Fourth bomb blast in last two weeks : Need to polish policing
- Sangai Express Editorial :: October 31 , 2013 -

Bomb blast at Moirangkhom, near Hicham Yaicham Pat, Imphal on 30 Oct 2013 :: Pix - Deepak Oinam

Third bomb blast in the last two weeks. This was on October 29, 2013.

Fast forward by 24 hours and it reads fourth bomb blast in the last two weeks.

The casualties in the last two blasts stand as two killed and ten injured.

A case of serious security lapses or the bomb planters or the attackers getting the better of the police or the security arrangements put in place ?

The places where the last two blasts took place should also give an insight to what is happening.

The October 29 blast occurred just a few metres behind City Police Station, while the October 30 explosion went off at Moirangkhom, near Hicham Yaichampat, which again is just is a few metres away from the 1st BN Manipur Rifles headquarters.

A closer look at the places where the last two bomb blasts occurred should give a clearer picture.

The 29 October blast occurred not only just a few metres behind City Police Station, but in a place which is choc-a-bloc with security personnel.

Important institutions such as the main branch of the State Bank of India means that there are security personnel on round the clock duty at the periphery of the area.

Same is the case with the October 30 blast.

The 1st MR Bn Headquarters may be the nearest high security point, but it would be worthwhile to remember that there is an MR/IRB picket near the Krishna Premi Oil Pump, which is bang opposite to the place of the blast.

A little further to the north is the high security Secretariat, followed by the office of the Imphal West SP.

The police headquarters where the DGP sits lies on the eastern side of the office of the Imphal West SP and just adjacent to the police headquarters is the official residence of the Chief Minister.

A look at the places where the bomb blasts occurred is crucial for it should give an insight to the understanding of the overall security measures put in place in Imphal.

To come back to the earlier question, can these two latest blasts be taken as an example of the attackers always being one step ahead of the police and the other agencies such as the intelligence units, like the CID, IB, SIB etc or is it a case of sheer lethargy and ineptness of the men in uniform, who are otherwise there to ensure the protection and security of the common people ?

Questions, always questions but no coherent answers so far and to be sure there will be no satisfactory answers to the questions raised.

Moreover, it would not be surprising if the State police, with all the modernisation measures that have been put in place, is unable to pin point or identify the group/s responsible for the blasts.

Such an answer will become public knowledge only when and if the group/s responsible for the blasts take it upon themselves to claim their hands in the incidents.

Policing is not only about patrolling or heavy security bandobast and frisking exercise.

The inability to anticipate developments or reactions is a characteristic which the State police can do without.

An indication that the intelligence units have not been able to dispense with their duties diligently. Two people killed and ten injured in two blasts on two consecutive days.

Bombs seem to be raining, but ideas to combat this are dry, so far.

The failure of the State security machinery to predict or anticipate the bomb rains and accordingly take up pre-emptive measures is too glaring.