Mygripe NEW DELHI, INDIA—Islamic militants have been buying paragliders and India’s top law enforcement official is afraid that they’re headed for New Delhi to attack its Commonwealth Games extravaganza that begins in four weeks.
A senior Indian official made the remarkable claim that Islamic militants from Pakistan have been buying up paragliders that could be used to launch airborne attacks on athletes, tourists and visiting politicians at the Games.
Home secretary G.K. Pillai said the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba has bought as many as 150 paragliders from China and various Gulf countries in recent months.
“It’s very worrisome,” Pillai said in an interview Tuesday with the Star. Because paragliders don’t require a runway, “they could launch them from anywhere.”
Security forces are being advised of the threat and snipers during the Games would be prepared to shoot down unknown objects from the sky, Pillai said. He did not elaborate on what proof the government has about the purchases.
Paragliders are controlled by a pilot who’s suspended on a harness under a special controllable parachute. Modern paragliders can travel as many as 500 kilometres and stay in the air for up to 11 hours.
Lashkar-e-Taiba, which the United Nations has listed as a terrorist agency, is intent on fomenting a jihad against India. India has claimed the group, which operates openly and freely near the Pakistani city of Lahore, orchestrated the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
Several security analysts said that while it was possible India has intercepted communications indicating LeT agents are considering such a plan, the idea of someone successfully navigating the airspace of Delhi with a GPS device, weapons and a suicide vest weighing more than 70 kg remains remote.
“Flying a paraglider is not something trivial, although every time with the LeT you rule something out they seem to surprise you,” said Christine Fair, assistant professor at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
Though the Commonwealth Games might not have the cachet of the Olympics, they are a point of pride in India. The government here wants to prove New Delhi is a world-class city capable of hosting some 100,000 spectators and athletes from 52 countries including Canada.
Pillai, whose post is roughly equivalent to a deputy minister, has previously told reporters of plans to build a 4.3-metre fence around the main stadium, complemented by closed-circuit camera surveillance and armed guards. Athletes and their families will also have food tasters, while police will establish more checkpoints through the city.
Pilots have used paragliders to evade security in several high-profile incidents. In 1993, during the seventh round of the Evander Holyfield-Riddick Bowe heavyweight title boxing fight in Las Vegas, an American pilot crashed into the cables above the ring at Caesars Palace.
The speculation reminded several analysts of efforts by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka to use ultra-light plans in their attacks.
As New Delhi edges closer to hosting the Games, a sense of nervousness has engulfed India’s capital. There are concerns that Games facilities won’t be prepared on time.
On the day the city’s boxing stadium was opened to the media, the roof was already showing signs of water damage. The heavy rains of India’s monsoons completely wiped out the Games’ shooting range.
And as officials concentrate on completing buildings, they may not have time to properly consider security for the event, critics say.
“With the preparations still haphazard, the difficulties faced by our security agencies are bound to increase,” said B. Raman, a security analyst who served in India’s external intelligence agency from 1968 to 1994 and on the National Security Advisory Board of the government of India from 2000 to 2002.
Raman said he’s observed signs of “increasing chaos and confusion” in the lead up to the Games. While many major sports events may also have their share of scandal and controversy, India cannot afford to let security preparation lapse, largely because of its location.
For jihadi terrorist organizations, Raman said the Games mark “the first time since 9/11 that they will have an opportunity in their home terrain for a spectacular attack on an international event which would get them publicity the like of which they could not have hoped for.”
The Indian military for at least two years has contemplated the possibility of attacks from the air. According to a report prepared in 2008 by Indian air force personnel, “the addition of ultralight mobility to global guerrilla swarming operations provides a mobility advantage that would be very difficult to defend against . . . ”
The report said that GPS navigation “would allow precise attack patterns that would allow the guerrilla to hit dozens of critical targets in a short period of time. Recovery of aircraft could be accomplished within hours of landing and enable transportation to another urban location for repetition of the operation.” Mygripe
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