Intelligence alerts treated casually: 26/11 panel

The Ram Pradhan Commission which probed the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks has found that the intelligence alerts provided by Central agencies were treated 'casually' and 'mechanically forwarded' to operational units by the director general of police office, anti terrorist squad and the home department.

The commission's report, which was tabled in the Maharashtra assembly on Monday, said that the intelligence alerts were forwarded by the DGP office, sometimes with a semi-official letter.

It also noted that there was a total confusion in the processing of intelligence alert at the state government level. The chief secretary normally passes the alerts from the Intelligence Bureau or Ministry of Home Affairs to the state home department.

Both additional chief secretaries (home) and principal secretary (home) initially deposed before the panel that they had not received any intelligence inputs from the MHA.

However, the Maharashtra director general of police had furnished copies of several important intelligence inputs issued by MHA addressed to the chief secretary and home secretary.

The panel noted a serious lapse that the additional chief secretary (home) was not handling the sensitive communications and intelligence inputs directly but entrusted the job to a junior-level officer.