The city and the country paid heavily for the division of authority between the Mumbai Police Commissioner and the DG on that day as the two for the past decade have had a separate police communication network, budget and operational control. Even the annual confidential report of the Mumbai Police Commissioner is written by State Additional Chief Secretary and not by the State DG.

The decision to withdraw AK-47 assault rifles from the police inspectors, taken by Roy as Mumbai Police Commissioner three years ago, also proved disastrous. All that the Mumbai Police had in response to the LeT's artillery was assault fire and grenades of World War II vintage, .303 Lee Enfield rifles, .38 bore revolvers, 9 mm pistols and lathis.

Only Additional Commissioner Ashok Kamte had got an AK-47 issued from police armoury that day. When he came face to face with the terrorists along with encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar and Karkare, he fired twice at Kasab but missed narrowly. Not wearing the state-of-the-art bullet-proof headgear he had got from Kosovo, he was shot dead along with his two colleagues. It was around midnight that Maria and Roy realised the situation had got out of control. Maharashtra Chief Secretary Johny Joseph was requested to seek commandos and the NSG for help.

Given the cost of the breakdown of coordination that day, the state Government is now mulling putting the Mumbai Police Commissioner under the direct control of the state DG. This was given in-principle clearance at the meeting in Nagpur last week, but will become operational only after the three-member inquiry committee has submitted its report.

... contd.