Kiran Bedi bets for stringent terror laws

Can stringent laws slash the spurt in India's terror graph? Well, political parties may have varied opinions on the issue, but India's first woman IPS officer feels "it's the need of the hour".

Can stringent laws slash the spurt in India's terror graph? Well, political parties may have varied opinions on the issue, but India's first woman IPS officer feels "it's the need of the hour".

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"Our laws are weak. We need strong laws to reign in the terrorists. Laws of the land must keep pace with the new challenges posed by terrorists," Kiran Bedi told PTI.

However, according to her, stronger laws should be supplemented with faster legal process. "Terrorists know that it can take up to ten years for a case to be settled in the court of law. So, judicial system needs to be expedited."

Bedi, who also served in the United Nations as the Police Adviser to the Secretary General in Department of Peace Keeping Operations, is also in favour of a federal agency to tackle terror in the country. "It's long overdue," she rued.

Known for her courageous act of towing away of the car of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1983, Bedi feels that India's basic fundamentals of policing are too weak to tackle terror and crime.

"We have no fundamentals in fact. We have structures only. Fundamentals come through human resource management, which unfortunately, is the weakest in our country. When 80 per cent of your constabulary is neglected, than you are bound to be the targets. So, get your basics right first," she said.