18 July,2011 06:37 AM IST | | Ravikiran Deshmukh and Ketan Ranga
300 out of the State's Intelligence Department's sanctioned strength of 1,100 posts were lying vacant until recently; senior officials say department suffers due to lack of terror inputs, and continues to focus on providing security for VIPs
IN a shocking yet rather unanimous disclosure, senior officials from the State Intelligence Department (SID) and the Mumbai Police have told MiD DAY that the intelligence gathering machinery in the state continues to remain in a state of disarray despite almost every terror attack being blamed on an intelligence failure.
Sample this: Nearly 300 out of the SID's sanctioned strength of 1,100 posts were lying vacant until recently and a significant portion of the remaining were being used not for intelligence gathering but for VVIP security.
The state government's Action Taken Report on the Pradhan Committee
recommendations claims that 250 officers were recruited as assistant
intelligence officers and special intelligence officers in the SID
And, the situation hasn't changed much despite Wednesday's blasts in Mumbai the eighth major attack on the country's financial capital in 12 years.
The state government's Action Taken Report on the Pradhan Committee recommendations claims that 250 officers were recruited as assistant intelligence officers and special intelligence officers in the SID and a special intelligence academy was setup in Pune, where 2,000 officers were trained last year.
A former senior SID official and a senior Mumbai Police official, however, informed MiD DAY that only one batch of 50 officers was recruited and the file regarding the recruitment of another 55 officers has been shuttling between departments in Mantralaya for months.
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Five of the 50 recruited in the first batch have already quit and the department's focus on VVIP security continues.
"Even though the sanctioned strength of the SID looks sufficient, nearly 300 posts were lying vacant just a few months ago.
People don't want to join the intelligence department because it is considered a side branch and they are always on the lookout for meatier postings. Besides, a significant portion of the strength is being used for ensuring VVIP security rather than intelligence gathering," said a retired senior official from the SID.
Denial
When Home Minister R R Patil was asked about the vacancies and the delayed proposal, he issued an outright denial and said no proposal was stuck in Mantralaya.
On the issue of the five officers quitting the SID, he said they had resigned because they had been promoted to the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police.
But, on Friday evening, in a meeting with the CM, Dy CM and the home minister, Leader of Opposition Eknath Khadse levelled the same allegation of proposals not being approved in time and questioned the efficiency of the intelligence department and the efforts being made to strengthen it. Sources said the government did not reply to the allegations.
Out of focus
Officials from within the SID admitted that one of the major problems plaguing the department has been its inability to get inputs regarding terror attacks.
They said that while the officers are trained to cultivate sources of information regarding routine law-and-order problems and riots, their training does not equip them to get information on the sleeper cells active in the city and about possible terror activity.
The department as well as Mumbai Police officials are then left dependent on central intelligence agencies for information regarding terror threats, which often takes a while to trickle down.
"The information that we get regarding terror cells or modules is, for the most part, received from central agencies. Most police officials, too, get such information straight from the central agencies and barely depend on the SID.
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The department is, by definition, more concerned with what is happening in the state, which is why it is easier to get intel on routine law-and-order problems. For intel on terror, however, one needs to have information from many different states," said a senior official.
CM worried
While disagreeing that Wednesday's blasts were the result of an intelligence failure, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan told electronic media that there was a need to increase the state's intelligence-gathering capabilities.
He also expressed the need to expedite the procurement of security modernisation equipment, especially CCTV cameras, and said he was looking into why it so was difficult to procure equipment for the police force.
"Nothing that was recommended (in the Ram Pradhan Committee report) has been acted uponCCTV cameras have not been purchased, and the police modernisation programme has not moved as rapidly as we would have liked it to," said Chavan.
Chavan's exasperation was also evident when he said that he could not reach the state's top officers, including the police chief, for nearly 15 minutes after the triple blasts. Terming the situation serious, he said the government was now thinking of procuring satellite phones and developing a secure communication network.
SID History
The CID (Intelligence Wing) came into being in British-ruled India in 1905 on the recommendation of the Frazer Commission and was headquartered in Pune. It was reorganised in 1981 and it came to be known as the State Intelligence Department (SID).
The SID deals with collection, collation, analysis and dissemination of information on subjects affecting law and order.
Shedding light on its working, an official said, "The department has branches for internal security, VIP security, terror, ISI, cyber security etc. The three main sub-divisions are the administration, training and security departments."
"Every branch has officers who deal with the collection of specific inputs. The information is passed to the concerned Deputy Commissioner of Police, who later passes it on to his senior. At the end of the chain, the SID Commissioner reports to the Home Minister and briefs him on a daily basis."
(With inputs by Akela)
