The two bomb blasts in the Bangalore-Guwahati Express train when it was berthed in Madras Central on Thursday morning is a serious enough development, especially at election time, to warrant a thorough probe and stepped-up vigil.
The explosions were of low intensity and fatality was low. This should not blind us to the fact that terrorists are known to use explosives of varying lethality to gain their ends, and that low-intensity bombs can be part of the broader objective to create panic and generate fear psychosis. These are among the principal aims of terrorist attacks.
Sometimes low-intensity blasts are part of a chain in which higher-grade explosions might follow. As such, investigators have to quickly get into high gear and summon resources from all available quarters to zero in on the perpetrators, skip over red herrings, and discover if a network is involved. In short, anti-terrorism work is painstaking and slow. It sometimes yields results long after a particular episode of terrorist violence has been forgotten.
The Centre has moved fast by getting ready a team of the National Investigation Agency and the NSG to land in Chennai at short notice. It is a pity, therefore, that the AIADMK government has blocked national specialists from joining the investigation, maintaining that the Tamil Nadu police and its experts have the wherewithal to tackle the situation.
Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa may be swayed by political considerations in her decision. She may worry that in the election season her government may be seen as weak by her detractors if she takes assistance from the Centre even in a matter relating to terrorism which has been a matter of serious national concern since the mid-1980s. It is indeed a matter of regret that many leaders of state parties do not fully appreciate the many dimensions of terrorism, as evident during the debate in Parliament three years ago when West Bengal leader Mamata Banerjee effectively blocked the creation of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre saying that this would impinge on the powers of states. On political grounds she found support from important Opposition parties.
Nevertheless, it is important to understand that when terrorists want to attack India with the help of external agents, they execute their evil design in one or another state of the country.
Terrorists have no difficulty spreading their activity from one state to another, and organising support systems in several states at once. The Centre and the states will be short-sighted if they do not deal with this menace in a coordinated manner.
