Mumbai:
The recent rift between Centre and the Maharashtra government over 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab's security has evoked strong reactions.
"Kasab is not just Mumbai's problem. Kasab is the whole country's problem. The state and Centre should split the cost," said ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has recently billed the state a whopping Rs 10.87 crore for protecting Kasab, lodged in Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail. So, the state government has now decided to replace the ITBP commandoes guarding Kasab with the Quick Response Team (QRT) of the state police.
Sources say it is a standard procedure for Central forces to bill the state where they are deployed. The state then has to approach the Union Home Ministry for a waiver. Though the Maharashtra government plans to do that, no such letter has been sent out yet.
But is QRT equipped to guard Kasab?
The orientation of the two squads is completely different. ITBP commandoes were deployed because they have no familiarity with locals, including prisoners. The QRT, on the other hand, is a local squad.
Also, the ITBP is trained to both guard and attack; the QRT is mainly trained for quick attack. Apart from that, ITBP is among the most-trained paramilitary forces in the country while the QRT is a new and relatively less experienced force.
"The state police are more than capable of guarding Kasab," said Arvind Inamdar, former Director General of Police.
But should Mumbai, which is on terror radar, put its elite commando force trained after 26/11 on Kasab duty - a task which would take up half the strength of the QRT?
The only probable solution in sight is shifting Kasab to Yerwada Central Jail in Pune where so much security cover won't be required.