India could be a target of chemical weapons, says NSG chief

NEW DELHI - The National Security Guards (NSG) chief N.P.S. Aulakh on Wednesday said that India could become a victim of terror attacks using toxic industrial chemicals.

Interacting with the media here Aulakh said that an industrial disaster like the 1984 Bhopal gas leak could be easily replicated by engineering a leak.

“Terrorists can use weapons of mass destruction also we have to be ready for anything,” Aulakh added.

“The use of toxic chemicals for mass destruction is within the realms of reality,” he said.

Aulakh said the country’s corporate houses abroad too were potential terror targets.

He said the inability of terrorists to execute attacks within the country in the last one year could turn their eyes towards Indian assets abroad.

Aulakh said India has many big corporate houses and sensitive economic offshore assets, which may prove to be vulnerable targets.

He said that terror groups had acquired the capability to plan and execute attacks across countries.

Commenting over the handling of the 26/11 Mumbai attack Aulakh said he was satisfied with the force’s handling of the situation.

“We are very satisfied with whatever time it took, it was required. You had to cover so many places and so many rooms and at the same time we had to ensure that there was minimum collateral damage and to avoid casualties,” he said.

The arrest of David Headley and Tahawwur Rana showed how operational planning, and not just terror logistics, had been decentralised by terrorists, Aulakh said. (ANI)