Police system needs a complete overhaul

Mumbai: At one entrance to Mumbai's main train station, police stand guard behind sand bags. At another, they search baggage. But come in a different door and there's almost no security at all.

Since gunmen rampaged through the city, security has been visibly beefed up and politicians are promising reform. But critics say police forces across India are so poorly staffed, trained and funded that only a complete overhaul can bring them into the 21st century.

"They talk about it after every [terrorist] incident. When we see it, we will see it," said Ajai Sahni, head of the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management.

After the attacks, AN Roy, the police chief for Maharashtra state, which includes Mumbai, said the state government is undertaking a complete review of its security forces and will discuss offering better training and better weapons to officers and establishing a local Swat-like force.

Urgency

"There is urgency. There is a serious sense of urgency," Roy said.

However, officials have no plans to expand the police force, he said.

That is a major problem, said Sahni.

In 2007, this nation of one billion-plus people had 1.4 million police officers - the vast majority armed with only batons - even though the government authorised a force of 1.65 million, according to India's National Crime Records Bureau.

Even the latter number is far too small, Sahni said. He says police ranks should be tripled and officers should be given intense training courses to bring the force up to international standards.

Action: Plea to un Council

An Indian government minister urged the UN Security Council on Tuesday to help punish anyone responsible for the deadly attacks in Mumbai by adding them to a UN terrorism blacklist.

"We have requested the Security Council to proscribe the Pakistani group Jamaat-ud-Dawa since it is a terrorist outfit," Indian Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed told a special meeting of the Security Council on terrorism.

"All those who were responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attacks, wherever they may be, should be brought to justice," he said.

The charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa is widely regarded as a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India says was behind the attacks.

- Reuters