Govt should coordinate with pvt sector to tackle terror threat

CHENNAI: Government agencies should coordinate with private sector firms, which has the latest technology, in dealing with the 'modern' terror attacks, B Raman, an expert on security and anti-terrorism operations, said on Wednesday.

Delivering the lecture on 'Counter terrorism post 9/11: challenges and responses in the Indian context', Raman, who is former Additional Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, said government agencies do not have expertise in latest technology like private sectors have.

"It is therefore necessary for the government to co-ordinate with private sector to equip itself with the latest technology including IT to deal with terror attacks," he said.

He said government should also create a latest and collective database about dealing with terrorism with the help of private sector. "The database which the government holds is primitive," he said.

"Mumbai terror attack is just a beginning. More and more attacks are expected in the future. Terrorists will attack soft targets of strategic significance to shake the confidence of the public. Unless we improve our preventive and retaliation capability, such incidents cannot be avoided," he warned.

Raman also observed that in future the terrorists might be targeting private organisations, oil refineries or shopping malls.