E-Paper
State ATS chief in Pune says online radicalisation of ‘lone wolf’ a challenge
For the past several years, the sophistication of terrorist attacks had increased against soft targets in the country
Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) Chief Atulchandra Kulkarni on Saturday said that online radicalisation of youths especially “lone wolves” and their detection is a major challenge before the national security agencies.
Kulkarni was speaking to media persons on the sidelines of the first National Workshop on Explosive Detection (NWED -2018) held at High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) where he was the chief guest. Giving examples of various bomb blasts in the country including Pune, Kulkarni said that security agencies face a major challenge from individuals who have been radicalised through the internet.
“We have seen and experienced lone wolf attacks (a terrorist acting by himself). The darknet is the place where the youths are indoctrinated in radical ideologies. The instructions about what to do are given online and there is a proper instruction manual through which the radicalization is carried out. Besides, the darknet also teaches them how to avoid security agencies and their gadgets,” said Kulkarni.
The ATS chief reiterated that it was difficult to detect a lone wolf because his intentions and thought processes are not known and thus they escape the scrutiny of security agencies.
“There is huge material available on the internet which is easily accessible to the youths who are weaned towards radicalization. We need faster responses to tackle this problem. ISIS has established very strong internet presence which will continue to haunt us for a long time,” he said.
For the past several years, the sophistication of terrorist attacks had increased against soft targets in the country. “India and Maharashtra have seen terror attacks in scores, particularly since 1993. We are in the midst of a situation where we have to really look at solutions in a hard manner and the current worry is about lone wolves. Instructions are given via dark net platform like how an IED has to be made using local material. The handlers based abroad had even chosen the targets for the radicalized person. He made it for hurting people. He may not reveal his plans to anybody and outwardly he might be leading a normal life,” Kulkarni said.
He stressed that security agencies were continuously monitoring vulnerable targets with the help of intelligence agencies to thwart the attempts of antisocial elements. The ATS chief expressed satisfaction that the pursuit of academia and DRDO had helped in developing portable devices for security agencies.The collaboration between different terror organisations such as Maoists shaking hands with Islamic militants and other such would be a major worry for security agencies, he said.
PK Mehta, Distinguished Scientist &Director General (ACE) emphasized that concerted efforts have to be made for development of devices for detection of concealed explosives. K.P.S. Murthy, Outstanding Scientist & Director HEMRL, said significant amounts of research work was being carried out in Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and academia.
National Workshop on Explosive Detection Workshop
A trace explosive detection device, OPX-Revilator, developed by HEMRL was unveiled by the chief guest Atul Chandra Kulkarni, Addl DGP, ATS during the inauguration of the National Workshop on Explosive Detection (NWED -2018).
OPX-Revilator is an optronic trace explosives detector for detection and identification of pure explosives as well as trace explosives in mixture/IEDs and contaminants. The OPX Revilator is a portable, miniaturized, electronic detector capable of detecting almost all the explosives widely used by antisocial elements and in Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). This device has the capability to detect more than 25 explosives in traces, IEDs and in the presence of contaminants like mud, sand, sugar, diesel oil etc.
