extending the under-world nexus through builders with official conduits." Iqbal has revealed that the D Company also planned to set up people with a parallel career in politics. Lambu Shakeel @ Shakeel Ahmed has already formally joined the Samajwadi Party in Mumbai. Says Mumbai Police Commissioner R.S. Sharma: "It looks like a meticulously planned larger conspiracy to revive the already sagging gang spirit. The game is unfolding with each new arrivals." Clearly the Mumbai Police is watching every move, from Dubai and Karachi.

  India Today - June 16, 2003

Smart seats to detect nervous, dangerous fliers

              London - June 11, 2003 - Intelligent seats could soon be informing airline crews whether a passenger is a nervous flyer, a potential terrorist or has been sitting still too long and could be at risk of developing blood clots. Qinetiq, which was set up last year as a part privatization of Britain's former Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, is developing airline seats with sensors that can relay signals assessing a passenger's behaviour to a central computer. "Qinetiq designer Chris Thorpe says the system could have a display that is only accessible to the cabin crew - perhaps in the galley - to warn if a passenger's behaviour is out of the ordinary," according to New Scientist magazine. The crew can then assess the passenger and decide whether he or she presents a risk.   

The Asian Age - June 12, 2003

US raises vigil at all Muslim nations' ports

            Washington - June 12, 2003 - The Bush administration has decided to place teams of US inspectors at major seaports in Muslim nations and other similar strategically located foreign ports to prevent terrorists from using cargo containers to smuggle chemical, biological or nuclear weapons into the United States, senior administration officials said. The inspectors will be provided with radiation monitors, chemical detectors and other equipment to inspect "high risk" metal cargo containers before they are placed on ships bound for the United States. Officials said the department of homeland security planned to place teams of inspectors that would remain indefinitely in Dubai, which is a crucial transshipment point for containerized cargo in the Arab world, Malaysia, Turkey and other Muslim nations. Al Qaeda is believed to have a sizeable presence in Dubai and Malaysia.  

The Asian Age - June 13, 2003.

Now, a police museum  

            Times News Network - The arrest warrant issued by the British to Bhagat Singh; a map of Delhi as it appeared in 1910; the wireless sets used in World War II….all this and more will soon find a place at the museum to be set up at the Delhi Police Headquarters. Says special commissioner (administration) K.K. Paul, "We have a master-plan ready and a hall on the fist floor at Police Headquarters, now being used by the licensing department, will be converted into a museum. The Delhi Police plans to display arms and ammunition, important letters, besides old uniforms and files of historical importance at the museum. 

The Times of India - June 20, 2003

Panel moots N-bunkers for MPs

                      New Delhi - June 25, 2003 - A joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on Wednesday made a comprehensive review of security within and immediately outside Parliament. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) proposal for construction of specially-projected, underground shelters (bunkers) for securing VVIPs against a nuclear or a biological weapons attack was discussed. The meeting decided that hi-tech surveillance and other electronic gadgets be installed in every building within the Parliament complex. The state-of-the-art equipment will guard against unauthorized entry into Parliament precincts.

  Hindustan Times - June 26, 2003