The Central Government on November 22 asked the States to raise Special Forces to counter terrorism which is fast spreading its tentacles across the country. Inaugurating a two-day meeting of the country's top police officers in New Delhi n November 22, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil stated that raising specialised forces was the need of the hour. Patil, however, ruled out any possibility of introducing tougher laws like the POTA to deal with the menace. The Conference was attended by the chiefs of police from all States and Union Territories, para-military forces and security agencies1.

Warning that terrorism was a fast-changing phenomenon which was assuming dangerous proportions, Patil noted that terror groups could resort to “nuclear, biological and chemical devices” in future. He called on the police forces to be better prepared to deal with these kinds of situations. The minister bemoaned the poor utilisation of central funds by the states for police modernization and called on the states to strengthen their intelligence mechanism2.

• 1. “No POTA to combat terror: Shivraj Patil,” The Hindu, November 22, 2008, at http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200811221180.htm
• 2. “Beware changing face of terror: Patil,” The Hindu, November 23, 2008, at http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/23/stories/2008112359760900.htm