New Delhi, Sep 8: “Frustrated” at not being able to address security concerns of Delhiites, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today demanded concrete measures to be taken to plug the loopholes in the security system exposed in the wake of the blast outside Delhi High Court.
A day after the terror strike, a contemplative Dikshit told PTI that the Centre must take appropriate action based on findings of the National Investigation Agency which was tasked to probe the blast that caused massive casualties.
“A probe has already been ordered by the Home Ministry. Let the report come. If there was any dereliction of duties or if the probe finds that the system faltered somewhere, then we must take corrective action.
“Based on the report, we must take strong follow-up action,” Dikshit, who had met Home Minister P Chidambaram hours after the blast to seek better security, said.
Asked about the palpable anger among the residents of Delhi over the failure of an elected government in meeting their security expectations, she said “it does feel frustrated when you cannot do anything when people look up to you. The citizens feel as elected representatives, we must address their concerns.”
On the factors behind such attacks, she did not rule out that death punishment for Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru could be a possibility for targetting Delhi by the terror groups.
“The Indian Mujaheedin and HuJI have been making statements...I would not like to make a direct comment. There are set procedures in the country which have to followed in deciding such cases,” she said.
Asked about Chidambaram's comment that Delhi Police was given intelligence input about the attack, Dikshit refused to said it was a matter between the Home Ministry and Delhi Police.
“I will not comment on the issue. It is a matter between the Home Ministry and the Delhi Police. My only point is that we must take effective measures to stop recurrence of such attacks,” the Chief Minister said.
Asking for collective efforts to secure the city, Dikshit said it was not the time for blame game.
“This is a very very tragic incident and we must work collectively. We must identify the weaknesses and should do everything at our disposal to ensure that each and every citizen in the city feel safe and secure,” Dikshit said.
However, she said it was “very difficult” to anticipate any terror attack. “A terror attack is something which you cannot anticipate. But what we can do is to put best security system in place.”
On the absence of CCTV at the High Court premises, she said the issue must be examined and appropriate action must be taken if any body or any department was found guilty.
“CCTV cameras should have been there...This issue must be examined carefully. Why failed to install CCTV cameras? Was it because of procedural delay or was it because of some other lapses”? she said.
In her meeting with Chidambaram yesterday, Dikshit had expressed concern over the loopholes in the security system and requested him to take necessary steps so that similar incidents do not occur in future, sources said. PTI
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