Intelligence agencies in India confirm that Modi is way above everyone else on IM’s hit list.
Patna blasts, which rocked BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s rally, sent one message loud and clear – the terror outfits are looking for Modi’s blood. This has been confirmed by the Indian intelligence agencies.
With a grim history of political assassinations, the country’s security forces are preparing for yet another challenging assignments in decades- protecting prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Six people were killed in serial blasts at Modi’s rally in Patna on October 20. It was a task carried out by home-grown terror outfit Indian Mujahideen.
Reportedly, an officer in the Intelligence Bureau, who declined to be identified as he is not authorised to speak to the media, has confirmed that Modi is way above everyone else on IM’s hit list.
“The IM cadre say he is actually 1 to 10 on their list. The rest come after that,” said the officer, citing confessions of captured militants.
Modi, the three-time chief minister of Gujarat arouses strong passions among supporters and rivals. He is a hero of the Hindu right, and seen as a tough, business-friendly administrator who can help steady a nation in economic drift.
The militants hold Modi responsible for riots in 2002, during his first term as chief minister of Gujarat state, in which at least 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed.
Modi denies any role in the riots or bias against minority Muslims. The Supreme Court absolved him of any wrongdoing.
The Indian Mujahideen has ties to Pakistan-based militants who have launched numerous attacks in India including the 2008 assault on several targets in the city of Mumbai.
Four days before the explosions at recent Patna rally, the Intelligence Bureau sent a letter to state authorities warning them of the threat to Modi, although they did not have specific information. “Narendra Modi being perceived as a leader of Hindus, may be targeted by rabid elements,” the bureau said. “Modi is also a target in the list of various terrorist organisations.”
He is now protected by 108 Black Cat commandos of the National Security Guard (NSG), the anti-terrorism force that fought the militants who mounted the Mumbai attack. Originally, Modi had a small NSG group trained to whisk him away in case of attack. But his security has been stepped up and he now has three layers of protection: one group to take on any attackers, a second to provide cover and a third to get him to safety.
An elite team protecting Modi has been ordered to secure all public meetings using the same tactics of the Special Protection Group that guards former and serving prime ministers and their families along the lines of the U.S. Secret Service. Spotters in disguise will mingle in the crowds while an advance team will “sanitise” sites six times, the last time an hour before Modi’s arrival, a security official said. “Sewage pipes, manholes, you plug every hole in the ground and above,” an official was quoted saying.
The biggest risk was the politicians themselves pushing against the security bubble as they bid to reach out to voters. Unlike in the West, powerful leaders in India at times overrule their security agents and wade into crowds.
Communal animosity has led to several high-profile assassinations in India, beginning months after independence when a Hindu fanatic gunned down Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of a non-violent struggle to throw off British rule.
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was killed by Sikh bodyguards in 1984 and her son, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was killed by an ethnic Tamil suicide bomber in 1991.
The election is shaping up to be a highly charged clash with Modi and his aggressive Hindu nationalist supporters facing off against their Congress-led rivals, who say the vote is a fight to preserve India’s secular foundations. Much of the battle will be waged at public gatherings. Even in these days of 24-hour news channels and the Internet, Indian election campaigns hinge around rallies.
Rahul has spoken of the deaths of his father and grandmother and said recently he could be next to fall to the politics of hate. He is guarded by the top-level Special Protection Group.
Either way, an attack on these two leaders could spark waves of reprisal violence.
