Herat: Militants went unnoticed as no CCTV cameras on road

It took 44 seconds for the Indo Tibetan Border Police personnel to neutralise the lone militant who managed to sneak in at the Indian consulate building in Afghanistan’s Herat, said a senior official. Due to objections raised by local women, Indian authorities are prohibited from installing CCTV cameras that could have captured images of militants proceeding towards the compound as the attack took place in the early hours on May 23. All the CCTV cameras are installed inside the complex, located in a crowded residential area. It was PTZ camera number 14, facing the internal walls of the compound that captured the leg of the gunman. The ITBP personnel monitoring control room immediately raised an alarm and the intruder was shot dead.

Investigations revealed that the attack was aimed at the office-cum-residence of consul general Amit Mishra as the only shell fired from a rocket propelled grenade launcher landed below his room. The maximum damage, officials said, was to his residence and it seemed they wanted to create a hostage situation as the gunman killed inside the compound had enough ammunition and dry fruits on him to have lasted three-four days. The other three gunmen suspected to belong to Lashkar-e-Toiba were killed by the Afghan security forces.

“The gunmen had taken refuge in a nearby building so they could aim at the consul general’s room. The personnel were asked to sparingly use their ammunition even though the Afghan security personnel managed the situation outside the compound,” said an official.

Following the incident, the Afghan security forces have intensified security around the compound. “Another High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) has been stationed around the compound and the Afghan authorities have increased the number of security personnel,” said a senior official. ITBP has submitted a preliminary report to the MHA on the incident.

When foreign secretary Sujatha Singh visited Afghanistan last week, authorities suggested the consulate building could be shifted to an area away from crowded residential area.

DG ITBP Subhash Goswami, who visited Afghanistan after the attack, said they would recommend President’s Police Medal for Gallantry for the five jawans who thwarted the attack.

Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/herat-militants-went-unnoticed-as-no-cctv-cameras-on-road/

NSG Team Assesses Security Ahead Of Shree Jagannath Rath Yatra

An eight-member team of the National Security Guard (NSG) led by IG (Operations), Odisha Soumendra Priyadarshi took stock of the security measures at the Shree Jagannath Temple and also the security arrangements for the ensuing Rath Yatra here.

During the visit to the temple, the team reviewed the stepped-up security measures at the four gates, the Koili Baikuntha, the sanctum sanctorum and all the shrines around the main temple.The team also examined the close-circuit cameras installed at several points and found some of these not working. The NSG officials also suggested for installation of additional CC cameras at certain crucial points inside the temple.

Later, the officials went to the CCTV control room and watched the visuals. They also took note of the shortcomings of the system in the control room. The team inspected the watchtowers erected along the four sides of the temple boundary wall (Meghanad Pacheri) and noted down their suggestions for a better strategic surveillance.

The team, which spent 90 minutes inside the temple from 11 am to 12.30 pm, did not share the details of their Puri visit with the media for ‘security reasons’.However, sources said the NSG officials, in association with the local police, had a mock drill inside Hotel Mayfair here in the late night hours. The mock exercise in the seaside hotel was basically a rehearsal of an anti-terrorist operation, sources said.

Source: http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/nsg-team-assesses-security-ahead-of-rath-yatra.html

Cleaner held with 6 kg gold at Mumbai airport

A cleaner deployed at the newly built Terminal-2 of the Mumbai international airport has been apprehended for allegedly smuggling about 6 kgs of gold.

According to officials, a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) jawan deployed for airport security suspected the movements of the cleaner who works at the facility as part of staff of a maintenance firm.

Upon frisking, the CISF authorities recovered close to 6 kgs of gold from his baggage, sources said.

The employee, identified as Ganpath, has been handed over to police and Customs authorities for further probe.

The authorities are also scanning the CCTV footage of the terminal area to check the movements of the cleaner and the people he had met.