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| India-Pakistan |
| LeT threat prompted Indian govt to deploy military at nuclear facilities |
| 2006-10-15 |
| Based on crucial external intelligence inputs that were confirmed by the Americans, the Union government had ordered its armed forces to protect India’s nuclear establishments, particularly the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), from a terrorist attack by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). This unprecedented two-month long internal security deployment was withdrawn by the government last Tuesday. The armed forces are now in the process of returning to their barracks. Government and military sources confirmed to The Sunday Express that the armed forces were put on high alert in the last week of July after a Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) report indicated the possibility of a jehadi attack on Indian nuclear installations in general but BARC and Tarapur facilties in particular. The government took a serious note after the CIA confirmed it. Even as M.K. Narayanan went on record on July 28 about the LeT threat, the government pressed in para-military forces including the NSG inside the nuclear complexes and the armed forces were directed to deploy on the outer periphery to ward off any “aerial threat.’’ Since then, the Army, the Air Force and the Navy had switched on all their radars, activated their surface-to-air missiles (such as Pechora) and deployed shoulder-fired IGLA missile troop regiment outside the nuclear establishments. Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee had also told Parliament on August 1 that special security measures had been undertaken to ward off the terrorist threat. “The government had no options but to call on the armed forces once the Americans and other friendly intelligence agencies confirmed the Lashkar threat,’’ said a senior official. As BARC is surrounded by low-level hills, the armed forces were fearing a possible 9/11-type attack. Though the government has been tight-lipped about the deployment, the armed forces top brass confirmed that its anti-aircraft guns, surface-to-air weapons and low-level radars were loaded to tackle the attack from the terrorists. “We were told to deploy on the periphery as the State would look after security inside the complex,’’ a senior General said. While BARC was the focus of the armed forces, the government sent additional para-military units to guard Madras Atomic Power Station at Kudankulum and the Navy was asked to patrol the waters to prevent any threat from the sea. Inside the nuclear complexes, CISF and NSG commando contingents were pressed into action. Although the armed forces have been ordered into barracks, security at all the nuclear installations has been beefed up through biometric access controls and state-of-the-art anti-intrusion equipment. |
| Posted by:john |
| #1 Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai is the main Indian nuclear weapons lab |
| Posted by: john 2006-10-15 08:35 |