Click to play videoThe Ram Pradhan Committee, which probed security lapses during the terrorist attacks on Mumbai last year, has flayed the Mumbai Police for flouting standard operating procedures and other systemic norms during the attacks.
The state government has decided not to make public the 100-page report of the committee and on Tuesday tabled its Action Taken Report before the Maharashtra Assembly.
Now the wife of a senior police officer, who was killed during the Mumbai terrorist attacks, has alleged the Maharashtra’s government is hiding Pradhan Committee’s findings.
Vinita Kamte, wife of slain IPS officer Ashok Kamte, told CNN-IBN the state government must share the contents of the Ram Pradhan Committee’s report.
With the report generating a lot of heat Ram Pradhan, the Chairman of the Pradhan Committee and Shirish Karkare, slain ATS chief Hemant Karkare's brother joined CNN-IBN to discuss the findings.
CNN-IBN: Vinita Kamte said that the process in which these findings have been made is not transparent. She wants the report in its entirety. That's what most family members are demanding. Do you concede it would be better for the entire 26/11 report be made public now?
Ram Pradhan: I think we did our job. We were asked to look into certain aspects and those aspects were quite clear whether there was any intelligence available about the attack. Secondly were there any lapses on the part of officers acting and reacting to the situation. Thirdly we were asked to make recommendations in case we have to face such situation in future. So I would only say that we have done our job as we were given limited terms of reference. In the context of that we have done our job to the best of our ability. Report is with the government. I think government has explained why the report is not being placed.
CNN-IBN: Respond to those who say this job is a whitewash? A number of people including former intelligence chief B Raman are saying this entire report is a whitewash. You have not fixed responsibility on specific individuals which is important when an attack like 26/11 takes place.
Ram Pradhan: Responsibility for what? Responsibility for facing the attack, not responsibility for stopping the attack. As I think it has been abundantly proved that attack was done with military precision. It was launched from somewhere else in a most unexpected way. What the police and… I am talking only about the police... they could only act or react. They couldn't do anything more than that and we found that their action and reaction with the means available to them was very good and very prompt. Now it could have been done better. There is no reason to believe that it could not have been done better. But the situation was such that all the attacks took place within 10 minutes.
CNN-IBN: Mr Pradhan you are making all those points but it seems from your report that the action taken by the government that just one man is being held responsible for all the lapses of Mumbai Police. Hasan Gafoor seems to be the man who has been pin pointed. Do you think the lapses were more systematic in Mumbai Police? Do you think that Hasan Gafoor has been made the single scapegoat?
Ram Pradhan: No I think there is a wrong impression. We have not held even Hasan Gafoor as having committed serious lapses. In fact we have said overall reaction of Mumbai Police and all officers were very good because he was on the spot within a few minutes. He was at Trident. What we have said is an observation and I would like to point that it is not a conclusion. It is an observation that the command and control was not properly exercised. There are Standard Operating Procedures.
CNN-IBN: Mr Karkare you are hearing what Mr Pradhan is saying. Are you convinced? I believe family members like you wanted to depose before him.
Shirish Karkare: Actually we believe that we are a democratic republic and democracy requires transparency of information and an informed citizenry. Absolutely I don't find any reason that the report cannot be made public. As regards the failure of the command and coordination; the system failure that was being looked into is actually owing to certain links of the system. If those weak links did not react appropriately then they are also to be identified and they are to be highlighted. That is what I feel.
CNN-IBN: Many just after the Mumbai attacks had talked about the delay with which backup forces came for Hemant Karkare. Also the state of the bulletproof jackets, Do you think in these seven months really enough has been done to address any of those concerns?
Shirish Karkare: I frankly do not believe that enough has been done. That exactly is our concern. God forbid of there is another 26/11 then we are being assure that we are prepared. But are we really prepared? That is the question. I have lost my brother. I have no doubt about his bravery or other two officers who were there with him or even the other constables, operators and every other policeman who was doing his duty there. There is absolutely no doubt about their bravery because I have known his for last 25-30 years since his days at Chandrapur. I know he was there to always lead from the front and he was also associated with the SOP's development and he knew his role as expected by the SOP.
CNN-IBN: It is one thing not to table the report fully in the Assembly... that is a political decision. Don't you think you should share the reports finding possibly with the families or at least have met them. Some of them have told us they when they met you to give their side of the story and concerns, you said that you couldn't meet then. The Home Department would have to give permission.
Ram Pradhan: No, no, no. I won't answer that. Ours was an administrative enquiry with limited terms of reference and we said we will interview every body whom we want to do and they were principally officers of the police.
CNN-IBN: Shouldn't have it been a judicial enquiry? The Times of India in its editorial says what's the point of an administrative enquiry? After 9/11 the United States produced the kind of report that stood the test of time. Shouldn't there be a judicial enquiry into 26/11?
Ram Pradhan: We can't set up the inquiry. Inquiry was set up by the government and it was an administrative enquiry because it had to be carried out within a limited time frame of two months. We completed in two and a half months.
CNN-IBN: Sir the most serious terrorist attack in contemporary time and all we have is an administrative enquiry. Would you say in you judgement that it was a mistake… that we should have had a judicial enquiry.
Ram Pradhan: Well that can be an individual point. But as an administrator I had to see how the thing could be set right in case there is another attack. Even while we were conducting the enquiry there were reports that there might be another attack. I think the media is aware about it. Judicial enquiry was certainly for the government to decide. I would have certainly not conducted judicial enquiry.
CNN-IBN: You wrote that report. Do you wish that the government has tabled the entire report in the Assembly and not kept critical portions of it. Do you think those portions were really that sensitive?
Ram Pradhan: I think even the portions of report has not been put. What has been put on the table are points on which the government is proposing to take action. They are called ATR (Action to be Taken Report). Of course they have quoted from the report.
CNN-IBN: Are you satisfied with the Action Taken Report? Do you believe and Shirish Karkare fears that if 26/11attack could occur again and there could be another systematic failure. Do you believe the systems are in place to combat a 26/11? What's your sense of that?
Ram Pradhan: I would say that things are not as well as they should have been. I cannot certify that everything is in place or everything is not in place. But much needs to be done and I don't think that much has been done. Unless what has been stated in the ATR is implemented in the fasted and best possible manner, in a short time we may have a more serious situation to face. I don't think we are ready to face a situation.
CNN-IBN: Mr Karkare do you have a final message for Mr Pradhan. Would you ask him, tell him something now as the brother of Hemant Karkare?
Shirish Karkare: Sir basically what he himself is admitting is that the terms of references or the areas where he looked into were limited. Perhaps those areas prohibited him into going into areas of individual’s actions or commenting upon them or analysing them.
CNN-IBN: So you also want a judicial inquiry?
Shirish Karkare: I would definitely support because it is a matter concerning safety, security and life of public. It is for us immediate kith and kin of people who have laid down their lives on 26/11... it is their right to know what actually transpired that day, what happened that day. Absolutely no privilege can be claimed upon this particular report because I don't think there is any court which is stopping from making this report public. I don't think any information is there for which privilege can be claimed.
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