Mumbai police chief sidelined on eve of terror report

MUMBAI - Mumbai's police chief has reportedly been shunted aside ahead of the publication of a report into last year's terror attacks that is expected to criticise his actions when the city was under siege.

Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor, who spearheaded the response to the attacks which killed 166 people including 12 policemen, has allegedly been switched to a job with the force's housing corporation.

This week's Pradhan report is understood to be critical of several senior police officers, including Gafoor, although the specifics are unclear.

Various media reports have suggested there was a breakdown in co-ordination between various agencies and that Mumbai police were ill-prepared and under-equipped to handle the situation when they were confronted by 10 well-armed and determined militants last November.

Several senior police officers were killed after they rushed to deal with the militants, who struck at several locations, including two luxury hotels and the main train station. It is understood Gafoor drove straight from his home to the Oberoi-Trident Hotel, where he spent much of the next two days.

The attacks have already claimed several prominent scalps. The state's chief minister and his deputy were forced to stand down in the immediate aftermath.

Later, India's Home Minister and the national security adviser resigned. Gafoor insisted he was being promoted, rather than slighted. "This is not a transfer," he told the Indian Express.

"In fact, I am even happier because I'm an engineer and I've been given a posting in which there are a lot of engineering applications," he added.

- INDEPENDENT