Countering extremists: Police cite social media, technology as major challenges

Indoctrination over social media and getting an upper hand in technology use are the toughest challenges for police as they take on extremist elements, according to police chiefs of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
For the past two decades, terror-related acts were classified as either state sponsored or backed by some non-state body, the segregation was easier. But with time, the contours have changed due to explosion of social media, said Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi.
Telephonic conversations and written letters as a mode of communication among extremist elements have been replaced by internet-based applications, websites and the social network fora, which have made things more complex, Bassi said.

"But if technology is helping terrorists, it is also helping security agencies," Bassi asserted.
Bangalore Police Commissioner N S Megharikh also admitted technology to be a big challenge. He cited some of the problem areas as "technological upgradation, cyber world monitoring and extracting information from the virtual platform."
When asked whether South India has shown signs of emerging as a zone of radicalisation, Megharikh said that coastal areas in Karnataka, like Bhatkal, have witnessed traditional radicalisation, where problems originating from local issues have often taken a larger shape.

However, the case has not been so easy to decipher for a place like Bangalore, which is a hub of technology, largely inhabited by qualified engineers and students, he said.

According to Mumbai Police Commissioner Ahmed Javed, security agencies have intensified the focus on technology with time. "It is like a race, at times we (the police) move ahead of them and at times they (extremist elements) move ahead of us," he said.
To complement the race in technology, society must team up with police, he added.
When asked if his appointment as the Ambassador to Saudi Arabia yesterday is part of a "counter-terrorism strategy", Javed did not comment.
Speaking particularly about the nature of threat the national capital faces, Bassi said, "People have often gone to foreign lands to seek training and attend secret meetings.

"But with advancement in technology, the capacity of the transmitters of information have increased, which is challenging," Bassi said.
When asked whether Delhi faces a bigger threat from the ISIS or the ISI, Bassi said that all terrorist activities in India were guided from "across the border".
However, "a threat is a threat and it is to be fought. Threat can never be ruled out but the police departments and central security agencies have done good job in this regard, the Delhi top cop added."
Referring to ISIS, Javed said that youths have gone from here to join the extremist force. "That is for sure. But how big is the problem, is a matter we are still trying to analyse," he said.

The contents of some sites which are believed to have indoctrinated large number of youths are so provocative that people who are on the margin can get influenced.
"The angst need not necessarily be on communal or ideological lines. It can be on infrastructural or issues connected with opportunities in life," Javed said.
What has come to light is that there is a huge gap between reality and perception. The youths who are influenced through social media are subjected to highly morphed information, building up an entirely wrong perception, said the Mumbai top cop.
Speaking particularly on "honey-trapping", cases in which women are used to radicalise youths, Megharikh said that the modus operandi is not new. "It has been a traditional mode of combat for women who desired to participate in the extremist acts," he said.

Bassi added that Delhi Police had also come across the issue many times over the years.
Taking a question on why people earning high salaries are getting radicalised, Bassi said, "If a person earning Rs 10 lakh a year can commit cheating, crimes against women or other heinous acts, then why can't he step into terrorism.