DIG denies security lapse, claims situation managed 'fairly well'

Bomb blast aftermath: Police on the defensive

Speaking at a press meet here on Tuesday, Singh said the police did the job of providing security inside the stadium “fairly well.” Singh claimed that recovery of two more bombs outside the stadium a day after the explosions doesn’t imply security lapse.

Contending that anti-sabotage checks in an open area such as outside the stadium were impractical, Singh said that such checks could be done only in areas where "there is a controlled entry".

Singh said the police were finding out the scheduled time of explosion of the bombs found and their chemical combination would be known only after the report from Forensic Science Laboratory. "We are also looking into how many hours exactly were the bombs placed before we found them,” he said. The assistance of behavioural scientists was also being sought to decipher the movement of people recorded on CCTV cameras. He refused to specify whether the betting lobby was behind the blasts. "We are probing all angles, including involvement of the betting lobby and the terrorists," he stated.

Asked what lessons did the police learn from the 2008 serial blasts, Singh said they were now "better prepared" in terms of manpower, equipment, and training to deal with such an eventuality.

Replying to a question on why the police couldn’t detect the bomb placed behind a flex board at Gate No 1 on the match day in spite of “additional security measures,” City Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari said the bomb was concealed in a column which was covered completely. "We focussed on the spectators' safety till 11 pm after the blasts. Later, it became very difficult to continue the checks because of darkness and our personnel needed rest after a hectic day. We resumed the checking at 6 am and the explosives were found at 9 am," Bidari revealed.

He said the City Police got Rs three lakh per match - Rs 1.5 lakh for providing escort to the players and the balance for the security at the stadium.  He said that 2,000 policemen were deployed for the job and according to government rules, each policeman should be paid Rs 1,000 per day for providing security. “By that estimate we should have been paid Rs 20 lakh per match. But it was reduced by Rs 17 lakh,”  he disclosed.