TWENTYONE men have been found guilty by a Spanish court of carrying out the worst-ever terror attack in Europe — the March 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people and injured 1800. It has taken the Spanish criminal investigation and judicial system just a little over three years to hunt down and prosecute the perpetrators. That casts in poor light the corresponding efforts in India, where citizens endlessly await even a shred of real progress in several cases of terrorist attacks — across New Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, and lately, Ludhiana, to name just a few.
Even in the case of the London bombings, it did not take long for the police to put out sketches of suspects and find out minute details of their activities. Here, the most the police can muster is to mention a few mythical-sounding characters along with the names of various terrorist organisations. True, Britain is so full of cameras that the the British themselves worry about living in a surveillance society. Jehadi organisations and their activities stick out more easily in Europe than in the subcontinent. But that is no excuse, as the primary reason for failure here is inadequate policing and investigative mechanisms, not to mention a weak-willed state.
The Spanish court’s judgement was no angry lashing out at any community, but the result of following due process of law. In fact, there have been furious and emotional reactions to the acquittal of several accused, including one of the alleged masterminds, Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, alias “Mohamed the Egyptian.” He is currently serving a jail term in Italy for belonging to a terrorist organisation. Seven others, also suspected of being among the organisers, blew themselves up in a police ambush weeks after the train attacks. Society cannot afford fatal inadequacies in dealing with terrorists, who will only exploit them to further their goals of mass carnage. India cannot afford to wait for the next major attack to agonise over the same issues, only to let it all slip back into old ways of doing things. The time to change is now.
Even in the case of the London bombings, it did not take long for the police to put out sketches of suspects and find out minute details of their activities. Here, the most the police can muster is to mention a few mythical-sounding characters along with the names of various terrorist organisations. True, Britain is so full of cameras that the the British themselves worry about living in a surveillance society. Jehadi organisations and their activities stick out more easily in Europe than in the subcontinent. But that is no excuse, as the primary reason for failure here is inadequate policing and investigative mechanisms, not to mention a weak-willed state.
The Spanish court’s judgement was no angry lashing out at any community, but the result of following due process of law. In fact, there have been furious and emotional reactions to the acquittal of several accused, including one of the alleged masterminds, Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, alias “Mohamed the Egyptian.” He is currently serving a jail term in Italy for belonging to a terrorist organisation. Seven others, also suspected of being among the organisers, blew themselves up in a police ambush weeks after the train attacks. Society cannot afford fatal inadequacies in dealing with terrorists, who will only exploit them to further their goals of mass carnage. India cannot afford to wait for the next major attack to agonise over the same issues, only to let it all slip back into old ways of doing things. The time to change is now.
Source: The Tribune, Chandigarh, India
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