Ironic, we eased just before being hit by terror: Ratan Tata

NEW YORK: It is "ironic" that extra security measures, taken after being warned of a possible terror strike, were eased just before the terrorists assaulted the landmark Taj hotel, Tata group chief Ratan Tata said.

"It's ironic that we did have such a warning, and we did have some measures (for the additional security)," Tata told US media from Mumbai.

The over 100-years-old iconic hotel stands mutilated in the financial capital of India after about 60-hour long siege by terrorists who indulged in arson and explosion before being gunned down by NSG guards on Saturday morning.

Post attack, Tata rued that crisis infrastructure was "woefully poor" and the attacks revealed deficiencies in the law enforcement, especially in areas of crisis response and management.

"We are indignant but not scared," he quipped. Although he did not elaborate on the additional security measures, Tata felt even these steps could not have prevented the terrorists from entering the hotel.

Speaking to CNN's Fareed Zakaria, he said that "people could not park their cars in the portico, where you had to go through a metal detector" due to the additional security.

".... If I look at what (measures) we had (enacted)... it could not have stopped what took place," Tata said, adding that the attackers did not come through the front door, where additional security measures had been temporarily enacted.
"They did not come through that entrance.. they came from somewhere in the back... they knew what they were doing and they did not go through the front. All of our arrangements were in the front.