In an affirmation of the shifting pattern of terror network in the country, national security advisor MK Narayanan told the Union Cabinet on Wednesday that homegrown terrorism is emerging as the new threat endangering the nation?s secular fabric.
Making a detailed presentation before the Cabinet, Narayanan conceded that intelligence agencies have come to realise the domestic character of terror network only last year. Unlike earlier incidents like the Parliament attack, the trail of terror offensives in the last one year do not appear to have the stamp of cross-border affiliations, he told the Cabinet on Wednesday.
Narayanan?s 30-minute briefing gave a picture of what the intelligence agencies were facing and their modus operandi. The national security advisor said those involved were not only ideologically determined but also seemed to be educated, well-trained and technologically savvy. ?We now gather that they are well-versed in cyber, mobile technology and are trained in making bombs from substances like ammonium nitrate? a government source said. The possibility that they might have links with Pak-based terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba is not being ruled out.
Much of the assessment, the sources said, has been derived from the arrest of Simi operatives, especially Safdar Nagori. The NSA gave a detailed account of how Nagori and his henchmen operated and the cities where they had connections. Their interrogation, along with the lot of evidence gathered in bomb blasts in different parts of the country had indicated a definite linkage that the network was homegrown, the sources asserted. Narayanan, however, was not able to shed much light on the Indian Mujahideen, the terror outfit that has claimed responsibility for the Ahmedabad and Delhi blasts.
The NSA?s revelations, admittedly, hold a troubling dimension that can place the UPA in a tricky position if it does not handle the situation well. Perhaps realising this, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the meeting after Narayanan?s briefing that no effort should be made to communalise the issue at any level. ?The PM was very clear that the matter should begin with the offender and end with the offender, whoever it is,? a senior minister said. One of the ministers suggested that an expert committee be set up to look into the hard evidence available on involvement of Simi and its operatives in the recent blasts.
As part of the effort to counter the menace, the Cabinet has decided on a slew of measures that include setting up of a research and technology wing in Intelligence Bureau, sanctioning additional manpower to IB and Delhi Police and installation of modern gadgets like CCTV and metal detectors in busy market places.