CHENNAI: When an Express team decided to do a reality check on the alertness of the security personnel and the public at different sensitive spots in the city, here’s what they found:Sept 9, 1.30 pm. T Nagar Police StationWe place a rucksack at the reception of the police station. On the pretext of going to the toilet, we slip out leaving the bag behind. In the next half hour, at least four policemen sit near the bag and have a chat, completely unmindful of its presence. We continue to wait, this time outside the police station. Barring one constable who asked what we were up to, nobody bothers to even enquire. After we told him that we were from the media and waiting for a friend, he appears satisfied and goes away. We recall that during operations Barricade and Hamla, the same policemen did not even allow reporters with valid identities to enter the sensitive zones, including the Police Commissioner’s Office. Why has he changed, we wonder. An hour later, we pick up the bag and leave. Again, no questions asked.2.40 pm T Nagar bus stand We get into a bus that is waiting to leave with a few passengers inside. We occupy a seat for a few minutes, then leave the rucksack on the seat and disembark. For about 20 minutes, as long as the bus was at the bay, the bag goes unnoticed although several passengers alight and board the bus thereafter. Even at the waiting area near the refreshment stalls, the unclaimed bag does not create a flutter. We then take the rucksack out, place it on a table of a juice stall, leave it unattended and watch the drama from a distance. But even after half-an-hour, there is no drama. The shopkeeper too can’t be bothered about it.3.40 pm Ranganathan StreetWe find a spot on the narrow, crowded lane that would be visible to all and drop the bag there, right in front of a pavement shop of a cloth vendor. Several customers stop by at the shop, but ignore the bag. An hour later, a fellow shop owner gets curious and points at the rucksack to the cloth merchant. Happy that we finally found someone who was alert, we approach the shop to claim the bag. Have that been briefed by the cops about safety measures in the case of unclaimed bags? Pat comes the response: “Come on, cops are more interested in collecting mamul (protection money). Each shop pays Rs 10 everyday. They have never educate us about security drills.”5.10 pm Saidapet Magistrate’s CourtA handful of policemen man the court premises, perhaps after the Chief Justice’s jab on Thursday. However, we decide to check the alertness of the men in khaki. We walk past them and place the rucksack at a corner of the building yards away from the policemen. A mongrel finds it suspicious. After observing it for sometime, it comes close, sniffs it and leaves. A policeman passes by, but the ‘unclaimed’ bag doesn’t catch his attention.Sept 10 11 am Spencer’s Plaza shopping mallThe entry point at Phase I has a securityman holding a hand-held metal detector, but he is busy on the phone. We bypass the doorframe metal detector, but nobody bothers. We move to the atrium in Phase II and place the bag at the central area where people usually hang out. Within eyeshot is a security booth with at least six men manning it. None react to the unclaimed bag. One of the shoppers even moves the bag by a few inches to sit down but does not try to alert the security men.(With A Raja Chidambaram and Yogesh Kabirdoss)
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