Threat of bio-terrorism: India must take necessary measures- P.R.Chari

WHETHER the threat of bio-terrorism is real becomes germane with a plot discovered recently in Georgia within the United States to use ricin as a bioterrorism agent. Ricin can be extracted from castor beans, and is deadly even in trace quantities. There is no known cure. The plot came to light with the arrest by the federal authorities of four men following a sting operation. Apparently, they had wanted to buy explosive materials and arms components in Georgia to attack government facilities and kill local law enforcement officials by dispersing ricin-using explosives.

Another plan was to release the ricin in US metropolitan centres from a car driven on their road. What was their objective? Unreal and fanciful as it might seem, they wished to weaken the state and the federal government to “make the country right again.” Such ravings cannot be dismissed as inconsequential, considering the damage and panic that would ensue in the general population if such plots came to fruition. Neither can US actions be termed paranoid since they are being targeted by terrorist organisations across the world.

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