City not vigilant enough

MiD DAY reviews security at important establishments in city after Mumbai blasts and finds that save for a temple and Hinjewadi IT Park, other places don't have foolproof measures in place to prevent terror attacks

A day after the serial blasts that rocked Mumbai, MiD DAY takes a security audit of sensitive establishments in the city and finds security an exception here. The city police said they conduct security audits of all the institutions in their jurisdiction every three months and have already issued standard operating procedures.

Eyes peeled: Policemen check vehicles at the Hinjewadi IT Park

MiD DAY failed to notice any significant change in security and apart from the makeshift bunker being repaired by the policemen there were no signs of security being beefed up.u00a0u00a0Additional Commissioner of Police Anant Shinde who is also handling the additional charge of administration said 200 policemen had been deployed on important roads.

No guards were visible at the Sarasbaug Ganapati Temple

Besides, six platoons of SRPF and Quick Response Teams have been positioned at various locations. Shinde said that all sensitive places including Pune Railway station and S T stands wer being monitored by senior officers.

Devotees have to pass throught the metal door frame detectors at the
Dagdushet temple

MiD DAY survey
Lal Deval: Adequate policemen were present at the synagogue. Reporter noticed that security guards posted outside the makeshift bunkers were alert. Osho Ashram: No additional security was seen outside Osho Ashram after Wednesday'su00a0 blasts in Mumbai. Private barricades installed by the ashram were removed by the police.

QRT have been posted outside the Osho commune

There is just a solitary chowky outside the ashram and a dozen private security guards. Policemen posted there said no significant changes were made in security since the blast in Mumbai. Chabad House: A small makeshift bunker outside Chabad House was being repaired last evening. The policemen posted at Chabad House said the bunker was being repaired as it had been damaged in the rain. The rabbi was not available for comment. The policemen guarding the bunker said the rabbi had not met any senior policeman and would not meet anyone.

Au00a0police bunker outside the Chabad House. Pics/Krunal Gosavi & Navnath
Kaple

Sarasbaug Ganapati Temple: Shri Waman B Bhatawadekar, manager of Devdeveshwar Trust at Sarasbaug Ganpati mandir said: "There are two security guards per shift guarding the place round-the-clock. There's a CCTV camera to monitor all the movements on the temple premises."

When MiD DAY visited the temple, there were no watchmen at the entrance. Though the CCTV camera was working, there was no one to monitor it and the screen was switched off. The manager said the computer was switched off owing to frequent load shedding and the watchmen were having lunch. They then grilled the MiD DAY intern for 20 minutes and asked for her identity card. They refused to anything adding she could be a terrorist.

Dagdushet temple: The security measures were impressive at the temple. There were two check points and three CCTVs at the entrance itself. The whole mandir was under surveillance with about 20 CCTV cameras. On top of the temple, there is a camera which covers the area from Shaniwar peth crossing to Budhwar peth crossing. Also there is a police station just at the back of the temple. "There are 42 cameras in total and no car is allowed anywhere near the temple. One has to pass through Door Frame Metal Detector a(DFMD) and two rounds of security checking before entering the temple. Moreover, police officials are always present near the premises," said Rajendra More, the security in-charge of the temple.

Hinjewadi IT Park: Hinjewadi IT Park, which houses 95 companies from IT, biotec and engineering sector, has been put on alert after the Mumbai serial blasts. The Hinjewadi police are not leaving any stone unturned to ensure security at the IT park. Vehicles are being checked and nakabandi has been implemented round-the-clock at this important economic hub.

The Hinjewadi police have also contacted almost 95 companies in the city to remain vigilant and to beef up the security measures. The Hinjewadi police have two patrolling vehicles, along with armed guards and policemen. In addition, the Infosys company is being guarded by the Central Industrial Securtiy Force (CISF) said Police Inspetor Ganpat Madgulkar. The presence of the CISF at Infosys has added the security measures being implemented at Hinjewadi IT Park. Railway station: The security at the Pune Railway Station has been heightened, said Y K Singh, public relation officer.

MSRTC: Ashok Jadhav, divisional traffic controller, Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, said the transport agency was conducting extensive patrolling after the blast. "We have implemented a token system for loading luggage into compartments of Volvo buses at the Pune railway station bus depot and this system will be implemented at other bus depots soon. Even while unloading the luggage, we will strictly monitor each passenger.

They will be to produce valid tickets before doing so. All the buses parked at these three bus depots namely Shivajinagar, Swargate and Pune railway Station are currently being checked and cleaned. Defence establishments: The city has many defence establishments, including Southern Command Headquarters, National Defence Academy, College of Military Engineering. When MiD DAY contacted Southern Command HQ officials they refused to comment on the issue.

Security audit
The team members who completed the task of security audit said the German Bakery had been issued notice at least thrice before the blast to install security gadgets. But these instructions were not followed and low quality camera was installed surveying only the cash counter to keep an eye on the cash transactions at the bakery.

But after the German Bakery blast on February 13, 2009, which killed 17 and injured 53 the city police conducted a mammoth security audit.u00a0 The city police have completed security audit of all the important establishments in the city including malls, multiplexes and five-star hotels. Team members who were part of the exercise said security gadgets like CCTV cameras, DFMD and hand-held metal detectors and baggage scanners have been installed at all key locations. Each establishment has been given instructions on the key locations to be surveyed by the cameras from the safety perspective.

Focus on intelligence gathering
Police Inspector Sunil Tambe, incharge of the Pune Anti-Terrorism Cell (PATC) of Crime Branch, said: "Two police personnel from each police station and 15 from the PATC are being sent for refresher courses in the Maharashtra Intelligence Academy. The course is of six months duration and it covers issues like terrorism, naxalism and intelligence gathering."

"Police personnel are also taught about the methods of intelligence gathering, the precautions to be taken, information on terror and naxal groups and also other banned organisations secretly active in the city," Tambe said. "We have a list of 45 activists of the banned organisation Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) who are reportedly active in the city. We are keeping a constant watch on them."

(Inputs from Kaumudi Gurjar, Salil Urunkar, Nikhil Mane and Neha Tanjea)