Julio Francis Ribeiro is a retired police officer famous for his courage, integrity and common sense. He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan. Mr Ribeiro has been commissioner of Mumbai (then Bombay) police, and played a key role in tackling the Punjab insurgency in the 1980s. Later he served as India’s ambassador to
Romania. In this email interview with Dippy Vankani, he accords the pivotal role to developing better human intelligence to deal with the issue of terrorism, especially in a city like Mumbai.
Romania. In this email interview with Dippy Vankani, he accords the pivotal role to developing better human intelligence to deal with the issue of terrorism, especially in a city like Mumbai.
Why is Mumbai targeted again and again?
Mumbai is targeted again and again because terrorists only choose places that are internationally known and where they will garner the maximum publicity. Terrorism is sustained on publicity. Publicity is like oxygen for terrorism.
Mumbai is targeted again and again because terrorists only choose places that are internationally known and where they will garner the maximum publicity. Terrorism is sustained on publicity. Publicity is like oxygen for terrorism.
After the 9/11 attacks, there have been no terror attacks in America because of its policing apparatus, but Mumbai continues to face terror strikes time and again. How different are we from Karachi, Kabul or Baghdad?
You cannot compare the situation of Mumbai with that of the United States. We live in a very dangerous part of the world whereas the US is far away from the hub of the Islamic world. We are as vulnerable as Karachi and Kabul since the epicentre of jihad terrorism is now in South Asia.
You cannot compare the situation of Mumbai with that of the United States. We live in a very dangerous part of the world whereas the US is far away from the hub of the Islamic world. We are as vulnerable as Karachi and Kabul since the epicentre of jihad terrorism is now in South Asia.
Is there any mechanism that can make the city immune to such attacks in the future?
Unless terrorism is laid to rest, as happened in Punjab, we will continue to experience such attacks. In Punjab, terrorism ended when the Jat Sikh farmers turned against the terrorists who belonged to their own community. When our Muslim brothers in Mumbai will give information to the police about suspicious movements or suspicious persons in their localities, that would sound the death knell of terrorism of the jihadi variety in our city.
Unless terrorism is laid to rest, as happened in Punjab, we will continue to experience such attacks. In Punjab, terrorism ended when the Jat Sikh farmers turned against the terrorists who belonged to their own community. When our Muslim brothers in Mumbai will give information to the police about suspicious movements or suspicious persons in their localities, that would sound the death knell of terrorism of the jihadi variety in our city.
Do you think that the underworld and terror outfits make a lethal combination in the current terror scenario?
The underworld and terror outfits are intrinsically different, though some criminal elements do join the ranks of the terrorists after some time. The underworld flourishes by bribing and corrupting the police and politicians. Terrorists only pump bullets into both. They do not bribe.
The underworld and terror outfits are intrinsically different, though some criminal elements do join the ranks of the terrorists after some time. The underworld flourishes by bribing and corrupting the police and politicians. Terrorists only pump bullets into both. They do not bribe.
How powerful do you think is the Mumbai police commissioner, now with units like the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) going out of the purview of that position? How different is the role of the commissioner now from it was in your time?
I did not know that the ATS has got out of the purview of the Mumbai police commissioner! This is news to me. The ATS has to keep the police commissioner in the loop and keep him informed of their findings at all times. This is happening even at present.
The difference between my time as commissioner and now is that over the years values have changed and politicians have also changed. New parties like the Shiv Sena have emerged and at one stage even formed the government in the state. They had a different — and I may say a totally unconventional — view of governance. It did not do the police force much good. The police in my time was under my control. The control of the commissioner at present cannot be as total because the power centre has shifted to the home department. This is not a good thing for security concerns and for the public in general.
I did not know that the ATS has got out of the purview of the Mumbai police commissioner! This is news to me. The ATS has to keep the police commissioner in the loop and keep him informed of their findings at all times. This is happening even at present.
The difference between my time as commissioner and now is that over the years values have changed and politicians have also changed. New parties like the Shiv Sena have emerged and at one stage even formed the government in the state. They had a different — and I may say a totally unconventional — view of governance. It did not do the police force much good. The police in my time was under my control. The control of the commissioner at present cannot be as total because the power centre has shifted to the home department. This is not a good thing for security concerns and for the public in general.
The high court has recently asked officers to refrain from planting theories in the media in sensitive cases. What is your view on this?
I am happy that the high court has asked officers to refrain from planting theories in the media in sensitive cases. The problem is that there is proliferation of electronic media in particular, and everybody is in search of stories and sound bytes. Even junior officers are now being approached and they find it very thrilling to have their faces on TV. This has caused a lot of confusion and speculation about investigations of crime. Also, many anchors have become detectives and are examining witnesses even before they are cross-examined in the court. The high court should come down heavily on them.
I am happy that the high court has asked officers to refrain from planting theories in the media in sensitive cases. The problem is that there is proliferation of electronic media in particular, and everybody is in search of stories and sound bytes. Even junior officers are now being approached and they find it very thrilling to have their faces on TV. This has caused a lot of confusion and speculation about investigations of crime. Also, many anchors have become detectives and are examining witnesses even before they are cross-examined in the court. The high court should come down heavily on them.
Too many agencies are now involved in investigation, including Central agencies like the National Investigation Agency and the National Security Guard. Do you think that too many cooks might spoil the broth?
I agree that the number of Central agencies has increased tremendously over the years. Every time there is a crisis, which the government finds difficult to explain to the people, the only answer is to constitute a new organisation. More people are of course employed, but the results are never apparent. So, too many cooks are spoiling the broth. They are getting into each other’s hair, and egos are clashing all the time. This is not good for the public cause.
I agree that the number of Central agencies has increased tremendously over the years. Every time there is a crisis, which the government finds difficult to explain to the people, the only answer is to constitute a new organisation. More people are of course employed, but the results are never apparent. So, too many cooks are spoiling the broth. They are getting into each other’s hair, and egos are clashing all the time. This is not good for the public cause.
The police is now equipped with technological assistance like CCTV footage and mobile phone surveillance. Do you think that the focus is now shifting from human intelligence and the police is relying more on these scientific resources?
Technological intelligence can never substitute human intelligence. Both are required. CCTV and mobile phone surveillance should be left to Central agencies, but police stations should concentrate on human intelligence and should befriend the minority community, in particular by treating them with dignity and respect that is the right of every citizen. When that happens, terrorism will be dealt a death blow.
Technological intelligence can never substitute human intelligence. Both are required. CCTV and mobile phone surveillance should be left to Central agencies, but police stations should concentrate on human intelligence and should befriend the minority community, in particular by treating them with dignity and respect that is the right of every citizen. When that happens, terrorism will be dealt a death blow.
Do you think recommendations of the Ram Pradhan Commission, set up to review the government’s response to the November 26, 2008, Mumbai attacks, came to grips with the issue and would help foil attacks, if implemented? Could Wednesday’s attacks have been averted in the light of these recommendations?
The Ram Pradhan Commission largely dealt with the issue of sharing of intelligence inputs between various agencies. They had found that the inputs were not shared or, if shared, were not considered important. That was the main problem during the 26/11 attacks. So they made several recommendations on that, which are now followed by the agencies.
They had also made several recommendations on acquiring certain equipment to deal with terror attacks, and most of the equipment has been acquired by the state. Some of the equipment might not have been acquired so far only because of procedural delays like getting quotations etc. But I must point out that the commission’s recommendations would not have helped in averting the attacks on Mumbai. The only way it could have been averted is through human intelligence.
The Ram Pradhan Commission largely dealt with the issue of sharing of intelligence inputs between various agencies. They had found that the inputs were not shared or, if shared, were not considered important. That was the main problem during the 26/11 attacks. So they made several recommendations on that, which are now followed by the agencies.
They had also made several recommendations on acquiring certain equipment to deal with terror attacks, and most of the equipment has been acquired by the state. Some of the equipment might not have been acquired so far only because of procedural delays like getting quotations etc. But I must point out that the commission’s recommendations would not have helped in averting the attacks on Mumbai. The only way it could have been averted is through human intelligence.
Source: The Asian Age
No comments:
Post a Comment