Vappala Balachandran, a former special secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, had worked in Maharashtra Police for 17 years and 19 years in Cabinet Secretariat. In 1993 & 1994 he led the Indian interagency groups for annual dialogue with US agencies on terrorism. He was a member of the 2 man “High Level Committee” appointed by Government of Maharashtra to enquire into the police response on the Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks in 2008. He writes a regular column on internal security issues in Sunday Guardian, a New Delhi Sunday paper.