The death of Scarlette Keeling has taken the heat out of the possible terrorism threat Goa has been facing. Recently, a man arrested in Karnataka had revealed that they had planned to carry out attacks in Goa and their main target were the tourists.
This report has been passed on to the Goa Police by the Corps of Detectives in Karnataka. The IB too confirms that such plans were in place and Goa was being targeted.
Riazuddin Nasir, who was subject to a narco analysis test, has made some more shocking revelations and this time he has spoken in particular about their plans for Goa.
Nasir, who was posing as a cook, was arrested along with another medical student by the name Asadulla on charges of vehicle theft. However, it was only later that the police realised that they had been planning terrorist strikes in parts of Karnataka.
In the narco analysis conducted on Nasir, he makes a startling revelation. Nasir and his associates had planned to drive five vehicles to Goa and park them at the beaches where the foreign tourist population was the highest.
They then planned to plant RDX in each of these vehicles and trigger of each of these bombs in quick succession. The entire idea was to create a serial blast only in Goa and the main target was the foreigners.
During the narco analysis, Nasir said they wanted to do away with as many foreign nationals as possible. Nasir believed that by killing foreign tourists, India's relationship with the rest of the world would have soured and bi-lateral ties would have been hit.
Moreover, the tourist population would have come down drastically as a result of which the economy of Goa would have suffered too. Goa sees an average of 2.2 million tourists every year, a majority of them being from Britain.
The Goa police say they are applying their minds to this case. An officer has been deputed to look into these aspects and he had even gone to Karnataka to interrogate the persons detained in connection with terrorism charges.
Goa, however, has a long way to go before they can actually cope with such situations.
Security, especially at the beaches is next to nothing. A stroll on the beach on a Friday and Saturday morning showed no policeman in sight. Checking and frisking seem like alien words on these beaches. You can walk in with a bag or drive your vehicle in and there is none to stop you.
Even after the Scarlette episode, the police had promised to enhance security. There are patrols in the night. This may be good enough to prevent crimes. However, it is just not sufficient to prevent a terror strike as such strikes are carried out usually during the day when the tourist population is the highest.
The police are, however, on the defensive and say that they are equipped to tackle such situations.
The IB is on alert and in case of any information has the resources to react quickly. However, the major problem that daunts Goa Police is similar to the one being faced by mall owners across the country. Too much security, constant checks and frisking could prove devastating to their business. It is felt that if they are too strict, it may drive away tourists and in the case of the malls, the customers.
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