LESSONS FROM 26/11: Team of officers visits civic body headquarters, gauges preparedness at vital spots

With less than a month to go for the first anniversary of the 26/11 terror attacks, the newly-formed Mumbai unit of the National Security Guards has initiated a security review across “vulnerable locations” in the city, an exercise to gauge preparedness at vital spots that could be targeted in terror attacks.

A team of NSG officers visited the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters on Tuesday for a security check and to study security measures in place. For five hours, the team assisted members of the civic body’s security department and carried out an inspection of every floor of the six-storey new administrative building and also the three floors of the Grade I heritage building.

“We are inspecting some important locations in Mumbai from a security angle to study what measures have already been adopted,” said one NSG officer on condition of anonymity. “Since one of the 26/11 attacks had taken place at CST and since the BMC building is in the vicinity and is one of the important structures in the city, we are checking its security too.”

The two-member team documented all the safety measures undertaken by the BMC — which included installation of CCTV cameras, X-ray machines for baggage checking, compulsory ID cards for employees and restricted entry.

Last year, during the November attack, Ajmal Kasab and Abu Ismail — after opening fire at the CST railway station — had passed through a lane of BMC headquarters and injured a security guard on duty. The corporators had raised an alarm of security overhaul, citing possibility of attack on the headquarters itself, following which drastic security measures were undertaken. These include a temporary bunker and arming the guards at the entry/exit points with 303 rifles.

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