But with the terrorist attack in the IISc Bangalore Campus in December 2005, however, the State can no more be complacent.

The latest detection of a fundamentalists’ training camp in Dharwad, as reported in a section of media on February 2, should make one sit up. Whether it is Abdul Rehmann in Gulbarga in 2006, or the militants in Mysore and Bangalore, or Mohammed Gouse and Asadulla in Hubli, they each indicate that terrorism is in our backyard.
The danger lies from dormant, sleeper cells, which have the potential to cause  disaster for the state in due course. It is necessary that such cells are traced and eliminated in their infancy. In this regard is the State adequately prepared?

In the detection of such sleeper cells and fundamentalist elements it is necessary that there is liaison with intelligence agencies, of not only the neighbouring states but also with the Central Intelligence agencies. Intelligence against terrorist has to be strengthened.

 In fact every police station should make sure that in their respective areas such elements are not allowed to breed and grow. This would require effective beat policing and a certain amount of initiative and ingenuity on the part of the police.

One may recall that the Naxalites who attacked and killed the MLA of Narayanpet in Andhra Pradesh had planned their activities in Gurmitkal, in Karnataka. The terrorists involved in the bombing of the STF office in Hyderabad had links with Bidar here. Ranga Reddy, when chased from Andhra Pradesh and Bellary, took temporary refuge in Budagumpa in Koppal district. If the beats are active perhaps one can trace such elements and crush them in their initial stages.

Bangalore, being one of the fastest developing cities and an IT centre, has to be high on the hit-list of terrorists. Further, Bangalore having grown disproportionately in the last few years provides enough scope for terrorist elements to remain incognito in this dense cosmopolitan city.

Karnataka can be haven for terrorist elements considering the large number of professional colleges that have come up. Recent developments show that certain elements have entered the State in the disguise of students.
Apart from the Islamic terrorist elements, stoked by ISI and other anti-national elements, the State has also seen some spurt in left extremist activities. Naxalism in the past was confined to Pavagada in Tumkur, Bellary, Raichur, Gulbarga and Bidar. If ten years back only certain parts of the State adjoining Andhra Pradesh were affected, today such activities have spread further, to the interior Malnad areas of the State. Most of those involved were sympathizers or splinter  groups.

Today these elements are more active.The reason for the spurt in such activities  could be many. What ever the reason, they need to be identified. Once again, an effective intelligence, co-ordination with sister agencies and bordering states, and an effective beat could curb them.

The State has also had LTTE use it for the storage of weapons or for recuperation. One may recall Sivarasan and others, behind the Rajiv Gandhi killing, taking refuge in Bangalore.

There are certain sympathizers of the organisation in the State, particularly in Bangalore. It is possible that when pressure is mounted on LTTE camps in Sri Lanka, such elements take refuge in India where they can merge with the local crowd.

Sensitising the police force, security agencies and public in general is necessary if the spread of terrorist activities is to be halted. Karnataka has a number of institutions of national importance. The administrative agency of such institutions are to specially trained in this regard.

Check has to be kept on foreigners particularly Pakistanis who go out of view. Pro-active measures should be taken instantly before any disaster strikes.

The author is the Additional Director General of Lokayukta Police