Patil talks of terror through AC ducts

NEW DELHI: Former Union home minister Shivraj Patil on Sunday made a re-appearance on the internal security scene as the new administrator of Chandigarh, a post that he holds along with that of the Punjab governor. But Mr Patil was his usual pontificatory self and spoke at length about the futuristic avatar of the police.

In a 30-minute speech that evoked quite a few yawns, Mr Patil — who was known more for his serial dressing than his skill at handling internal security matters — spoke of biological warfare, chemical threats and cyber crime. He prescribed modernisation of police stations to bring them at par with those in foreign countries, and for this he wanted the Centre and states to look at the “entire gamut of policing,” rather than solely focus on anti-terror and counter-insurgency measures.

Mr Patil — who was shunted out from the home ministry to fix responsibility for the security loopholes that led to 26/11 attacks on Mumbai — made it a point to mention new-age security challenges such as bio and chemical warfare through AC ducts as well as cyber attacks, but made no mention of the internal security issues faced by Chandigarh.