The question is being asked against the background of the RAW intercept.
The Navy chief has other problems at hand. US Intelligence officials told the CNN that their government had warned India of a maritime attack on Mumbai. The message
was conveyed twice, including once in the last week of October, 2008. Security was maintained for a week and then the guard was dropped since nothing happened during that period. “Indian officials are prone to look at short term gains and not the long term picture,” the American official told the CNN. The Navy chief has angrily refuted the charges saying ``there was no such RAW intercept which was handed over to us” and rather than a security lapse, it was a systems’ failure.
Certain things have emerged clearly for which the Navy needs to answer. It is the first line of defence in international waters and the Coast Guards come as a second line, so to obliquely hint that Coast Guard was unable to pick up the trail of the killers is to put the cart before the horse. In addition, sources say that there is a lot left to be desired as far as coordination between the Navy and Coast Guard is concerned.
Now that broom closets are being opened, the callous neglect of the country's coastal defences is coming into sharp focus. India has 7,516 kilometers of coasts and most of it remains unmanned.
Gujarat and Maharashtra police officials examining the trail taken by the killers have interviewed fishermen on the coastlines of two states and the story that is emerging is of a coastline without any police restrictions, frequent and unregistered entries of fishermen back and fro Pakistan, forgery of smart I-cards issued by the Gujarat government identifying the fishermen, which according to one account, was flashed by the killers on the kidnapped boat, Kuber when accosted by an unnamed Coast Guard patrol.....Continue
The Navy chief has other problems at hand. US Intelligence officials told the CNN that their government had warned India of a maritime attack on Mumbai. The message
was conveyed twice, including once in the last week of October, 2008. Security was maintained for a week and then the guard was dropped since nothing happened during that period. “Indian officials are prone to look at short term gains and not the long term picture,” the American official told the CNN. The Navy chief has angrily refuted the charges saying ``there was no such RAW intercept which was handed over to us” and rather than a security lapse, it was a systems’ failure.Certain things have emerged clearly for which the Navy needs to answer. It is the first line of defence in international waters and the Coast Guards come as a second line, so to obliquely hint that Coast Guard was unable to pick up the trail of the killers is to put the cart before the horse. In addition, sources say that there is a lot left to be desired as far as coordination between the Navy and Coast Guard is concerned.
Now that broom closets are being opened, the callous neglect of the country's coastal defences is coming into sharp focus. India has 7,516 kilometers of coasts and most of it remains unmanned.
Gujarat and Maharashtra police officials examining the trail taken by the killers have interviewed fishermen on the coastlines of two states and the story that is emerging is of a coastline without any police restrictions, frequent and unregistered entries of fishermen back and fro Pakistan, forgery of smart I-cards issued by the Gujarat government identifying the fishermen, which according to one account, was flashed by the killers on the kidnapped boat, Kuber when accosted by an unnamed Coast Guard patrol.....Continue
