Intelligence failure alleged

Mumbai: With counter-terrorism operations over and Mumbai being beleaguered by questions about an apparent intelligence failure, the government at the centre and the state are facing the heat.

Reports suggest intelligence warnings were ignored or taken lightly.

In Mumbai, Damodar Tandel, the head of a Maharashtra fishermen's organisation, told Gulf News how the authorities continued to close their eyes to information provided by them.

"We had written to the government that over 900 fishing trawlers from Gujarat were being given licences to operate from Mumbai, even though it was against the Maharashtra Marine Fisheries Regulation Act 1981 Act," said Tandel.

While this complaint was prompted by a perceived threat to their livelihood, their letter to the government cautioned about possible security threats. It cautioned about the presence of non-Indians among the fishermen.

The fishermen also sought to alert the authorities that about the possibility that RDX could be smuggled in from Pakistan to Mumbai.

"We understand the chief minister and deputy chief minister had asked for an inquiry but the authorities at the lower rungs did not heed."

He alleged this was because of the bribes they had received in giving "illegal" licences to boats from Gujarat.

"Most of these trawlers have around 10 men each and a sizable number of the workers - 200-300 - are Bangladeshis, many of them speaking fluent Gujarati and operating from Mumbai for around nine months but have no home here," he said.

"About four months back, the head of the Gujarat's fishermen's organisation told me that Gujarat Police had asked them to check on the names of certain fishermen. It is time, the government here co-ordinated with Gujarat Police to check on people of 'doubtful identity' who were trying to pretend as part of the fishing fraternity" he said.

Meanwhile, Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group that owns the Taj Mahal Hotel, told CNN that they had been warned of a possible terrorist attack.

Though they stepped up security, "if I look at what we had ... it could not have stopped what took place," he told the TV news channel. "It's ironic that we did have such a warning and we did have some measures. People couldn't park their cars in the portico, where you had to go through a metal detector."

However, the terrorists, he said, did not enter through the front entrance but came through a back door. Reports also indicate specific intelligence warnings during the past three months, as recent as November 18, of an attack on the Taj Mahal Hotel from the sea route.

The warnings were said to have been ignored by the Coast Guard and Maharashtra Police.

The failure to handle internal security compelled federal Home Minister Shivraj Patil to resign from his post yesterday.

However, his state counterpart, R.R. Patil, who is also the deputy chief minister, is wondering why he should quit, after opposition leader Gopinath Munde demanded his resignation.