Ex-Director General pats NSG
NEW DELHI: Former Meghalaya Governor R.S. Mooshahary has said the wide use of IEDs is a cause of concern.
Addressing two-day 16th International Seminar on ‘Counter IED Strategy’ here on Thursday, Mooshahary who is also the former DG NSG said that procuring material for IEDs is no longer a difficult task. It is sometimes very difficult to detect these devices.
“Its use is not limited to terrorists these days, even protestors are also using these devices”, he said.
According to Mooshahary, NSG is not the first responder in case of an IED explosion, but NSG is the professional responder. The first responder looks up to NSG, he said, while adding that the NSG is doing a wonderful work.
Mooshahary also said that some of the old mechanisms may not be able to detect the new generation devices and there is no fit-for-all situation.
“Technology in the hands of revengeful hearts can be used for mass destruction” he added.
He also appreciated NSG for its efforts and said that NSG has made the nation proud.
R. C. Tayal, DG, NSG said that IEDs are a deadly mixture of chemicals that can be assembled in many ways.
He said that it is very easy to access this material and it is a very low risk and low cost venture for the terrorists.
“It is a deadly weapon that can cause huge damage to life and property. We need to work in the direction of making it very high risk venture for the terrorists and organized criminals. IEDs are one of the most accessible materials globally used to destroy critical infrastructure. Because of this not only the civilian lives are lost, but security forces are also facing casualties.” He said.
Tayal also pointed out in the year 2015, 268 incidents of IED blasts have taken place, which resulted in 117 casualties. He said that number of casualties could be curtailed primarily because of the proactive measures which intelligence agencies have taken to prevent some of the major incidents.
He emphasized that a comprehensive approach is needed to tackle this most serious threat. “Our procedures should aim at prevention, detention, effective neutralization and mitigation of consequences in case any incident”, the DG said.
Tayal said that there is a sound policing system in India. If police stations are alert, they can play a crucial role in preventing such incidents, he said and added that cooperation and information sharing between the friendly countries is very important to tackle such incidents.
On the occasion, Mooshahary also unveiled ‘Bomb Shell’ Magazine, 2016 which contains details of various IED explosions that occurred in various parts of the world in the year 2015 besides articles by several experts. After the release of the magazine, media interaction with the experts was also held.
The two-day seminar is a platform to the national and international experts of police and armed forces/law enforcement/ security/ intelligence/forensic agencies and other allied organizations for exchange of expertise, ideas and experiences. This year, besides delegates from leading security agencies of India, experts from the US, Israel, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Canada, Russia, Japan, Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam are also attending the seminar.