Politics must be kept aside for national good
It is good that the Uttar Pradesh Police's Anti-terror Squad (ATS) has neutralised the terrorist holed up in a crowded locality in lucknow, though the ATS would have preferred nabbing him alive and getting crucial information out of him. It must be said that police forces of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Hyderabad credited themselves well through effective coordination, following the low-intensity Ujjain train blast that had occurred hours earlier. That said, the incident itself should ring alarm bells for the police as well as the country's intelligence agencies, because it's for the first time that the Islamic State (IS) is suspected of involvement in terrorism here.
Until now, it had been assumed that, while there were IS sympathisers spread across the country — more so in Kashmir valley where the youth routinely mock the Indian state by waving the IS flag on the streets — there wasn't a module that was equipped to spread terrorist acts. The Islamic State had already made its presence felt in neighbouring Bangladesh, and it was only a matter of time before it struck in India. Official smugness that the Muslims of India would not be lured by the IS ideology may have its merit and justification, but you don't require an army of IS-affiliated terrorists to wreak havoc. Even a lone wolf driven by the terror outfit's philosophy can be dangerous.
In the case at hand, there was a group working long and hard. More than a dozen people have already been rounded up in connection with the incident, while the militant who was shot down in lucknow, Saifullah, had been part of that gang. From all accounts, he was well-armed. The Ujjain train blast could have had larger tragic consequences had it been planned for major casualties. From what official sources have said, the IS was testing the waters before it launched a big strike. After all, the explosion took place in a crowded general compartment of the Bhopal-Ujjain Fast Passenger train and dozens of innocent lives could have been consumed. There is no point in now blaming lax security at railway stations: For instance, how could bags filled with explosives have escaped scrutiny and entered the platform and then the trainIJ Indian railway stations have multiple exit and entry points and are nearly always crowded and chaotic. It's virtually impossible to check every baggage, though many stations now have luggage screening facilities. Still, the need for enhanced security cannot be over-emphasised.
Just days ago, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the latter's remark that the recent train accident near Kanpur had been an act of sabotage, with the involvement of Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence not ruled out. But after this latest incident and the shoot-out in lucknow, leaders need to set aside politics and unitedly concentrate on tackling the growing danger of terrorism — with the Islamic State added to our already grave concerns.