Remembering 26/11: Police finally plug gaps in security preparedness

On the night of November 26, 2008, when ten Pakistani gunmen had caused mayhem in the city, the Mumbai police were caught unaware.

Army-like trained terrorists went on to take civilians hostage, killed as many as 166 people and injured several others by firing upon them at Colaba, CSMT Railway Station and Cama Hospital among other South Mumbai locations. Mumbai Police looked helpless and clueless as to how to respond to a war-like situation. Since the situation went out of police' control, specialised forces like marine commandos and National Security Guards (NSG) landed to take on the battle with terrorists.

Nine years down the line, things have improved, technology has been upgraded several notches and policemen are better trained to tackle is a 26/11 like situation.

However, assessment by the state government had revealed that the police are still not well equipped to deal with such a situation. 

This was followed by a series of meetings with ministers and senior police officers aiming to strengthen the police force.

Some of the major areas where the city police had fallen short were porous coastal security, advanced weaponry and having specialised men in the force to tackle such a war-like situation. Even the Ram Pradhan Committee, that was set up to assess the loopholes in the security system in the state, had recommended that there was a need for better coordination and sharing of intelligence between the state police with the Navy, Coast Guard and Central government agencies.

"We have certainly come a long way in these nine years. We are better equipped and trained now. After the 26/11 attacks, several changes have taken place in the Mumbai police machinery," said Deven Bharti, Joint Commissioner of Police, Law & Order.

Shedding light on how policing has changed since the attack, Bharti said, "The state police has set up an elite counter-terrorism commando squad Force One, trained on the lines of the NSG. We also have Quick Response Teams and 39 armoured vehicles that have at least five to six fully trained policemen with sophisticated weapons, and would act as first responders in case of any terror attack."

Another police officer said that the bomb detection and disposal squad of the Mumbai Police has also undergone an upgrade and are now better equipped and trained.

"We have set up anti-terror cells in every police station," this officer said, asking not to be named.

"We also have regular intelligence sharing meetings with multi-coordination agencies. The city is also covered under a network of more than 4,000 CCTVs and coastal security too has been strengthened. We have also upgraded security of vital installations in the city."