WORLD> Asia-Pacific
New Delhi moves to revamp security
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-12 07:44

India will create an FBI-style national investigative agency as part of a massive security overhaul announced Thursday in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks that left 171 dead and provoked a public outcry over the government's failure to detect the plot.

"Given the nature of the threat, we can't go back to business as usual," Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said in a speech to India's Parliament, adding he would "take certain hard decisions to prepare the country and people to face the challenge of terrorism."

The revamp represents the government's first detailed response to widespread public anger over security and intelligence failures in the attacks. Chidambaram has previously apologized for government "lapses" in the assault.

The new national investigation agency will coordinate with various state and local police to analyze tips and intelligence, said Chidambaram, the country's top law enforcement official.

The government will also seek to beef up coastal security, better train local police, strengthen anti-terror laws and increase intelligence sharing.

Meanwhile, police in Mumbai backed off of plans to produce the only surviving attacker, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, in court yesterday for a routine hearing, citing security concerns.

Instead, a magistrate came to police headquarters and granted authorities permission to hold Kasab for a further two weeks, public prosecutor Eknath Dhamal said, without providing details of the decision. Under Indian law, police can extend detentions for months on end before formal criminal charges are filed.

A security cordon was thrown around the downtown Mumbai building where Kasab was being held, and journalists were kept 180 m away, their view blocked by a police van.

Kasab, who was wounded and captured by police in the first hours of the Nov 26 attack, has been repeatedly interrogated by authorities and reportedly offered key details about the planning of the assault and those responsible for it.