Delhi experienced what could have been a “dirty bomb attack” and an “orphan” device containing a radioactive component was sold to a kabari (junk dealer) and found its way to Mayapuri. All those who handled it suffered radioactive burns and radiation sickness and it took days to clean up the radiation in a crowded commercial district.
The world is facing a persistent threat from terrorists whose purpose is to intimidate a population of combatant military/ paramilitary forces and / or the undefended civilian targets by causing serious bodily harm resulting in death, injury, disease and disability. Terrorists seeking to unleash massive violence and destruction may graduate from using conventional explosives to release an industrial chemical or a military chemical / biological agent, use of a ‘dirty’ bomb or climb the escalation ladder to the highest rungs by detonation of a nuclear weapon.
A terrorist attack involving toxic radioactive material (TRMs) differs from other attacks involving conventional or improvised ‘explosives’ as it presents specific health hazards to the people in the shortest possible period. The likely purpose is to create great panic/ hysteria, kill, injure, incapacitate or destroy life and cause damage to critical infrastructure, contaminate men and material and pollute the environment.
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RKS DSA 2010