Gurgaon: The Improvised Explosive Device (IED), increasingly being used by Naxals and terrorists to kill and maim, is posing a formidable challenge for security agencies in the country, the chief of NSG said here today.
Arvind Ranjan, the Director General of National Security Guard (NSG), while addressing the country`s senior military, police and paramilitary officers said IED continues to be the choice of the purveyors of terror.
"A ubiquitous weapon of terror, the IED continues to be the weapon of choice of the purveyors of terror and a formidable internal security challenge," Ranjan said in his keynote speech at the National Bomb Data Centre (NBDC) seminar at the forces` garrison in Manesar here.
The NBDC of the NSG is the country`s national repository for all information related to various types of bombs and IEDs.
An IED is a crude bomb fashioned out of homemade explosives and shrapnels to injure or kill security forces personnel or civilians.
The DG also said the recent incident where an IED was placed in the abdomen of a dead CRPF personnel in Jharkhand`s Latehar was a "phenomenon beyond imagination".
"This is a dangerous trend and requires to be nipped in the bud," he said.
While taking on the recent trends in terror planning, the top IPS officer said internet has become a comfortable tool in the hands of terrorists.
"The modern age terrorist is an educated, technology savvy perpetrator, who leverages available technology not only to fabricate ingenious IEDs but also to enhance operational efficiency and to formulate logistical solutions.
"The omnipresent internet has provided a convenient medium for communication between the terror masterminds and their minions," he said.
The NSG DG, whose force undertakes specialist counter-terror and counter-hijack operations, said the agencies need to go back to the basics when it comes to working and acting on information obtained by snooping.
"Intelligence must be our primary line of defence, both at the strategic level and at the tactical level. We must now, therefore, focus on creating capabilities and structures for acquiring real time, actionable, tactical intelligence.
"We need to go back to the basics. The operational and logistic footprint of the terror attacks cover a number of states and cities, hence the need for formal structures and linkages that facilitate seamless flow of information down to district level functionaries. From little bits of information, shall emerge a complete picture, which can pre-empt or thwart a terror attack," he said.
PTI
