Mumbai | BARC security breached 25 times in two years

Mumbai: The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), India's premier nuclear facility in Mumbai and also most vulnerable to a possible terror attack was on top of the list of sensitive buildings surveyed and video-taped by 26/11 terror attacks planner David Coleman Headley. Headley surveyed the BARC complex for a possible terror strike.

Intelligence agencies have now reported, despite stepped-up security after the Mumbai terror attacks, at least 25 intrusions have been reported in two years. While Intelligence agencies noted 10 intrusions in 2010, another 15 were reported in 2011. The intrusions took place both from the coastline next to the complex and the various entry points.

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) had warned the BARC after the intrusions were detected.

In August 2011, a mystery boat triggered panic when it was noticed on the Mumbai coastline right behind BARC near the mangroves. Several instances of entry into the complex using fake documents have also been reported. Fake IDs have also been used to gain entry. In November 2011, a man with a spy camera was also apprehended inside the complex.

While the nuclear plant has multi-layered security, most vulnerable is the housing complex meant for hundreds of scientists.

Sources indicate that there is a lack of unified command and control, as security is handled by both Atomic Energy Commission and Central Industrial Security Force.

Two major slums around the complex pose a serious security threat. So do unguarded storm water drains and unplugged entry points.

Headley was specifically instructed by his handlers to explore BARC as a terror target. Apart from capturing videos from a taxi, he had also hired a boat to examine potential landing spots near the nuclear facility.

Though he was arrested in 2009, what's worrying intelligence agencies is that the sensitive data may have already reached his handlers across the border.

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