Bengal police on its toes as ISI panic spreads

Paranoia seems to have gripped the West Bengal police which, after a home ministry alert, is seeing Inter Services Intelligence operatives every where in the state. A Union home ministry circular recently alerted the state authorities that the ISI has drawn up plans to blow up the Writers' Buildings between June 10 and 15, sparking off panic.

The police has started coordinating with die Border Security Force to prevent any incursion of terrorists from across the borders.

The CISF has meanwhile caught a Tamilian who was deported from Thailand following discrepancies in his travel documents. While he was taken into custody and subjected to prolonged interrogation, messages were flashed to the Chennai police to check if he was a LTTE cadre. "Finally, we learnt that he was departed because an Indian dignitary was to visit Thailand. They did not want to take any chances," a senior officer at die airport said.

The security agencies at the airport are also having a trying time. Flights from Kolkata to the Northeast are being cancelled or detained for long hours following false alarms of "hijacking." For example, the Indian Airlines flight to Dibugarh was cancelled a few days back because commandos searched the plane. A couple of days later, a flight to Bagdogra was cancelled.

-Hindustan Times 13 June, 2002

In Punjab, enhanced security measures, led by fully armed police commando squads, have been deployed to protect all important railway tracks, bridges and other state and Central government installations perceived as vulnerable to sabotage.

In the event of another India-Pakistan war, the plains of Punjab, which share a 550-km border with Pakistan, are likely to be one of the main battle fronts. Indian and Pakistani troop for including artillery and armoured units, are already in position along the length of the frontier, in addition to which both sides have heavily mined the fertile farmland that runs along what is known as the Zero Line.

Anti-terrorist patrol-vessel launched

A 35-knot fast-moving patrol vessel, indigenously designed and manufactured by Goa Shipyard Limited, was launched in Panjim This is the second vessel of this class and the fastest in this category with a minimum endurance of 1,500 nautical miles. The vessel is primarily designed for anti-smuggling and anti-errorist operations, protection of fisheries and search and rescue.

The light-weight hull of the vessel is strong enough to withstand heavy sea conditions for long periods

-The Asian Age , June 13, 2002