A year on, Mumbai Police say no more mistakes

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One year after Mumbai terror attacks, Mumbai Police promise a better security system. Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandan while talking to CNN-IBN said that the Mumbai Police is better prepared to handle a 26/11-like situation. He also promised to look into the welfare of police personnel and to guard the city against terrorists.

Here is an excerpt of the interview -

CNN-IBN: A year after the worst terror attacks that India and perhaps the world saw, have things really changed in the way we police our cities?

D Sivanandan: The confidence level of the police has increased substantially. I also think that the confidence level of the public has also increased in this one year. Besides that we have also substantially increased the number of support mechanisms, for example we have got one standard operating procedure return and we have rehearsed it many times and we have also got three-tier system of security, one is the Quick Reaction Teams (QRT) which are about thousand in numbers and are distributed at five different places during day and night.

They are trained continuously are alert all the time. They have been given bullet proof jackets, bullet proof helmets and state of the art American weaponry, MP5, MP9 etc.

CNN-IBN: God forbid there is another attack of this nature, what would be the critical change in the response of the Mumbai Police?

D Sivanandan: This time it will be a very well calibrated, well trained movement. People would not go unguided. There is guided mission mentioned in the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) as to who will be where and who will do what job. In case any multiple attacks take place, all the forces will not be running here and there.

For that matter, five regional controls are working all the time. Hundred men work during the day and 100 during night. People are allocated their regions and jobs and Additional Police Commissioners and DCPs will be there. This all has been mentioned in the SOPs and rehearsals have taken place multiple times in the multiplexes and various other places.

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CNN-IBN: Even as you mention these changes, at the end of the day one of the defining images that we saw over the past few days is that of policemen, who were guarding the Taj Hotel, were sleeping at the Gateway of India?

D Sivanandan: I agree there was a small slip up but we have immediately set it right but when we are doing so many other things, a small slip like this should be, I would say should be condoned for sometime because as Gateway of India is an iconic area we cannot put up a shed immediately for them. But strategically they had to be located somewhere there.

I agree there was a slip up in looking after them. But the point is there are so many other things happening in such a short time that we have to build up the Armada, train them, bring foreigners to train them etc. Small slips should not be highlighted when we are getting ready for a war. I do agree that there were slip ups but we need not highlight these small cracks.

CNN-IBN: You are calling it a small crack but it is a near split wide-open when it comes to the top brass of the Mumbai Police. We have seen them battling, we have seen a former commissioner come out in the public and name four other senior officers who allegedly did not respond to the call of duty. One likes to know from you that how seriously you take this and does this kind of infighting trouble you?

D Sivanandan: It does worry, I cannot just gloss it over by saying that I am not bothered about it but I would only say that past is past. From 26/11 we have learnt many lessons as to what to do, how to do things when a war-like situation breaks out. So, maybe this would also become part of that and we should forget all things and go on to work. I would only say one thing that I have a dream team. I worked in Thane for three-and-a-half year, earlier Nagpur Commissioner 34 years I have done.

Whatever team I got, I worked it into a dream team and they delivered the best. So, I will not discuss about what happened earlier between the others. I would only say that as of today I can assure you that I do have a dream team and we are pulling on very well. We have no differences whatsoever in case of an event we will work as one man, there will be one command, one General and one control room. Orders will go absolutely as pre-planned.

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CNN-IBN: Does it hurt you as a policeman that one of the finest amongst you was slain by terrorists and a year on the force cannot even find Hemant Karkare's bulletproof jacket? Is this a reflection of the way we honour our martyrs?

D Sivanandan: It hurts me a lot. To start with Hemant Karkare was working with me on that fateful day. He is very close to my heart as he had worked with me on three other occasions also. Ashok Kamte had also worked on many occasions with me. They were all like my younger brothers and we knew them as family. On Tuesday evening I participated in the book release of Mrs Vinita Kamte and we do show our solidarity with them under whatever circumstances.

So, it hurts me a lot to hear and read about it. I am not giving any excuses but I would only say that what happened is unprecedented and we were unprepared to handle that entire situation and so when such a senior officer was being slaying down like that there was so much confusion. Though he was being immediately taken to hospital, somewhere something happened to that bullet proof jacket. We would look into the matter but yes because of some confusion on that night some slips did take place.

CNN-IBN: Your words are certainly promising. But at the end of the day has anything changed when it comes to the constabulary? Has the morale of the rank and file of the police force improved?

D Sivanandan: I 100 per cent believe that their morale is high. I am looking after their welfare now. I am building an Rs 18 crore school and state of the art school where they will be paying only 25 per cent. It’s an English medium school. We have already built one in Thane where for Rs 6 crore where 1500 children are already studying. In this school, 6500 students will be there, half of them would be policemen kids.

I am revamping the police hospital where work has already begun. I am revamping our city control police room for Rs 2 crore and work has already begun there. I have built a gymnasium for about Rs 1 crore in the Nayagaon police headquarter. Ten other police stations have state of the art gymnasiums already. We have begun already 42,000 men executive health check-up.

CNN-IBN: So it seems police have learnt their lessons, have politicians learnt the lesson? As Commissioner of Mumbai do you face political pressure?

D Sivanandan: On all operational matters yes. Whatever we are asking they are providing us. From the state of the art technology to sending people abroad or getting people from abroad for interactions and buying things for making the police force more technical sound, they are helping us with everything. All that is absolutely great, the Government is completely with us. But if you ask about various nitty-gritty issues, yes there is remarkable change. They have realised that the police force has to be left alone to grow on its own.

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