21 April,2009 08:42 AM IST | | Prawesh Lama
Metal detectors that don't work. Cops who don't care. You can simply walk into the monument of love with a bomb, as MiD DAY found on World Heritage Day. Prawesh Lama reports
How is the country's most treasured and most threatened heritage tourist destination guarded against terrorist attacks?
With defunct metal detectors and some psychic guessing by disinterested cops.
The Taj Mahal, Indian tourism's claim to global fame, has four security rings around it. Each has door-framed metal detectors (DFMD) manned by armed personnel of the Uttar Pradesh Police and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). In reality, the DFMDs are defunct and the cops, not interested. Ironically, the situation was no different on April 18, the World Heritage Day.
One of the CISF men posted inside the Taj complex said they didn't need DFMDs to spot a probable bomber. "You do not know how it [DFMD] works. It is a secret. We can easily find out if an armed person is entering the Taj," said the CISF official.
Islamic threat
Though the Taj was built by Shah Jahan, a Muslim ruler, it is considered to be a symbol of "soft" Islam that terror masterminds do not want to propagate, a reason why the monument is a top terrorist target. "The Islam practiced in India is considered to be soft when compared to what is followed in the Arabic world and Pakistan. The attack on Ajmer Sharif in 2007 has already proved that terrorists do not shy away from targeting such soft centres of worship and monuments," said a senior intelligence officer, wishing anonymity.
Taj becomes an important target for terrorists also because of the large number of international tourists it attracts. "An attack on the Taj will have an international impact," said an officer from the Ministry of Home Affairs, not wishing to be named.
Foolproof?
On an average, about 20,000 tourists from India and abroad visit the Taj Mahal every day. The number can easily double on holidays or weekends.
The rulebook says that every person entering the monument has to pass through DFMDs and has to be physically frisked by the cops. However, on Saturday, when this correspondent visited the Taj, none of the DFMDs were functioning. Even the security men did not keep an eye on the people walking by.
At the first security barricade on the main road leading to the Taj, tourists are supposed to get down from their vehicles and walk through the DFMDs. However, auto and taxi drivers could be seen driving through freely without any checks.
"We have been asked by the police to drop tourists at the first barricade. We follow the rule but as there is no police official to stop anyone, some drivers flout the order. The metal detectors too do not work. So people bypass the empty wooden frames," said Sajid, a camel cart driver.
The situation was same at the other two barricades too with outdated DFMDs and no policeman on duty. The policemen were chatting at a distance.
However, at the last security ring inside the Taj, which had separate DFMDs for men and women, a CISF official stood guard. He frisked tourists as well. However, visitors were not asked to switch on their cellphones to prove the handsets were not bomb detonators, a simple practice followed even in movie theatres.
While the DFMD at the entrance for women worked, the one at the men's queue was out-of-order.
While tourists were unaware of the threat, local guides seemed resigned to the security apathy. "The security at the Taj is better than what we have at other monuments in Agra. There are several security barricades here. The metal detectors may not work but that's the way most equipment in our country function," said Y L Sylvestor, a guide at the Taj.
Total copout
Prem Prakash, the senior superintendent of police, Agra, said he wasn't sure if the DFMDs were working or not. "I will have to check. There must be something wrong. If the metal detectors are not working, I will immediately see that they are fixed," he said.
As expected, the CISF maintained it had the situation under control. "The Taj Mahal faces a very high threat perception and is extremely sensitive from the security point of view. Our officials are very vigilant about the activities at the Taj," said CISF spokesperson, Deputy Commandant Rohit Katiyar.
Along with the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Red Fort, Lotus Temple and Jama Masjid in New Delhi and the Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir, the Taj Mahal is among the most threatened tourist locations in the country. Security organisations claim that the monument's security status has been hiked keeping its threat level in mind.
"A few years ago security agencies apprehended a group of terrorists on a mission to target heritage monuments in the country. The Taj was on their list. After that incident, security arrangements at all such monuments, including the Taj, had been upgraded," said a senior official from the Ministry of Home Affairs, wishing anonymity.
He also said that the arrest had prompted the handing over of the Taj Mahal's security to the CISF. "The Taj security rings include regular cops to frisk people and even Quick Reaction Team (QRT) commandos to deal with any kind of infiltration attempt," said another official.
A G K Menon, convenor of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), Delhi chapter,
said, "If we can provide Z-plus security to the President and Prime Minister, then the same should be provided at the Taj too."
On paperu00a0
Taj mahal is guarded by:
>>u00a0200 CISF men with AK 47 and Uzis
>> Quick Reaction Team commandos
>> Dog squad
>> Bomb Disposal Squad
>> Plainclothes cops
