Lone wolf attacks is our current worry: Maha ATS chief

Preventing lone wolf attacks and identifying persons who might be planning such strikes is a major concern for security agencies, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Atulchandra Kulkarni said Friday.

He also said that there is a need to develop technology which can scan vehicles for detection of hidden explosives "in real time" in view of coming elections when there will be plenty of rallies and roadshows.

Kulkarni was speaking at National Workshop on Explosive Detection at the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) here.

"The current worry is that a lone wolf (a terrorist acting by himself) can attack in crowded places. The person is going to get radicalised online...is getting instructions through chat groups in darknet. He is getting all the instructions, manuals on how to make IEDs online," he said.

Sharing the details of one such case Kulkarni said the would-be attacker, who was radicalised online, had made an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) by procuring everything from the local market and was receiving instructions from his overseas handlers through the darknet.

The darknet refers to Internet portals which operate clandestinely, often for illegitimate purposes.

Luckily, despite two attempts, he could not trigger the IED, Kulkarni added.

It is difficult to identify such persons because they lead a normal life outwardly, he said.

Terrorist group Islamic State may have lost control over the areas in Iraq and Syria where its writ ran, "but it established Internet presence which will continue to haunt us for long time", Kulkarni said.

He stressed the importance of technology in preventing terrorist attacks which typically use explosives.

"Detection of explosives should be quick, efficient, accurate with minimum danger to the person who is handling it," he said.

The ATS chief also said that India needs to be self-reliant in such technology. "We will have to stand on our own feet and develop our own technology," he said.

He reminded the gathering of researchers that there would be rallies and road-shows during the elections in 2019.

"Since we have streams of cars and people coming in for such rallies...can we have some technology where we can scan these vehicles in real time to avert any situation?" he asked.

Later, asked about the recent arrest, by Pune police, of a person who allegedly had links with pro-Khalistan groups, Kulkarni said the ATS and Punjab police are probing the case.

During the event, OPX-Revilator, a hand-held electronic explosive detection device developed by HEMRL scientists, was unveiled.

HEMRL director KPS Murthy said it can detect 25 types of explosives.

Pune-based HEMRL is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).