Intelligence warns of lone wolf attack in cities

Hyderabad: With various terror groups “unable” to execute a major terror strike in the aftermath of scrapping of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and the Supreme Court’s verdict on Ayodhya, there is a “high probability” of a “lone wolf attack” in any of the metros across India. This is the latest assessment made by Intelligence agencies after reviewing the security scenario post the two major developments. Based on the assessment, a note is being prepared and sent to all states shortly to take adequate measures.

The agencies feel that while a host of measures has been taken to ensure that terror groups do not succeed in planning and executing a major strike, they say that the threat of a lone wolf attack in such a scenario is looming large.

Sources in the security establishment told this newspaper over phone from New Delhi that though retaliation in the form of a major terror strike was expected soon after Article 370 was abrogated from J&K, the strict restrictions which included a ban on the Internet ensured that the communication between terrorists and their handlers across the border was snapped. The increased security measures taken by agencies have made it “difficult” for planning and executing terror strikes, they said.

Terror groups use various apps to communicate and in the absence of the Internet in the Kashmir Valley, either side could not establish contact with the other.

Post the Ayodhya verdict and the heightened security measures in place, which included close monitoring of social media and telephone calls, the assessment report says that terrorist groups are finding it “increasingly difficult” to execute a major strike. “In this backdrop, there is a high probability of a lone wolf attack which would create panic and could trigger a wave of communal clashes. This time around, the possibility of such an attack is very high,” says the note that was prepared after a detailed analysis was done based on the ground situation, the mood among sections of people and the inputs available before a host of agencies.

In the note, the officials pointed out how, over the last 27 years, ever since the Babri Masjid was demolished by frenzied mobs comprising members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and allied outfits on December 6, 1992, terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Hizbul Mujahideen and Harkat-Ul Jihad Al Islami have repeatedly cited it to brainwash youth and take them into their fold. “Though large sections of people have respected the verdict, there are some individuals linked to various fundamentalist organisations who can indulge in mischief,” says the note.

The note suggests that the possibility of a lone wolf attack is “very high” before the demolition anniversary and this assessment, sources said, is based on “credible inputs.”