Atomic plants vulnerable: Patil

The N-deal makes them vulnerable to terror threats, says the Home Minister.

India's proposed civil nuclear deal with the US has made the country's atomic power plants "highly vulnerable" to terrorist threats, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said on Wednesday.

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Key installations in the oil and natural gas sector, defence, communications and IT are also equally vulnerable, he said while inaugurating a three-day conference of state police chiefs in New Delhi.

"In view of the recent Indo-US agreement on civil nuclear energy cooperation, our atomic power plants have become highly vulnerable," Patil said.

"Some Lashker-e-Taiba terrorist operatives are being trained specifically for sabotage of oil installations. There are plans to occupy some uninhabited islands and use them as bases for launching operations on the Indian coast." The country's critical infrastructure faced "serious" threats from terrorists, he added.

Patil said there were reports to indicate that some multi-purpose projects in the country continued to be targets of terrorist groups.

The country's coastal boundary was also under constant threat from terrorists, he added.