(From top) A pillar blocks a metal-detector passage at Howrah station, two visitors bypass a metal-detector frame at the same station and the unmanned CCTV control room at Sealdah station on Sunday afternoon. Pictures by Bishwarup Dutta

Terror is lurking around the corner but Calcutta is lolling.

More than 10,000 policemen may be out on the streets, railway stations and public places to foil the terror attacks Delhi has warned of, but Metro found the security apparatus at its laziest during a recce on Sunday afternoon.

The increase in police deployment was visible in marketplaces and on the roads, where vehicles were randomly stopped and checked. But at three soft targets — Howrah, Sealdah and Calcutta railway stations — both men and machine were found idling.

Metal-detector frames

At Howrah station, more than half of the 50-odd metal-detector frames were lying unused. These full-body metal detectors are supposed to be installed at all the entrances and exits, and on the platforms.

Metro found two frames on platform No. 9 — from where the Poorva Express was to depart in a few minutes —tied to pillars. Nobody could have passed through these without running into the pillars.

The other metal-detector frames continued beeping but there was none to monitor the beeps or scan passengers’ luggage.

Security at Sealdah station wasn’t any better. Of the 15 entry and exit points at the station, only eight had metal detector frames that were beeping. The large entrance to the southern section was unattended.

“It is impossible to frisk every person entering the station. If we install a metal detector here it will create a stampede. We are checking people at random, though,” said a Railway Protection Force sentry at the south gate.

Senior officers denied security was lax. “After the intelligence feed from Assam about a possible attack on a train, we are even checking some of the local trains. Luggage belonging to people sitting on the platforms is being scanned, too” said officer-in-charge Sujit Shanker Das.

Handheld metal detectors

More than 100 handheld metal detectors were distributed among security personnel deployed at Howrah and Sealdah stations to scan luggage and visitors. But not a single sentry was stationed at any of the four entrances to the old Howrah terminal on Sunday afternoon.

The security bosses at Sealdah and Howrah claimed they did not have enough personnel at their disposal to use the handheld metal detectors at every entrance and exit.

“In any case, it is not humanly possible to check every visitor during rush hour. People start quarrelling and that leads to ugly scenes,” Das said.

He couldn’t say why even the personnel carrying handheld detectors were lazing around while people entered and left the station unhindered.

Closed-circuit cameras

Closed-circuit cameras are of no use if the footage isn’t recorded and monitored 24/7, but this is not being done at either Howrah or Sealdah.

Last year, 15 closed-circuit cameras were installed at Sealdah station and a control room set up to monitor the footage. But when Metro visited the control room on Sunday afternoon there was nobody to detect and track possible subversive activity.

Undercarriage mirrors

None of the cars entering Howrah station on Sunday afternoon was scanned, though two Government Railway Police personnel were seated beside the public assistance booth holding mirrors meant to be used to check the undercarriage of cars for explosives.

“So many cars come in that we have to let some of them go without checking to avoid a traffic snarl at the gate,” said Ravi Ranjan, one of the personnel deployed there.

Police’s version

“Our officers are out on the roads and patrolling has been intensified throughout the city, especially in the crowded areas. We are satisfied with our preparedness,” acting police chief S.N. Sarkar, standing in for Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti, said.

He said the police were strictly monitoring the movements of people checking into hotels in central Calcutta. “Owners of hotels on Free School Street, popular with Bangladeshi nationals visiting the city, have been asked to contact us if any kind of activity arouses suspicion. We are also co-ordinating with the BSF and our counterparts in the border districts.”