India Awakes to Vital Installation Threat as Separatists Continue to Attack Railway

By Animesh Roul

Lately though, India’s security and intelligence establishment woke up to series of novel terrorist threats ranging from a number of possible targets including prominent individuals, vital installations, economic centers, monuments and maritime infrastructures. On November 22, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil cautiously indicated that one "foreign country" and its “spy agency” have been directing terrorist outfits to perpetrate violent activities in India. However, he refrained himself from uttering Pakistan and ISI. India's atomic power plants and installations in the oil and natural gas sector are most vulnerable to terrorist strike, according to Mr Patil. He also added that defence, communications and Information Technology (IT) sector are equally vulnerable to attacks.

In early November, threats from suspected al-Qaeda terrorists to perpetrate major attacks on airports in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, followed by a hijack alert from FBI initiated widespread security arrangements across all major airports in the country.

Amid this state of high alert and preparedness, India’s northeast rebels attacked passenger train and railway station in less than five days.

On Nov 20, at least seven people were killed and over 50 others injured in a powerful bomb blast inside a compartment of the Haldibari-Siliguri Passenger train at Belacoba station in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district. Investigations suggested that the explosive was kept inside a vegetable sack inside the toilet of the compartment. Reports also indicated that four more live bombs were found in the train. Police sources suspected the involvement of separatist militant groups active in that region: the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) and the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).

It is highly possible that this blast has a Bangladeshi connection. Islamic militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) could be involved with either of the outfits triggering the blast.

On November 23, a blast outside the railway station in Guwahati, Assam, took four lives (including a 18 month child) with at least ten people injured. Police suspected RDX was used by ULFA to trigger the bomb blast. The device was planted in a cycle-rickshaw and detonated by the programmable timed device (PTD).

However, in both blasts, investigating agencies are still groping in the dark and yet to reach a plausible explanation.

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