800 இஸ்லாமிய பயங்கரவாத செல்கள் இந்தியாவில்- இந்திய அரசு அறிவிப்பு

800 இஸ்லாமிய பயங்கரவாத செல்கள் இந்தியாவில்- இந்திய அரசு அறிவிப்பு

'800 terror cells active in country'
12 Aug 2008, 1516 hrs IST,TNN

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NEW DELHI: In a shocking disclosure, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan has said that there are as many as 800 terrorist cells operating in the country with "external support". These terror modules, he said, had been uncovered by intelligence agencies. Without naming any country, Narayanan said that there was inspiration as well as support from abroad for terrorist activities being carried out in India. ( Watch )

Narayanan made these comments while talking to a Singapore-based newspaper about investigations in the serial blasts which rocked Ahmedabad and Bangalore recently. The police and intelligence agencies have often spoken about this alarming situation in hushed tones, but this is the first time a senior government official has come out in public about the extent to which terrorism has made inroads into the country.

Narayanan said India was now looking for the brains behind the external support to such terror modules. "We are concerned that there is a great deal of external inspiration and support, we are also concerned and are looking at a mastermind within the country," Narayanan told the 'Straits Times'.

Narayanan said some of the terrorist cells were not entirely foreign. "Clearly, there is some kind of organisation. We have to find out if that organisation is localised or there is an external group or module operating," he said.

Narayanan also expressed concern about terrorists coming up with new methods for causing excessive damage like planting bombs near hospitals, as in the Ahmedabad blasts. "Copycat systems are coming up. Like putting bombs in vehicles near hospitals soon after blasts, knowing that large congregations will be there and impact will be much greater," he stated.

While he refrained from making any direct comment on links with international terrorist organisations, he did hint that some of the terror cells in India may be in touch with international terrorist groups. "One of the things we had hoped would not occur was that of local elements getting sucked into worldwide movement of al-Qaeda and terrorist related activity. But if you look at the nature of the blasts, there are a great deal of complementarities in terms of triggering devices, nature of explosives and casings used. All this indicates much more high-grade people are involved in this effort," Narayanan said.

Narayanan, however, did not speak much about what the government is doing to bust these terror cells. India was quick to blame Pakistan's ISI for the blast outside the Indian embassy in Kabul, but it has avoided blaming Pakistan directly for the blasts in the country.

With almost all of the terror cells being headed by Muslims, many believe that this is to ensure that no community feels offended. According to highly placed officials, government coming out in the open with the existence of these terror cells in the form of Narayanan's statements might be the first sign of India deciding to take the bull by its horns.