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| The unsuspecting network | | | | For long the wiser people among us would suggest that poverty, unemployment and other social problems are the major factors driving youth towards militancy or terrorism. The arrest of technocrat from Mumbai who has annual salary package of Rs 19 lakhs negates these theories. The reasons are far beyond the economic compulsions. The way Indian Mujahideen is spreading its tentacles across India has the country worried as it has opened hundreds of fronts for counter. The earlier confrontation between the police and suspected terrorists in New Delhi’s Jamia Islamia area and the latest arrests of Muslim technocrats by the Mumbai police are undoubtedly important breakthroughs in anti-terror operations. For a public rattled by the rise in the number of outrages, these developments cannot but be highly reassuring. If the police have really been able to frustrate the jihadi plans for bomb blasts in Mumbai on the occasion of Navratri, then it is a major achievement. Earlier, too, there were reasons to believe that the police had succeeded in stopping terrorist groups before they could carry out their attacks. However, it was those who slipped through the net to kill and maim by planting bombs in crowded places, who fuelled criticism of police failures. It may be too early to say whether the latest arrests will help in tracking down those who are still in hiding. But that crucial clues have been obtained cannot be denied. It is necessary to remember that for all the havoc that the terrorists have created, the SIMI and the Indian Mujahideen are essentially small outfits. As such, an inroad made by the police into one of their cells should make it possible to gradually snuff out the others. The task has been made difficult, of course, by the fact that this new breed of criminals does not come from the underworld. Instead, many of them are well-educated and even exceptionally accomplished computer specialists earning high salaries. It is relatively easy, therefore, for them to remain below the police radar since even their families may not always be aware of their murderous role. However, the observations of some of the parents that the perpetrators of such crimes deserve punishment are a sign that the jihadis horrify their co-religionists. The help that the terrorists receive from across the border in terms of money, arms and the assurance of shelter, not to mention ideological inspiration, are obviously some of the motivating factors. Even then, since their roots are in this country, unlike the infiltrating mercenaries, close surveillance of personal and family lives,which is not possible where isolated aliens are concerned, can be of considerable help to intelligence agencies. As is obvious, a sudden change in habits, such as an increasing interest in religious matters, is often an important giveaway. The community, too, has a role beyond the issuance of anti-terror fatwas as the Darul Uloom Deoband had done. |
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