Internal Security Watch

[A Arun]

Tamang:

Wrt to above report. Even the Home Minister is from NCP , part of the ruling combine.

What essentially will happen is like this.

The intellectuals of TV/Media/Society will use this comment while shielding the actual cuplrits.
This excatly what Javed Akhtar does in media debates.

Shivraj Patil is from the Congress. Ended up as the Home Misnister even after failing to win the LS seat from Latur in 2004.

[Rye]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bajra ... ss/370055/

Congress party adding "secular fuel" to the communal fire...this should increase communal animosity and help the congress's electoral chances (or so they seem to think) -- isn't it nice to see the Congresswallahs fighting so hard to "stop terror"? Instead of ensuring that the quota/reservation system is truly equal-opportunity and based on economic criteria, these fellows are working extra hard to inflame the communal passions of the majority...that has never worked in the favour of the Congress party in the past...and it won't do so now either. They increase the creamy layer reservation to 4.5 lakhs and do everything they can to keep the poor illiterate and devoid of skills or opportunity, and go around banning organizations that have not committed terrorist acts so far. With these kind of people in charge, all the claims of India as a global power down the line might be overblown.

If the people in Kandhamal had enough oppurtunities to go around, they would not have attrated the attention of the maoists, nor would the maoists been able to successfully exploit the situation for their own purposes, and infiltrating missionary groups in the region (I bet these marxists/maoists have gotten their tentacles into many such orgs, and have created a network to assist them in creating trouble).

[harik]

Tamang:

Wrt to above report. Even the Home Minister is from NCP , part of the ruling combine.

What essentially will happen is like this.

The intellectuals of TV/Media/Society will use this comment while shielding the actual cuplrits.
This excatly what Javed Akhtar does in media debates.

Shivraj Patil is from the Congress. Ended up as the Home Misnister even after failing to win the LS seat from Latur in 2004.

What was the point here ?

Lest the Godmen come down heavily upon me , I was responding to Tamang's post abt NCP.

[sanjaychoudhry]

This is from print edition of TOI of today:

Church Denies Info on Rape in Orphanage

Bargarh: The church on Sunday differed over the allegation that Rajani Majhi, a Hindu inmate at a Christian orphanage, was gang-raped before being burnt alive by a mob at Padampur in Bargarh district on August 25. Also, on Sunday, Orissa police expressed willingness to investigate into fresh charges of rape made by a Christian priest.

The official spokesperson of the Sambalpur diocese said the church had “no official information” that Rajni was sexually assaulted before her murder. “No information has come to us,” Alphonce Toppo, PRO of Sambalpur diocese, told TOI. “If Father TV Peter had spoken to some persons, who told him that Rajni was gang-raped, then it is his personal view. But we have not come across any such complaint,” he said, putting Peter’s claims that Rajani was sexually assaulted on the fateful afternoon under the microscope.

This is another example of how missionaries and priests pull “gang-rape of nun” out of their arses. In any social unrest involving Christians, the priests quickly start spreading stories about “gang-rape” of nuns (or other women inmates in Christian institutions) to bring the flock into a state of agitation.

Now this Peter father should be charged with spreading rumours to create social strife between different communities. But of course, it will be a very unsecular act that no government in India will dare to take. The charlatans of the English media did not wait a second before flashing this news of the “gang rape.” The entire “news” was created by this Peter who called up a couple of newspaper offices saying that he met some people who told him this story!!

This is the story Time of India (Vatican's party organ in India) carried. Notice the detailed "facts" that arose from this crook Peter's imagination. With what authority he supplied these facts, which now he says he heard from some people. What happened was that the orphanage was torched by some people,and Rajani, being handicapped, couldn't escape in time and asphyxiated due to smoke.

Hindu orphan raped, murdered in Orissa

The brutal rape and murder of a Hindu orphan by Hindu fanatics, who thought she was Christian because she was being sheltered by them, has added to the Orissa government's embarrassment. (Notice how a mere allegation has been reported as a fact here by this "newspaper"!) It is already under fire for failing to contain the saffron mob's rampage in the state.

A Christian priest claimed on Saturday that Rajani Majhi, who was burnt alive by a mob at Padampur in Bargarh district on August 25, had been gangraped before being killed. The revelation has been rubbished by police. But it came a day after the state government confirmed a medical report that said a nun had been raped in Kandhmal. (Huh? what kind of corelation is this?)

Twenty-year-old Rajani was a student of Padampur Women's College and worked at the orphanage in which she lived to pay for her tuition. "On August 25 at around 1.30 pm a mob entered the small orphanage and beat up Father Edward Sequiera. Thereafter they took the girl to a side room and gangraped her before burning her alive," said T V Peter, procurator, Sambalpur diocese. The local administration hurriedly cremated Rajani.

Peter said he was in Sambalpur, 135 km away, on that fateful day, but went to Padampur on August 27 when he heard about the violence. Asked why he had kept quiet about it for so long, Peter explained, "I had told human rights activists who had come to me about it. As such she is dead so we did not want to talk about it."

He said he had spoken to many people who had witnessed the carnage that took place as flames of hate engulfed Kandhmal in the aftermath of the murder of Hindu leader Swami Laxmananda Saraswati on August 23.

"I certainly believe she was gangraped." He said witnesses were too terrified to go to the cops or even talk about it because of Hindu mobs were still on a rampage in the area. "But I am willing to testify before the police or the court of law," he said.

DIG (north-western range) Y B Khurania denied the priest's claims. "There is no evidence of rape. We have investigated into the case and even arrested 20 accused. But nowhere has anyone or anything indicated any evidence of rape," he told TOI. The officer in-charge of Padampur police station A Sandh also ruled out rape and said, "We have conducted a thorough investigation into the case and recorded all relevant versions. But nothing regarding rape has come to light."

The police officer further said that a case (number 81/2008) in this connection was registered on the very day of the incident based on a report submitted by constable Antaryami Pradhan, an eyewitness. Neither the constable, nor Father Sequiera in his statement recorded before a magistrate mentioned rape. "We have testified eyewitnesses and they told us that the mob hurled Rajani into a raging inferno after the latter entered into a heated argument with them," he added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Girl ... 559641.cms

[sanjaychoudhry]

After lathering us for months with its spittle about how human rights of tribals are being violated by Salwa Judum and which NGO is saying what about it, Times of India today carried only one line news report tucked away in a corner on front page snippets:

Salwa Judum Gets SC Boost

Salwa Judum is a "spontaneous revolt of tribals" against atrocities of Naxalites, the Supreme Court-appointed NHRC probe has concluded, dismissing most human rights allegations made against the anti-Naxal campaign.

That's all!

[sanjaychoudhry]

Meanwhile, the nun who alleged to the press that she was gang-raped by Hindu goons has done the dissappearing act and is nowhere to be found. Orissa goverment seems to have traced her to Delhi. The police want to question her, but she is not accessible!!

TOI reports:

Raped nun traced to Delhi?

Orissa government on Sunday claimed to have traced the 29-year-old Catholic nun, allegedly raped in state's Kandhmal district on August 25, to New Delhi.

The traumatised victim has been untraceable. Neither the administration nor Christian leaders want to reveal her whereabouts. Even her family members say they don't know where she is.

State home secretary T K Mishra, however, said the nun has taken shelter in a New Delhi church. "Orissa resident commissioner's office in New Delhi has been closely monitoring her whereabouts in the national capital. If possible, the additional resident commissioner and others would meet her on Sunday night," he said.

He said the government is ready to provide her security and bring her back to Orissa to cooperate with the investigations. "Whatever help she needs will be provided. The IG crime branch and I would speak to her. We'll proceed further if she is willing to cooperate with the investigation," he added.

Additional resident commissioner, M Satyanarayan, told TOI from Delhi that his office was trying to locate the nun. "My information is that she is staying somewhere in New Delhi's Golmarket area. I'm trying my best to locate her," he said. "We'll ask her whether she wants to return to Orissa. Even if she decides against it, we would provide all assistance," he said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indi ... 563995.cms

[harik]

After lathering us for months with its spittle about how human rights of tribals are being violated by Salwa Judum and which NGO is saying what about it, Times of India today carried only one line news report tucked away in a corner on front page snippets:

Salwa Judum Gets SC Boost

Salwa Judum is a "spontaneous revolt of tribals" against atrocities of Naxalites, the Supreme Court-appointed NHRC probe has concluded, dismissing most human rights allegations made against the anti-Naxal campaign.

That's all!

sanjay

Take a backup of the these urls, they wil come handy.
Pages may vanish. so make provisions.

[ramana]

IB to get manpower

IB to go hi-tech, get more manpower to fight terror
6 Oct, 2008, 1200 hrs IST,Vishwa Mohan, TNN

NEW DELHI: Intelligence Bureau, which has come under flak for its failure to keep tabs on tech savvy jihadis, is set for major revamp with the government recruiting 6,000 more spies to strengthen its existing cadre of nearly 25,000 personnel. The IB will also get modern gadgets to monitor cyber communication.

The idea is to turn the internal spy agency into a potent force to fight terrorists through effective intelligence in the age of modern communication systems. While new-age gadgets will give IB an edge through technology, the increased manpower will widen the scope for human intelligence (humint), which played an important role in cracking recent terror attack cases.

The home ministry also plans to set up an exclusive "research & technology centre" within IB to keep a complete databank of terrorists and suspicious persons under one umbrella. The job of the new centre will also be to "research and analyse" the technological aspects of threats which have, of late, multiplied due to extensive use of the Internet by the new breed of educated terrorists.

"Widespread use of cyber technology, like Wi-Fi system, in the recent terror attacks, where terrorists of Indian Mujahideen (IM) had not only used it for sending emails but also for networking among their cadres for planning and execution of their operations, has forced us to rethink our strategy," said a senior home ministry official.

The plan for modernisation and increasing the strength of IB, which has already got Cabinet nod, came up for review recently when home minister Shivraj Patil asked the agency to complete the recruitment process of 6,000 additional spies, including technical and cyber experts, by next year.

The emphasis in the meeting, attended by IB chief P C Haldar and home secretary Madhukar Gupta among others, was on impressing upon states to strengthen their special branches (intelligence wing) with the Centre helping them out with funds and expertise.

Referring to how new technologies were increasingly being used by jihadis for assembling bombs (using integrated chips for the first time in Bangalore and Surat operations) and networking among themselves through Internet, the official said, "Since terrorists the world over are using new communication technologies as 'weapon of mass influence' for the warfare, we cannot afford to function in the traditional way, even though it has its own importance."

Though the official did not disclose the kind of methodology being adopted to fight tech savvy jihadis, he mentioned the possibility of bringing certain changes in the Information & Technology Act to widen the scope of cyber intercepts, including snooping on text messages.

[archan]

Man behind terror mails held: Police (HT)

“October 26 was fixed as the attack date,” said Anti-Terrorism Squad chief, Joint Commissioner of Police Hemant Karkare.

Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor said the latest arrests included techies and mechanical engineers — who allegedly operated IM’s “media wing”, which sent terror e-mails before blasts.
Its leader, Mohammed Peerbhoy (31), is a software professional with a multinational, drawing an annual salary of Rs 19 lakh .

Good job by the cops. I hope he is the outspoken emailer and now he will know what exactly police ka danda is all about.

[vera_k]

This hits close to home because the name, age and city matches someone I worked with for a few months in 2000. Salary at that time in 2000 would be 6 lakhs.

[Paul]

Next action item on to-do list should be to set up a Google type search engine to search this terror DB.....and make it available to all intel agencies.

[fanne]

vera if indeed it is true, tell us more.

[Rye]

Amar Singh just won't quit his police baiting. He can't even bother to remember the name of Inspector Sharma (and yet cut a cheque out for the Inspector's widow) -- He has the gall/indecency to throw a check on the face of the Inspector's mourning family to buy his right to spit on the Inspector's memory. How on earth is the police supposed to help the public when the so-called political leaders are actively providing bad PR for the police?


What's more, the Indian Public pays for Z category security for Amar Singh...even as Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh work very hard to destroy the security of their paymasters by sucking up to terrorist groups.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/clear-doubt ... 182-3.html

Amar Singh quote:

"Whoever the inspector is who has died in the encounter, he is a martyr - whether he has been killed by the terrorist or by the police personals - but the doubt that has risen is that he was removed from his post before the encounter," Amar Singh had hastily clarified.

[Nayak]

MNC techie sent terror emails: Mumbai Police
7 Oct 2008, 0058 hrs IST,TNN

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/MNC_ ... 566789.cms

MUMBAI: In what is touted as the 'biggest manhunt' in India, the Mumbai police on Monday claimed to have nabbed key members of the terror module allegedly responsible for the bomb blasts in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and planting bombs in the diamond city of Surat. ( Watch )

At a packed news conference, Mumbai police commissioner Hasan Gafoor and crime branch chief Rakesh Maria credited ordinary citizens - more specifically, Muslims - with providing key information that led to the arrest of 11 suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists from Pune, Mangalore and Mumbai.

The top cops, who were flanked by a team of more than 30 crime branch officials involved in the operation, revealed that three of these suspects were directly involved in sending terror emails that had shocked the country for the past one month. "These are all highly qualified, computer-savvy people belonging to good and educated families. Their families were not aware of their activities," said Maria.

One of the suspects, Mohammed Mansoor Asgar Peerbhoy (31) alias Mannu, a resident of Pune, was employed with Yahoo as a principal software engineer. "He speaks good English and was responsible for finalising the draft emails before they were sent from three different locations in Mumbai. His annual pay package is Rs 19 lakh," said Maria. The two others are Mubin Shaikh (24), a senior technical advisor in an information technology company, and Asif Bashir Shaikh alias Mehmood (22), a mechanical engineer. The police also arrested Mohammed Akbar Ismail Chaudhary alias Yakub who drove them from Pune to Mumbai.

Anti-terrorism squad chief Hemant Karkare said interrogation of an accused nabbed by the Delhi police after the controversial encounter in Jamia Nagar had revealed that IM was planning a blast in Mumbai on October 26. Police sources also claimed that timely action had averted a terror attack in the city during Navratri on October 4.

The Mumbai police, which launched its own anti-terror drive soon after the July 26 Ahmedabad blasts, have arrested 20 persons in all. Gafoor said that these arrests do not mean that the entire IM module has been wiped out. Earlier, on September 23, the crime branch had arrested five members of an IM module - Sadiq Shaikh, Afzal Usmani, Arif Shaikh, Zakir Shaikh and Ansar Shaih.

Maria claimed that interrogation of these accused led to further arrests in Mangalore and Pune. In a joint operation with the Mangalore police, the crime branch last week arrested four persons. One of the main operatives, Riyaz Bhatkal alias Roshan Jamal is still at large. So is his brother Iqbal.

Maria said that they have recovered five laptops, three CPU units, three pen drives, sleep-inducing pills, anaesthetic injections, two bullet-proof jackets, country-made revolvers, a radio and WiFi frequency signal detectors, wireless routers, jihadi literature and provocative CDs during the anti-terror operation.

According to Maria, the IM module which has been active since 2005, has been motivated by jihadi literature and CDs containing inflammatory material on incidents that happened in other parts of the world besides attacks on the minority community in India. "Most of them have undergone training in Pakistan," he added.

Of the arrested, Maria claimed that Ismail Chaudhary drove the vehicle containing explosives from Mangalore to Surat. "Most of the explosives used in the recent blasts have come from Mangalore and another place in south India," he said. Chaudhary identified himself as Yakoob and rented a house, belonging to one Qayamuddin Kapadia in Surat where the bombs used in Ahmedabad blasts and the unexploded ones in Surat were assembled.

The top cops claimed that Chaudhary had also planted bombs in Dilkush Nagar in Hyderabad which did not explode. Hyderabad was rocked by a series of blasts on August 25, 2007. Bhatkal himself planted bombs at Gokul Chaat Bhandar at Hyderabad. "The conspiracy to carry out blasts in Hyderabad was hatched during a meeting in Mumbai, which was attended by IM operative Sadiq Sheikh, Riyaz Bhatkal and Ansar Ahmed," he said.

Another accused, Anique Sayed, placed the bomb in Lumbini Park in Hyderabad. Abubakar transported explosives from Mangalore to Hyderabad. Maria said two of the bombs did not explode in Hyderabad as the digital timers were not functional. Maria claimed that except Bhatkal and Afzal Usmani, the first arrest that led to the busting of the terror module, none of the arrested accused have a criminal background.

On Tauqeer alias Subhan Qureshi, who is part of the terror module, Maria said he paid two visits to Ahmedabad in April 2007 to indoctrinate the other accused. "We are hunting for him," Maria said.

[gandharva]

Banaskantha bandh today to protest against Muslim attack
Palanpur, DeshGujarat, 7 October, 2008


North Gujarat’s Banaskantha district is observing a strike today to protest against Muslim mob’s armed attack on famous Jain animal right activist Shree Bharatbhai Kothari’s shop. Around 150 to 200 Muslims attacked Bharatbhai Kothari’s shop at 11:30 am on Monday in which Bharatbhai’s colleague Pareshbhai Panchal was seriously injured. Pareshbhai was taken to Mehsana for further treatment.

According to police complain by Rajesh Thakkar, Muslim mob not only attacked Bharatbhai Kothari’s shop but also looted Rs 1,88,000 cash and injured two Hindus who were passing from there. Rafik Gulal, Adil, Rashid Gheto, Taiyam Saklo, Ganee Tarik Sheikh and Yashin Shekh were involved in the attack along with the mob of 150 to 200 Muslims.

Soon after an attack on Bharatbhai Kothari’s shop, Hindus in their response back targeted a mosque and pelted stones on police. All shops, schools and business establishments downed their shutters not only in Deesa but also in nearby towns to protest against an attack on Jain animal right activists.

Bharatbhai Kothari is well known animal right activist who fearlessly fights against animal cruelty and regularly rescues cows, buffalo, goats, ships, calves on route to slaughter house. His several year old successful animal rescue mission has threatened activities of slaughter mafias on main route of illegal animal trafficking from Rajasthan to Gujarat.

On Sunday night Bharatbhai and his activists had allegedly rescued 10 animals from Deesa’s Mira maholla based Firoz Ahmed Sattar Mohammad Kureshi’s truck. Firoz had filed a police complain of loot against Bharatbhai. On Monday morning mobs of Muslims rushed to the police station demanding action against Bharatbhai. This same mob while returning back from the Police station attacked Bharatbhai’s shop and injured three Hindus.

People in Hindu localities were angry on police because according to them instead of rewarding Bharatbhai Kothari who had rescued illegal trafficking of animals, police had blindly filed trafficker’s complain against him. Also police was failed to prevent attack on Bharatbhai’s shop.

http://deshgujarat.com/2007/10/06/banas ... im-attack/

[Avinash R]

In brief: Different terror modules
7 Oct 2008, 0445 hrs IST,TNN

Given below is a list of suspects supposed to be involved in different bomb blasts in India.

The Pune module

Mohammed Mansoor Asgar Peerbhoy aka Munawar aka Mannu
The 31-year-old could be the most web-savvy man caught by the police. A resident of Pune, he works for a multination InfoTech firm for a salary of Rs 19 lakh a year. The computer engineer was arrested on September 28 for allegedly preparing and sending the three terror emails that originated from Sanpada, Khalsa College (King’s Circle) and a Chembur firm. He hacked WiFi networks to send the mails

Mubin Kadar Shaikh
The 24-year-old allegedly assisted Peerbhoy prepare and send terror mails. Also from Pune, he is graduated in computer science

Asif Bashir Shaikh
A mechanical engineer, the 22-year-old is also from Pune. Was arrested the same day as Peerbhoy and Kadar Shaikh. Police say he played in active role in the Surat case, in which 18 bombs were found and defused and two vehicles were found full of explosives

Mohammed Ismail Chaudhary
Police say the 28-year-old is a computer mechanic who drove the Pune module down to Mumbai so they could hack into WiFi networks here. He is also suspected to be involved in the Surat case

The Mumbai Module

Sadik Shaikh
The 33-year-old is a big fish of the terror world who has ended up in the Mumbai police’s net. Is allegedly involved in various bomb blasts across the country. Has himself trained twice in Pakistan

Afzal Mutalib Usmani
The 30-year-old is a car thief who provided stolen vehicles to the terrorists. He reportedly received training in Pakistan. His was the first arrest of the Mumbai module. The next day, Spetember 24, police arrested the four others

Arif Shaikh
The 38-year-old has trained in Pakistan and is accused of involvement in various blasts in the country since 2005

Zakir Shaikh
The 26-year-old trained in Pakistan and is involved in the Surat bombs case

Ansar Shaikh
The 35-year-old is a computer mechanic who was allegedly involved in the Hyderabad bomb blasts of August 25, 2007

The Mangalore Module

Mohammed Ali Ahmed
The 44-year-old man is a civil contractor in Mangalore, according to police. He is accused of running a safe house for the Indian Mujahideen. A joint team of the Mumbai and Karnataka cops arrested him from Mukkacheri, Ullal, on October 3

Ahmed Bawa Abubakar aka Abu
A 33-year-old, police say he works on a farm. Bawa was arrested in Haleyangadi, Mulky. He is a suspect in the Surat bombs case and the Ahmedabad blasts

Javed Mohammed Ali
The 19-year-old youth is the son of Mohammed Ali. He was doing his Arabic studies when arrested. Police describe him as an active member of the IM who took part in criminal conspiracies

Suspects had sleeping tablets, anaesthetics: Cops
7 Oct 2008, 0204 hrs IST,TNN

MUMBAI: The crime branch has seized sleep-inducing tablets and anaesthetic injections from three of the Indian Mujahideen suspects. Police said the injections were used while operating on associates who were injured, either during training or while executing a plan.

“The initial probe revealed that the accused had been keeping a first-aid box and sleep-inducing tablets. During interrogation an accused said they would also use the sleeping tablets when they didn’t get proper sleep,’’ said an officer.

The three—Mansoor Peerbhoy, Asif Shaikh and Kadar Shaikh, are all residents of Pune.

“They told us that they came across the tablets and injections while training session at Bhatkal, Karnataka.

If any accused got injured, they gave him an anaesthetic injection to treat him,’’ said the officer.

'Entire IM module not wiped out'
7 Oct 2008, 0302 hrs IST,TNN

MUMBAI: The Mumbai police on Monday arrested 11 more suspected Indian Mujahideen activists, including Peerbhoy's driver Mohammed Akbar Ismail Chaudhary alias Yakub who drove them from Pune to Mumbai.

Anti-terrorism squad chief Hemant Karkare said the interrogation of an accused nabbed by the Delhi police after the controversial encounter in Jamia Nagar had revealed that the IM was planning a blast in Mumbai on October 26. Police sources also claimed that timely action had averted a terror attack in the city during Navratri on October 4.

The Mumbai police, which launched its own anti-terror drive soon after the July 26 Ahmedabad blasts, have arrested 20 persons in all. Gafoor said that these arrests did not mean that the entire IM module had been wiped out. Earlier, on September 23, the crime branch had arrested five members of an IM module—Sadiq Shaikh, Afzal Usmani, Arif Shaikh, Zakir Shaikh and Ansar Shaih.

Maria claimed that interrogation of these accused had led to further arrests in Mangalore and Pune. In a joint operation with the Mangalore police, the crime branch last week arrested four persons. One of the main operatives, Riyaz Bhatkal alias Roshan Jamal is still at large. So is his brother Iqbal.

Maria said they had recovered five laptops, three CPU units, three pen drives, sleep-inducing pills, anaesthetic injections, two bullet-proof jackets, country-made revolvers, a radio and WiFi frequency signal detectors, wireless routers, jihadi literature and provocative CDs during the anti-terror operation.

According to Maria, the IM module which has been active since 2005, has been motivated by jihadi literature and CDs containing inflammatory material on incidents that had occurred in other parts of the world besides attacks on the minority community in India. "Most of them have undergone training in Pakistan," he added.

Of the arrested, Maria claimed that Ismail Chaudhary drove the vehicle containing explosives from Mangalore to Surat. "Most of the explosives used in the recent blasts have come from Mangalore and another place in south India," he said. Chaudhary had identified himself as Yakoob and rented a house belonging to one Qayamuddin Kapadia in Surat where the bombs used in the Ahmedabad blasts and the unexploded ones in Surat were assembled.

The top cops claimed that Chaudhary had also planted bombs in Dilkush Nagar in Hyderabad which did not explode. Hyderabad was rocked by a series of blasts on August 25, 2007. Bhatkal himself planted bombs at Gokul Chaat Bhandar in Hyderabad. "The conspiracy to carry out blasts in Hyderabad was hatched during a meeting in Mumbai, which was attended by IM operative Sadiq Sheikh, Riyaz Bhatkal and Ansar Ahmed," he said.

Another accused, Anique Sayed, had placed the bomb in Lumbini Park in Hyderabad. Abubakar had transported the explosives from Mangalore to Hyderabad. Maria said two of the bombs did not explode in Hyderabad as the digital timers were not functional. Maria claimed that except for Bhatkal and Afzal Usmani, none of the arrested accused had a criminal background.

In the case of Tauqeer alias Subhan Qureshi, who was a part of the terror module, Maria said he had paid two visits to Ahmedabad in April 2007 to indoctrinate the other accused. "We are hunting for him," Maria said.

[sum]

Link

15 terror suspects arrested

Rahi Gaikwad

All are members of Indian Mujahideen linked to recent blasts

Mumbai: The Mumbai police have arrested 15 new terror suspects since September 24, Joint Commissioner (Crime), Mumbai, Rakesh Maria told a press conference here on Monday. This brings the total arrests to 20.

Those arrested are members of the suspected terror outfit Indian Mujahideen, said to be behind the recent blasts in Delhi, Ahmedabad and Bangalore.

The arrests took place in Mumbai, Pune and Mangalore.

On September 28, the police arrested Asif Bashir Shaikh alias Hasan alias Mahmood (22), a mechanical engineer who allegedly played an active role in the Surat blast bid; Mohamed Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy alias Munawar alias Mannu (31), a computer engineer involved in sending terror e-mails; Mubin Kadar Shaikh alias Salman (24), a Computer Science graduate also involved in terror mails; and Mohamed Atique Mohamed Iqbal alias Musab (25), a Computer Science graduate and active member of an Indian Mujahideen module.

On October 4, Dastagir Phiroz Mujawar alias Afrosh alias Mujib (25), a Commerce graduate involved in imparting training to jihadi activists, was arrested.

Ten suspects were arrested on October 5 in Mangalore. They are Mohamed Akbar Ismail Chadhary alias Sayed alias Yakub, a driver-cum-computer mechanic involved in the Surat blast bid; Anique Shafique alias Khalid, a computer and mobile retailer involved in the Ahmedabad blasts; Majid Akhtar Shaikh alias Naseem, owner of a computer and mobile repair shop and Javed Mohamed Ali, who studied in the School of Quranic Studies. They were active members of an IM module and they participated in a criminal conspiracy; Yasir Anis Syed alias Huzefa, a mobile repairman and Farooq Sharfuddin Tarkash alias Abdullah, a Commerce graduate were active members of an IM module. They were trained at Bhatkal in Karnataka and were part of a criminal conspiracy.

Fazal-e-Rehman Mus Khan Durani, a robber and Ahmed Bawa Abubakar, a farm worker were involved in planting of bombs in Surat and Ahmedabad.

Mohamed Ali Ahmed and Syed Mohamed Noushad alias Sayedna, both civil contractors at Mangalore ran a safe house for IM members.

Link

White-collar jihadists, a cause for growing concern

Praveen Swami

Evidence mounts of terror recruitment in information technology sector

NEW DELHI: Evidence is mounting that recruiters for Islamist terror groups have targeted the information technology and engineering sectors, in a successful effort to give India’s jihadist movement a quantum jump in skills and ideological focus.

Most of the 15 men arrested in Mumbai on Monday, on charges of participating in the hit-teams which planted explosives in Ahmedabad and Surat, are criminals linked to Pakistan-based ganglord Amir Raza Khan.

But three men in the group were, till their arrest, believed to be model citizens. Key among them is Mohammed Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy, who worked as a software engineer at multinational Yahoo India.

Peerbhoy, investigators say, sent three Indian Mujahideen manifestos that were e-mailed to the media after the terror group’s bomb attacks in Ahmedabad and New Delhi.

The investigators allege that Peerbhoy was helped by Mobin Kadir Shaikh, who also worked in an information technology firm, and mechanical engineer Asif Bashiruddin Shaikh.
White-collar jihadists

With a job that brought in an annual salary of over Rs. 19,00,000 a year, 31-year-old Peerbhoy is as distant as could be imagined from the madrasa-educated, no-prospects jihadist of media caricature.

His father, Asghar Peerbhoy, made a comfortable living as a wholesale fruit supplier for the Army’s Pune-based southern command. His mother recently retired after a distinguished career as teacher in a Pune college.

With its hard-earned money, the Peerbhoy family ensured that the children received the best education and career opportunities possible.

Shahid Peerbhoy, the first-born, went on to become respected doctor, who practises in the United Kingdom. Mohammad Adil Peerbhoy, Peerbhoy’s younger brother, is a successful architect. Pune residents who know the family told The Hindu that it was pious but liberal and had no apparent link with Islamist political groups.

Police say Peerbhoy radicalised himself, not unlike Kafeel Ahmad, the Bangalore resident who became a jihadist while studying for a degree in computational fluid dynamics and died while staging a suicide attack on the Glasgow airport in August 2007.
Spiritual experience

In 2004, during the umra pilgrimage to Mecca, Peerbhoy underwent what he described to his friends as a profound spiritual experience. He began to devote a growing amount of time to religious affairs. On one occasion in 2006, he spent 10 entire days sequestered in the local mosque, engaged in meditation on religious affairs. He began to meet religious radicals in Internet chat rooms and in city-based study groups, to explore neoconservative religious traditions like the Jamaat Ahl-e-Hadis. In essence, Peerbhoy rejected the syncretic Islam he had grown up with.
Contact with Bhatkal

Around this time, the investigators believe, Peerbhoy first came into contact with mafioso-turned-jihadist Riyaz Bhatkal. Bhatkal, who has so far evaded arrest, is alleged to have commanded a south and west-India based cell of jihadists, recruited by Karachi-based ganglord Amir Raza Khan. Khan, along with the now-jailed mafioso Aftab Ansari, set up the Asif Raza Commando Force, which supplied the Indian Mujahideen the bulk of its operational and logistical resources.

Mushtaq Sadiq Sheikh, who was arrested earlier this month on charges of commanding the Indian Mujahideen’s Azamgarh-based north India operations unit, was also recruited by Khan.

Peerbhoy was not the only successful professional drawn to the jihad. In 1996, top Indian Mujahideen organiser Mohammad Subhan Qureshi, son of working class immigrants to Mumbai, began a successful career as software engineer. But in March 2001, he suddenly resigned a high-paying job at computer major Datamatics, declaring in a letter to the management that he had “decided to devote one complete year to pursue religious and spiritual matters.”

Later, Qureshi was drawn to SIMI and he began a new life as a jihadist. Key SIMI operative Abdul Peedidcal Shibli, who was arrested earlier this year, also left a job in a top software firm to become a jihadist.

In 2006, after a decade of Islamist political activism, Shibli left Tata-Elexi to recruit volunteers for the network of jihadist groups now operating under the Indian Mujahideen label. He, along with Wipro-GE employee Yahya Kamakutty, persuaded dozens of young men to participate in a series of jihad training camps held in Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat last year.

Even the "secular" Pravin Swami couldnt find any possible justification(witnessed riots first hand, relative killed in gujarat etc as he usually tries to justify every terror suspect) for the techie going the terror way!!!

Cant really blame companies in the future if they look twice when a muslim applies for a job since these terrorist pigs seem to go on a bombing spree for no apparent reason!!!

[ramana]

So where do the B'lore brothers who were involved in the Glasgow bombings belong in this mileu? Recall their cousin was in Australia for having had his cell phone used in the Glasgo case and PM was sleepless in Delhi.? They fit this profile to a Tee.

[vera_k]

vera if indeed it is true, tell us more.

I haven't seen a picture so I can't be sure. The guy I worked with in 2000 was clean shaven, about 5'6"-5'7", very intelligent, a good dresser and dedicated to the job. Certainly no outward indications of anything like what is being reported. We went our separate ways in 2001 and last I heard he was working in the UK in 2002-03.

[Avinash R]

More updates

M'lore police grill 'ultras' in Mumbai
Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Mangalore: The Mangalore police team has reached Mumbai and would start interrogating the four persons who were picked up in and around Mangalore in a major pre-dawn operation on October 3, on Tuesday and there are possibilities of getting a breakthrough by Tuesday evening, Superintendent of Police N Satish Kumar told Deccan Herald.

The four persons — Mohammed Ali (56), his son Javed Ali (20) (both from Mukkacheri in Ullal near Mangalore); Naushad (25) (from Subashnagar in Mangalore); and Ahmed Bawa alias Aboobakker (33) (from Haleyangadi near Mulki) — suspected to have links with Indian Mujahideen were taken by the Mumbai police for interrogation on October 4.

Meanwhile, the superintendent of police also said that the district police would send the CDs, hard discs and pen drives to Cyber Forensic Cell in Bangalore for further investigations.

CoD takes into custody three SIMI activists
Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Gulbarga: The Corps of Detectives (CoD) are said to have taken three persons having links with the banned Islamic terrorist organisation Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) here.

The three whose identity is not known hail from Mominpura, Jilanabad and Mehboob Nagar localities of the city for interrogation in connection with the serial blast incidents in the state and elsewhere.

It is said based on the mobile numbers obtained from the cell phones of the arrested SIMI activists from Mangalore and other places the CoD police have picked up three persons, it is said.

However no details are available.

The local police maintained that they have no information whatsoever on the picking of the three persons from the city by the CoD.

Explosives seized from Bava's house
Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Koppa : DCIB sleuths from Mangalore searched the house of Ahamed Bava where few members of the Indian Mujahideen were said to be residing at Vittlamakki in Koppa taluk on Monday. The police have seized some of the explosive materials.

Ahamed Bava was picked up from Haleyangadi near Mulki on October 3. The DCIB team led by inspector Venkatesh Prasanna broke open the door and found chemicals used in explosives, glass wares used in laboratory, and other engineering items.

The house which is constructed on the model of a hut by using hollow blocks and cement had many books in Urdu and English, diary, colour TV, air gun, drilling machine, wires and ammonium nitrate. Apart from these articles, there were three unopened suitcases.

Media persons were strictly prohibited from entering the house. Inspector Venkatesh Prasanna said “Its a matter of country’s security. Co-operate with us to do our duty.” DySP Mallikarjunappa and circle inspector Ramachandra Nayak were present.

Though Ahamed Bava had told localites that he will be opening lock manufacturing cottage industry, it was learnt that he had obtained license from Binthravalli Gram Panchayat on March 5, 2007 for the manufacturing of toys. He had been residing in the said house for the past three years but he had not enrolled his name in electoral list nor possessed a ration card.

[Avinash R]

Now time for shivraj patil to send strong directives under Article 355 to commies.

Twelve injured in clash between two communities in West Bengal village
Dior village (West Bengal),

Oct 7 (ANI): At least twelve people were injured in a communal clash in Dior village of South Dinajpur District in West Bengal.

But the situation worsened when members of the Hindu community found a piece of flesh hanging outside a community prayer hall made for 'Durga Puja'.

A large number of people from neighbouring villages rushed to the spot, turning the situation volatile.

The police had to fire in the air and resort to tear gassing to disperse the violent mob.

"We have fired seven rounds of tear gas to disperse the mob. We have imposed Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code indefinitely to control the situation," said Swapan Banerjee Purnapatra, Superintendent of Police of South Dinajpur district.

many of the displaced in the recent violence in assam have been bengali hindus. bangaldeshi muslim illegal migrants have opened two fronts against bengalis. one in assam another in wb.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indi ... 568003.cms

It's a predominantly Hindu village, made up of Bengalis born and brought up here. It has been razed. Mobs methodically went from house to house, breaking, smashing, and burning everything on Friday. Three days later, the ruins are still smouldering. Everything you step on, crumbles. An eerie silence prevails on the deserted roads.

Fear is in the air. Lakshmi Sarkar had first felt it when she saw a murderous mob marching towards her house on Friday. It was 1.30pm. The 48-year-old wife of a small-time farmer had just finished cooking and was waiting for her husband and children to return for the meal.

"I heard a commotion and looked out of the kitchen window facing the backyard. What I saw froze me for a few seconds. There were scores of men in skull-caps, carrying machetes, bows, arrows and lathis. And they were headed straight for my house," she recalled, horror writ large over her face. Once she got over the shock, her survival instincts took over. She rushed out of the kitchen, only to find that the living room had been torched. She turned and ran for her life. Panting, she turned back only once — to see her entire house on fire. "I didn't know where my husband or kids were. I just ran for my life. It's only later that fear about what happened to them gripped me," she said.

[sum]

What I saw froze me for a few seconds. There were scores of men in skull-caps, carrying machetes, bows, arrows and lathis. And they were headed straight for my house,"

This is all a Hindutva propaganda!!!

Only the BD or VHP is capable of attacking innocents....The skull caps are just to fool the people.

The silence of the media regarding the Maharashtra and Assam rioting after all the screaming headlines about orissa is deafening.

[Rye]

I am sure Amar Singh is fully aware of "due process" and "innocent until proven guilty", but still has plans to make this a "India hates muslims" issue. If there one scumbag who needs to vanish off this planet for creating inter-community hatred, it is Amar Singh and the SP leadership.

Man just cannot leave the system to do its job -- he has to spit on the police for doing their job and taking down social malcontents (unless of course these malcontents belong to his political opponents, in which case, he will blame the police for incompetence in not catching and shooting all of them in under 5 minutes.)

SP may quit UPA if Jamia students acquitted

PANAJI, OCTOBER 7 (PTI)
Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh on Tuesday indicated that his party could withdraw support to the UPA government if the two students of Jamia Millia Islamia arrested in connection with the Delhi serial blasts were proved to be innocent.

"Shoot them if they are terrorists. But if they are innocent, then they should be given justice," Singh said addressing reporters here, and added, "If a judicial probe says they are innocent, then we can think of withdrawing support to the UPA government."

Singh made the statement while talking on the issue of deceased Delhi Police (Special Cell) Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma's family rejecting his Rs 10 lakh offer.

"I feel sad that his family has reacted in this manner," he said.

Renewing his demand for a judicial probe into the Batla House encounter in which Inspector Sharma was killed, Singh said senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani has agreed to take up the case of the two students following his request.

Further, the SP leader said he will pay the legal expenses for the students after speaking to authorities of the Jamia Millia University.

Citing media reports, Singh said doubts have been raised about the Batla House encounter and the subsequent arrest of the students.

"A judicial probe is necessary to clear all confusions," he said.

He, however, said his statement did not mean to support any terrorist "but at the same time innocents should not be harassed".

[fanne]

Can someone ask this dalal amar singh that will he hang himself if these guys are proven guilty?

[Mihir]

Shahid Peerbhoy, the first-born, went on to become respected doctor, who practises in the United Kingdom. Mohammad Adil Peerbhoy, Peerbhoy’s younger brother, is a successful architect. Pune residents who know the family told The Hindu that it was pious but liberal and had no apparent link with Islamist political groups.

I knew Shahid very well. A gem of a person, and the Peerbhoys are a great family.

[malushahi]

As if Jerry Yang was not having problems enough keeping Yahoo afloat.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/07/india.yahoo

Yahoo employee alleged to be Indian terror group's media officer

Police claim IT worker was tasked with hacking sites and sending emails just before and after bomb attacks

[malushahi]

For all the platitudes of India being one from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, arguably these folks are the ones following the dictum by heart:

http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/ne ... YNAME=NATL

IM finding ways to enter PoK through Kashmir; one killed


Srinagar, Oct 7 Army and Special Operations Group of Jammu and Kashmir have killed a militant believed to be an Indian Mujahideen cadre hailing from Kerala's Kovalam district. Central agencies had been monitoring certain leads which said a group of people hailing from Kerala along with Lashker-e-Taiba's support were trying to enter Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) through North Kashmir.

The information was shared with the army headquarters in the national capital and a plan was chalked out to nab the exfiltrating group with the help of the state police.

A militant identified as Shakeel Mohammed hailing from Kovalam was killed in the encounter that took place between Nine Para and Special Operations Group in Dever area of Lolab Valley in North Kashmir.

A hunt is on to track down who have escaped after the encounter, sources said.

Shakeel is the first Keralite to have been killed in nearly two decades of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.

A photo identity card was found from his pocket besides some religious writings written in Malayalam, the sources said.

A team of Kerala Police is scheduled to visit Kashmir valley soon for carrying out the identification process of killed militant. PTI


Published: Tuesday, October 07, 2008

[sum]

Latest reports mentioned 2 mallus gunned down. Both confirmed from Mallapuram.

Guess time for Mallapuram to come into the spotlight it richly deserves and was kept away from all these years due to "secularism",just like Azamgarh till recently...

[Kati]

........His story makes for an unlikely terror suspect: his father built a
business as a wholesale fruit supplier to the Indian army. One of his brothers is a doctor in the UK, while another is an architect.

According to the Hindu newspaper, Peerbhoy "radicalised himself" after a pilgrimage to Mecca in 2004. Other reports say he was "groomed" by Islamists after taking Arabic lessons.

I guess that brother in the UK will be under MI5 scanner now.

[Rye]

KPS Gill saheb article - x-posting from another thread

http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fo ... =kps&sid=1

Indians can't let the pakis and their ISI actually damage us with their "1000 cuts" by making their predictions come true.

Musharraf infiltrated and trained a lot of these ISI people under the cover of the so-called peace process -- the risk was always there, except the govt. seems to have been caught in surprise as to how far and wide ISI has succeeded. It won't be surprising if the ISI is also working with Maoists across the country via Bangladeshi proxies.

[G Subramaniam]

SIMI: The Open And Hidden Faces Of Indian Jihad

Author: Maloy Krishna Dhar
Publication: Maloy Krishna Dhar
Date: September 25, 2008
URL: http://maloykrishnadhar.com/simi-the-op ... dian-jihad

History is not the graveyard of the past. It is the mother of present and womb for the future. Most current event analysers tend to disregard the history and fail to link the present with the past. The same mistakes are being committed by certain section of the media which claims to be the fathers of sting-journalism. Small people attempting to paint a sinner as saint commit colossal mistakes.

A Nation's unpreparedness for colossal natural disasters like tsunami and earthquakes are somewhat pardonable. However, strategic unpreparedness to anticipate, analyse, estimate and visualise threats and disasters arising out of political and administrative naïveté and adoption of a fire-fighting attitude to visibly advancing political, military, proxy-war and jihadi cyclones cannot be pardoned even if the elasticity of democracy and tolerance are extended to infinity.

This observation is more relevant to certain media coverages and attitude of certain political parties. Union ministers Lalu Yadav and Rambilas Paswan sang paean of the SIMI and they were accompanied by Mulayam Singh Yadav even after the Supreme Court branded SIMI as a 'terrorist organisation.' They were joined by the so-called Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid and other several other Muslim leaders who visited the village hoe of Abul Basher after his arrest in connection with Ahmedabad serial bombings. Such blatant communal display does not repair the damagee that continues to widen. Such vote-bank tear-shedding by Union Cabinet Ministers weakens the very foundation of history and pushes the country towards disintegration. Once upon a time one Jagat Seth had decided that his business interest was higher than political interest of Bengal. He was ably supported by Mir Zafar. Seth had even loaned Rs. 2 crores to fortune seeker clerk Robert Clive. Do our ministers and leaders like to compete with them? Have they no sense of history?

Present India, was born out of communal strife, bitterness of Muslim separatism and sky-full of hatred for everything Hindu. Those were the underlying poisonous fuel with which Jinnah flew down to Karachi to be crowned as the Shaenshah of the new Muslim Homeland-Pakistan. Sixty one years after the clinical operation desired by Jinnah was accomplished, his dreamland lay in tatters, the subcontinental Muslims, nearly 500 million, continue to reel under privation, religious bigotry, economic backwardness and suffer from the same old canopy of 'living together separately.'

This article is not the correct space to unfold the entire history of pains that hurt the people of the subcontinent. However, certain forces created by the seeds of hatred and separateness can be examined in the background of the poisonous clouds that had continued to haunt the subcontinent from 1857 to 1947. The Indian National Congress vainly continued to suffer from the delusion that it represented all the communities in United India and Sir Sayyid Ahmad to Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared unequivocally that the Muslim political congregation (Muslim League) had the sole right to represent the community. History of this delusion and reality has been well recorded and can be accessed through impartially written history books and not through Gandhi-Nehru eulogies.

In post-independent India also the Muslims felt the need of organising themselves around their religious institutions, community congregations and several activated bodies outside the presumed umbrellas of Congress, Left parties and other fringe political mushrooms.

Jamait-e-Islami founded by Maududi in 1941 to espouse Islamic exclusivism, separate Muslim identity and establishment of Islamic rule in India was split into two parts: JeI Hind and JeI Pak. Later JeI Bangladesh was added to the list. In Pakistan and Bangladesh the JeI function as political parties. However, in India the Jamait has not taken part in electoral politics but has supported Muslim groups and candidates which supported the core ideology of the organisation.

A secretive organisation like the RSS, the JeI Hind maintained low political profile but actively participated against the spate of political agitation between 1973-75 (JP Movement) that wanted to remove Indira Gandhi from power and restore real people's democracy. The RSS had supported the movement for its own reasons and the JeI also took active part in the agitation as they were highly disturbed by the acts of Turkman Gate demolition, resettlement of Muslims to certain clusters in East and North Delhi and drastic implementation of family planning. A Muslim lady, supposed to be a close associate of Sanjay Gandhi, had even operated a couple of family planning establishments in the walled city areas of Delhi. In short, the Muslim sentiment against Indira led Congress was highly vitiated and the Muslims felt that they were specially targeted for discrimination and socio-political and economic isolation. They were already high-strung over the defeat of Pakistan in 1971. The singed Muslim sentiment was also agitated by direct and indirect stimulation from the Muslim educational and religious institutes like the Aligarh, Jamia Milia, Nadwa, Firangi Mahall, Tablighi Jammat etc. During the emergency regime most of the important Jamait leaders were put behind the bars.

Other historic events around the time of birth of the Students Islamic Movement of India on April 25, 1977) require examination. Normal JeI student front is known as Islami-Jamait-e-Talaba. Such bodies existed before the SIMI was floated.

Right after defeat in Bangladesh war (1971) Z. A. Bhutto in collaboration with Jamait-e-Islami Pakistan utilised the Indian wing of the Jamiat to depute teachers and preachers to Kashmir valley to impart Islamic studies to the Kashmiri students attached to madrasas, Sufi Dargahs (holy mosques like Charar-e-Sharif) and other educational institutions. The objective was to subvert the Sufi-minded Kashmiri Muslims and to convert them to hardcore Hanafi Sunni Islamists.

This mission was also sustained by Zia-ul-Haq. According to intelligence reports Zia's government provided financial support to the JeI Pak for mobilising the JeI Hind to achieve ideological conquest of Kashmir. The developments in Indian Kashmir and till 1989 when Pakistan unfolded its proxy war in so called IHK, bear testimony to the fact that the JeI Hind in collaboration with its counterpart in Pakistan and the ISI had succeeded in vastly destroying the moderate Islamic culture and Kashmiriyat of the people of the valley. Concerned agencies had kept the government of India adequately informed about silent cultural and religious revolution in Kashmir that could lead to political rebellion.

Inside Pakistan General Zia took command and introduced total Islamisation of the country. In Bangladesh Mujib was assassinated by the pro-Pakistani army officers and in 1977 General Zia-ur-Rahman allowed the Jamait-e-Islami leaders (Pak), who collaborated with Pakistan army, to return to Bangladesh and open their fundamentalist shop.

During 1977 Janata Dal rule in Delhi the Jamait-e-Islami leaders reopened their shop with great enthusiasm and tried to fill in the political vacuum left by Muslim alienation from the Congress. While still under ban the organisation expanded its membership to over 100,000. New halqas (branches) were opened in seventy locations all over India. The All India Muslim Students Union and other Muslim youth and students bodies were directed to organise meetings under cover of Dawa (service) and mobilise opinion of the Muslims by touring the interior areas. Main focus was in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Historical facts do not support the decision as to why the JeIH went for opening a new youth and student body. Ahmadullah Siddiqi, who started the organisation, was an important member of the JeIH. Had the JeIH wanted an organistaion ostensively outside its official structure foe carrying out different types of activities? Perhaps, yes.

It is on April 25, 1977 Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi of Aligarh Muslim University, the alma mater of Muslim renaissance, founded the Islamic Students Movement of India. A scholar in Physics Ahmadullah was inspired to change streams of massmedia and journalism for projecting better image of Muslims of India. He started it as a united platform for Muslim students and youth wing of the JeI Hind with the objective to restore the Caliphate for the unity of Ummah (Muslim community) by rejecting the concept of nationalism, secularism and democracy.

Though he stoutly denied after settling down in the US any inclination to Islamic fundamentalism his aim was to establish Dar-ul-Islam (land of Islam). The ideological inspirations were derived from Muslim thinkers who had launched Islamic movements in the subcontinent in the past, e.g. Shah Walliullah, Sayyid Ahmad and Haji Shariat Allah and Maulana Maududi, the founder of the Jamait-e Islami (JEI). SIMI was deeply inspired by the Maududi's goal to make Islam the supreme organizing principle for the social and political life of the Muslim community.

Personally Ahmadullah was a member of the International Islamic Students Federation, Rabita-ul-Alam-e-Islami and was profoundly influenced by the Iranian revolution. His speeches in the Aligarh University testify his affinity to revolutionary Islamic resurgence. He had organised protest demonstrations during Yassir Arafat's visit to India on grounds that he was a 'stooge' of the US. Ahmadullah was a staunch supporter of the Iranian backed Hamas that was making space in Palestine and Lebanon with Iranian support.

He was Assistant Secretary General of IIFSO and had joined Jamait-e-Islami of India in 1973. He has also served on the Board of Directors and Governing Boards of Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi, India, Centre for Studies on Sciences, Aligarh, India, Students Islamic Trust of Indian and All-India Council for Muslim Educational Upliftment, Bombay, India. Later he renounced the violent activities of the SIMI and declared that he had not set up the movement to fight armed jihad.

Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi migrated to US in 1981 and is now a professor of Journalism and Public Relations at Western Illinois University Macomb, Illinois. Dr. Siddiqi now serves as Honorary Vice President of the American Islamic College Chicago and is a member of the College's Board of Directors. Even after rooting in the US Dr. Siddiqi had not left keen interest in the welfare of the Muslims. He is the founding member and Secretary General of the North American Association of Muslims Professionals and Scholars (NAAMPS).

After his departure from India the SIMI had started rooting in different parts of the country recruiting over 1000 Ansars or registered leading members and about 50,000 Ikhwans (supporting members). SIMI published several magazines- Tahreek, Hindi; Iqraa, Gujrati; Rupantar, Bengali; Sedhi Madal, Tamil; Vivekam, Malayalam; Movement in English and Shaheen Times in English for children. Tauqeer, now wanted in Ahmedabad bomb blast edited the Shaheen Times for some time.

Objectives and Ideology of the SIMI:

* Governing of human life on the basis of the Holy Quran

* Propagation of Islam

* Jihad for the cause of Islam

SIMI attempts to utilize the youth in the propagation of Islam and also to mobilize support for Jihad and establish a Shariat-based Islamic rule through 'Islami Inqulab' (Islamic revolution). As the organization does not believe in a nation-state, it does not believe in the Indian Constitution or the secular order. Among its various objectives, the SIMI aims to counter what it believes is the increasing moral degeneration, sexual anarchy in the Indian society as also the 'insensitiveness' of a 'decadent' west. Ideologically, SIMI maintains that the concepts of secularism, democracy and nationalism, keystones of the Indian Constitution, are antithetical to Islam. Parallel to its rejection of secularism, democracy and nationalism is its oft-repeated objective of restoration of the 'khilafat', emphasis on 'ummah' (Muslim brotherhood), and the need for a Jihad to establish the supremacy of Islam.
In recent years the SIMI started preaching that partition of the country had not solved problems of the Muslims. Nearly 20 crores Muslims of India, in combination with the Muslim population of Pakistan and Bangladesh form the largest mass of Muslims and they have the assigned right to shift the centre of Islamic gravity from Saudi Arabia and Egypt to Delhi, from where the Muslim rulers once ran a parallel Khilafat. India should the centre of the new Khilafat. In a speech at Ujjain in 2005 he had even mentioned about regaining Taj-e-Hind.

"To bring Islamic revolution in the country we considered the parliamentary system election process is useless and futile. It is difficult to keep the Islamic revolutionary character during the process of election. Therefore SIM will not participate in the election or will not give votes to anybody. During the time of election SIM will expose the nature of the system democracy, socialism, secularism, nationalism etc. and ask the people to boycott the election and march for the Islamic revolution."

At some stage the SIMI dropped the last 'I' and converted to SIM-Students Islamic Movement. Its website was also known as www.simofindia.org. Some media hype after Abu Basher's arrest that SIMI has changed name to SIM is cheaper than wayside rag. SIMI had adopted a new front-name Indian Mujahideen as it was still involved in legal battle to get over the stigma of government ban. Indian Mujahideen name was devised to give impression that jihad had taken indigenous character and it had no link with foreign jihadi tanzeems. This should not mislead any objective observer and analyst. The objectives of the organisation were spelt out in its website before it went out of the electronic stream. Some quotes are revealing and should be perused by leaders like Lalu, Mulayam and Rambilas etc who see no evil in anything that give them drops of vote-milk.

"The SIM believes that the root cause of this universal chaos and anarchy is the prevalent system, which is oriented in the rejection God. The SIM feels it is essential to emphasis that no political parties or organization can bring about a solid and constructive change through secularism in the light of their erratic ideologies. The only way to bring about the real change is through recognition of God, the Creator and Sustainer, and leading a life in the light of divine guidance and thus establishing an Islamic life. On the eve of election in the atmosphere of varied noise pollution, the Students Islamic Movement of India appeals to all Indians, especially Muslims not to get consumed by the political slogans and utopias, rather go for the reconstruction of individual and collective life through the natural and realistic system of Islam."

"In such a sorry state of affairs, it is the responsibility of this "last community" the "best community", the "middle community", to rise up and face the challenges that surround it, to revive Deen, to lead and guide not only the Islamic world, but all of humanity along the 'Straight Path' and rescue it from the clutches of Satanic powers. It is the demand of the time that Muslim youth should struggle for the superiority and establishment of Deen and the revival of Islam in the light of the holy Qur'an and Sunnah. It is with this very purpose that SIMI strives tirelessly throughout the length and breadth of this country, creating young hearts throbbing with the desire of revival and establishment of Islam. …Thousands of students have answered this call and are marching forward defiantly tremendous odds, ready to sacrifice everything in the way of Allah."

"Our assessment of various (Islamic) organizations will be based on the following definition of the Islamic movement. "All conscious efforts directed to establish Islam simultaneously challenging the battle as well as Taghooti forces."

What is Taghooti?

This is an Arabic word that generally means forces that are antithesis to the forces of the Allah. Hudhayfah Ibnul-Yamaan a close follower of the Prophet interpreted this expression of battle between the forces of the Allah and the forces of evil in the following way- He asked: Messenger of Allaah, no doubt, we had an evil time (i.e. the days of jahiliyyah or ignorance) and Allaah brought us a good time (i.e. Islamic period) through which we are now living. Will there be a bad time after this good time? He (the Prophet) said: Yes. I said: Will there be a good time after this bad time? He said: Yes. I said: Will there be a bad time after good time? He said: Yes. I said: How? Whereupon he said: There will be leaders who will not be led by my guidance and who will not adopt my ways?

There will be among them men who will have the hearts of devils in the bodies of human beings. I said: What should I do Messenger of Allah, if I (happen) to live in that time? He replied: You will listen to the ameer and carry out his orders; even if your back is flogged and your wealth is snatched, you should listen and obey.

It is good enough to stop here. SIMI's objective is to resume the war against the infidels who have forced bad times on the Muslims and to restore the good times of Islamic rule.

It has been claimed that the SIMI has over 1000 Ansars and over 50,000 Ikhwans. No reliable data are available about the territorial distribution of the cadre. However, since the SIMI was hooked up by the ISI of Pakistan and was drawn to the vortex of Afghan Mujahideen war sponsored by the CIA, Saudi Intelligence and the ISI some of the radical SIMI leaders reconstructed the original ideological architecture of the organisation.

By 1990 the concerned agencies noticed that nearly 15 SIMI volunteers from UP, Delhi, Andhra and Maharashtra had travelled to Kathmandu from where they were transported to Pakistan. Twelve of them acclimatised in training camps run by the ISI in Quetta area and returned to India. More significant was the observations of clandestine contacts between the Delhi's Pakistan embassy-based intelligence officials and some of the SIMI leaders in Delhi, Ajmer Sharif and Mumbai. These well recorded evidences were clinching.

Later, at the height of Sikh turmoil in Punjab three SIMI functionaries from Aligarh were tapped by the ISI to locate themselves temporarily to a hotel in Maharajganj Market, Kathmandu and assist the Sikh militants in transporting and safe-housing arms and explosives in certain places in western UP. These arms and explosives were recovered by the concerned agencies.

Your author had the opportunity in unearthing that SIMI-Pakistan link.

Government ministers who shed vote-bank tears for SIMI should ask their own agencies to apprise them of these reports, if the agencies can trust such on these vote-hungry politicians.

For those in and out of government, especially for the vote-hungry politicians, who doubt about SIMI's early contact with Pakistan I quote from V. Balachandran former Additional Secretary RAW, "Reports about SIMI's involvement in recent bombings have ignored that a triangular process of punishing India had started much earlier. The first judicially tested evidence of Pakistani-Khalistani-SIMI nexus had surfaced in 1992 ending up with a Supreme Court judgment on 9 January 2001, which everybody seems to have forgotten. The case which was contested for nine years in several courts started with the arrest of Lal Singh, alias Manjit Singh, an ISI-trained Khalistani militant on 16 July 1992 at Dadar railway station by Gujarat Police on prior intelligence. A search of his safe house in Ahmedabad on 25 July revealed considerable quantity of arms and explosives. The CBI took over the case in August 1992. Investigation revealed his connections with Basheer of Kerala who had organised a SIMI convention in 1991 in Mumbai where the linkage was firmed up. Basheer absconded, but 21 persons including Pakistani national Mohammad Sharief, Mumbai residents Tahir Jamal, Saquib Nachan and Shoaib Mukhtiar were apprehended. Lal Singh confessed planning to blow up Madras Stock Exchange for which a survey was done on 2 July 1992, besides trying to assassinate South Indian Hindu leaders and police officers. The Supreme Court confirmed life sentence to Lal Singh and Mohammad Sharief, while others were given ten-year prison terms. Absconding Basheer, a postgraduate diploma holder in aeronautical engineering, was later suspected to have been involved in the 2003 Mulund, Ghatkopar, Gateway and Zaveri Bazaar blasts, besides being a SIMI fundraiser." Police & State (published in Covert-Sept 16 to 30th). SIMI hand was noticed in Bombay Stock exchange bomb blast (Dawood Ibrahim fiat). The list is too long and need not be reproduced here.

Based on certain reliable reports the approximate strength of the SIMI in different states is given below. Any reader having better figures and data may correct me. For brevity A has been used for Ansar and I for Ikhwan. The estimates of known figures are based on several agency reports and the author's personal ground studies.

Assam=15 A, 600 I; Manipur= 5 A, 15 I; Tripura=8 A, 12 I; West Bengal= 50 A, 400 I; Bihar= 40 A. 430 I; Jharkhand= 25 A, 200 I; Uttar Pradesh= 300 A, 1000 I; Delhi= 40 A, 600 I; Orissa= 5 A, 15 I; Madhya Pradesh=80 A, 480 I; Chhatisgarh= 45 A, 150 I; Rajasthan=80 A, 275 I; Gujarat=100 A, 280 I; Maharashtra 200 A, 1050 I; Andhra Pradesh= 60 A, 200 I; Karnataka=30 A, 150 I; Kerala= 43 A, 120 I; Tamil Nadu=26 A, 145 I.

For visual understanding the spread is depicted in the sectional maps:

These locations have not been pinned arbitrarily. Almost every district in the mentioned States has units of SIMI, besides in the educational and professional institutions. Most of these are located in cell and module form where the strength is not overwhelmingly visible. Some units have been drafted to the underground outfit: Indian Mujahideen. The rest try to go by legitimate student/youth labels.

However, the earlier style of recruiting the youths from madrasa centres has given way to general and minority educational institutions and hostels, IT training centres, IT facility vendors, professional institutions and population clusters which are nearly impenetrable to peoples of other communities and even to the government functionaries. The pattern is similar almost all over the country with exception that in rural areas of UP, Bihar, Bengal, Assam and the mining and industrial belt of Jharkhand mosques, madrasas, labour unions and people belonging to service (manual) sectors are exploited for field operations purposes. In a city like Delhi and Mumbai the pattern gives way to intensified word of the mouth, clandestine video CD, and limited cable operations etc. The picture is nearly the same in the southern part of the country.

The SIMI, like most motivated terror groups which are inspired by religious fanaticism has an ideological base. This has been explained in earlier paragraphs. It has a well laid down apparatus divided into two clear segments: open segment and underground segment. The open façade looks like a loosely structured youth and student body running indoctrination classes, managing print magazines, websites and organising cultural events. The other part of the façade consists of a labyrinthine structured body, right from the President to the Ikhwans assigned with different tasks. It is more or less like an underground tech-apparatus of any revolutionary organisation modelled after the Hamas. The underground apparatus is still in developing stage and has not taken the solid shape like its counterparts in Pakistan such as Lashkar and Jais. An illustrative diagram would make it easier for the readers to understand:

However, our investigating agencies have so far been studying the SIMI on the basis of personalities and certain basted hideouts. I suppose they are required to go into the labyrinthine spade work that has been established by the SIMI, with support from Jamait-e-Islami Hind and other jihadi organisations. Interestingly, a SIMI Ikhwan can also be found to be an active worker of Deendar Anjuman or Muslim Liberation Tiger Army (Assam). There is no ban on cross-organisations membership. A SIMI Ansar can also be a member of the HuJI. There are instances of SIMI Ansars and Ikhwans collaborating with Lashkar-e-Toiba etc Pakistani tanzeems.

SIMI leadership, so far unfolded, were identified as Dr Shahid Badar Falah functioning as the national president and Safdar Nagori as the general secretary. Delhi Police arrested Falah on September 28, 2001 after the organisation was banned. Safdar Nagori, the next president was arrested by police from Indore along with twelve Nagori is known to have firm linkage with the ISI and was in the process of linking us with Taliban. He considers Mullah Omar as the Amir ul Momineeen. Other leaders like Mohammad Aamir, (Uttar Pradesh unit chief), a prime accused in the Kanpur riots of March 16, was arrested on April 25, 2006. Abul Bashar Qasmi, who succeeded after Safdar Nagori's arrest, was apprehended on August 16, 2008 from a village in Azamgarh. He had masterminded the July 26, 2008 Ahmedabad (Gujarat) serial bomb blasts, and is suspected as a vital link in Bangaluru, Jaipur and Delhi blasts.

SIMI leaders are supported by the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), Riyadh. It is affiliated to the International Islamic Federation of Students' Organizations (IIFSO) in Kuwait. Jamait-e-Islami Pakistan and Markaz-ud-Dawa-al-Irshad are known to have funded the SIMI. Chicago-based Consultative Committee of Indian Muslims (related to the founder president of SIMI) supports SIMI morally and financially. SIMI's links and active collaboration with Bangladesh JeI, Islamic Chhtra Shibir, and HUJI are well established. Several operations, especially the Benaras, Hyderabad, and Mumbai blasts were jointly accomplished by the SIMI Ansars, Ikhwans and the HUJI elements from Bangladesh. SIMI volunteers had undergone training with Hizbul Mujahideen in Pak occupied Kashmir. Three Jalgaon (Maharashtra) youths Sheikh Asif Supdu, Sheikh Khalid Iqbal and Sheikh Mohammad Hanif had reportedly died in Indian border force firing in 2000, while crossing over from Pakistan. SIMI links with Lashkar-e-Toiba has been proved beyond doubt. They were partners in several blast incidents in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Interrogation of Nagori and others have brought out that they were trying to establish linkages with Tehrik-e-Taliban, Pakistan and Afghan Talibans for training and material assistance for carrying out jihad in India.

Besides linkage with smaller jihadist bodies the SIMI also functions through certain front organisations. Some of the front organisations are: Muslim Youth Cultural Forum, Muslim Youth Front, All-Bengal Islamic Students Conference, Khidmat-e-Khalaq, Ameer-ul-Muslimeen, Darul-Khuda, Juhapura Youth Federation, Students Islamic Federation, Sauhridaya Library, Quran Foundation, Minority Rights Watch, Ittehadul Musalmeen and Naujawan-e-Islam. Some of these outfits are state-specific, while others operate on a national or regional level. At the national level, Simi uses Tahrik Tahaffuj-e-sha'aire Islam (TTSI), Wahadat-e-Islami, Tahrik-e-Ehyaa-e-Ummat and Tehrik-Talaba-eArabia for over ground activities.

In Southern India, besides the Musli Munnetra Kazagham and Deendar Anjuman etc the SIMI is connected with the following organisations: National Development Front (NDF), the People's Democratic Party (PDP) of Coimbatore serial blasts accused Abdul Nasser Mahdani, and several fringe outfits, including the Muslim Youth Cultural Forum, Karuna Foundation, Muslim Aikya Vedi, Sahridaya Vedi, Samskara Vedi, Solidarity Students Movement and the Movement for Protection of Islamic Symbols and Monuments.

In Kerala Shibli Paidhikar headed a strong group and had set up at least 20 modules. They had organised training in forest areas in which a maulana from Lakshadwip had also taken part. Similar training camps were organised at Hubli, Karnataka, Indore, Ujjain, Badodra, Aurangabad and Bijapur. The instructors trained the Ansars in physical training, indoctrination, use of explosives and fabrication of IED and other techniques of terrorist strike in urban areas. Downloaded websites of Hamas, Lashkar etc were projected to illustrate fidayeens training. An illustrative training manual obtained from a delicate source contain the following subjects, for daily training:

a.Prayer, b. taqrir (lecture) on Islam and motivation quoting profusely from Quran, c. Physical exercises modelled after army physical training and as depicted in Al Qaeda training video, d. lectures on atrocities on Muslims, e. firing from air rifle using targets and pellets, f. theoretical and practical lessons in bomb fabrication using RDX, locally available materials, preparation of Molotov Cocktail, g. ground surveillance , h. exploiting sympathetic contacts in explosive and ordnance factories and ex-army personnel, i. DVD films on guerrilla warfare, urban terrorism etc.

Important leaders who attended such trainings along with other Ansras are Safdar Nagori, Abul Basar, Adnan of Bijapur, Shibli of Ernakulam, Amir Parvaiz-Ujjain, Kamruddin-Ujjain, Sameer Salim-Ujjain (computer expert), Asadullah-Hubli, Allah Bux-Karnataka, Dr. Moon Rose-Belgaum, Samsuddin-Ahmedabad, Md. Yunus Mansuri-Ahmedabad, Razik, Zahid-Ahmedabad, Imran, Usman Agarbatti, Kayamuddin @ Ashfaq Iqrar-Baroda, Mehboob-Khandwa, Imran-Khandwa, Md. Ali-Jabbalpur, Shahid, Iqrar-Ujjain, Subhan Qureshi-Mira Road Mumbai, Khalid Kharemba, Abul Sar, Habib, Wasik, Shahid Badr Falahi, Faizan- Azamgarh, Shahbaz Hussain-Aminabad, Kalim Akhtar-Lucknow, Salim, Javed-Lakhimpur, Mistabul Hussain, Rafiq-West Bengal, Amir Mehfuz, Arif-Allahabad, Hummam-Sultanpur. These are names of only a part of the top leaders who have been trained in demolition works, and it is not the end-list.

The comprehensive list of active and leading Ansars highlight place-names like Ujjain belt, Ahmedabad and Azamgarh. The first recorded communal conflagration in Ujjain-Dhar belt had taken place in 1695, the first recorded Ahmedabad communal conflagration was in 1704 (jeweller Kapurchand case in the court of Emperor Farrukhshiar) and Azmgarh in UP's 'purvannchal' had earned communal notoriety way back in 1893 during 'Gorakhshini' agitation. There have been repeated communal conflagrations in the Gorakhour-Azamgarh belt at regular intervals between 1897 and 1947. Muslims rioted on the day of Holi in 1975 and on 26th January on the occasion of Republic Day, simply because some people raised 'Bandemataram' slogan.The latest incident involving firing on the procession of Yogi Adityanath, a BJP MP and a notorious Hindu protagonist is fresh in memory. The involvement of Azamgarh youths in Delhi bombing should be understood that in that light. It is a strong fort of jihadis in Eastern UP.

Pakistan had exported jihad to the mainland India from Kashmir and it was ably assisted by the DGFI from Bangladesh. Gradually, after testing Indian unpreparedness, they started sending own jihadi tanzeems to perch the flag of Islam through violence. During last 20 years such efforts have borne fruit. SIMI's umbilical growth, the Indian Mujahideen and other tanzeems in different parts of India have emerged as the open faces of hidden International Islamic Jihad. They may change names but the kernel of SIMI-Lashkar-ISI-DGFI linkages would remain intact.

Unfortunately our political leaders and the people in general treat these as terrorist incidents. What is happening in India today is not terrorism; it is the first stage of unveiling the open face of concealed jihad. Unless the political masters take a lesson or two in national security matters and threat posed by forces like Maoist revolutionaries and the Islamists they would not even be in a position to bargain with the enemies from abroad and within like Jagat Seth, Omi Chand and Mirzafar had vainly bargained with the determined colonialists who inched in taking advantage of Indian ignorance and greed-be it for money or vote.

The Nation is more important than a few more Votes; Mr. and Mrs. Politicians. The sand of history is running out. It is time to Act by shedding all pretensions of 'misplaced interpretation of secularism' and criminal apathy towards the festering sores of Jihadi advances and Maoist movements. These sores are becoming gangrenous.

[G Subramaniam]

In previous article, Maloy Krishna Dhar, essentially writes that there is a huge pool of Indigenous IM jihadists, dating back to 1695, and this threat exists while of course TSP and BD fan it further

[Rye]

The order of the main offenders are: Pakistani jihadis->Bangladeshi jihadis->Indian Jihadis. the last group is deliberately targeted to overcome any profiling the govt. can make. Few years ago, the bombs made by BD jihadis was of very low quality, but the quality of the recruits and the bombs themselves have gotten increasingly lethal. The present Pakistani and BD governments are completely involved in the entire enterprise, ably assisted by SIMI and its Indian supporters -- all recruits travel to Bangladesh or Pakistan for training, like those caught in the recent delhi attacks.

[vsudhir]

The order of the main offenders are: Pakistani jihadis->Bangladeshi jihadis->Indian Jihadis. the last group is deliberately targeted to overcome any profiling the govt. can make. Few years ago, the bombs made by BD jihadis was of very low quality, but the quality of the recruits and the bombs themselves have gotten increasingly lethal. The present Pakistani and BD governments are completely involved in the entire enterprise, ably assisted by SIMI and its Indian supporters -- all recruits travel to Bangladesh or Pakistan for training, like those caught in the recent delhi attacks.

The question is what are Delhi's options, if any? What can we do about it? I don't see why TSP won't continue down this path further - low cost + no risk, from their POV, IMO.

The economic and environmental terrorism that the assorted groups of activists, NGOs, sintellectuals and gadflies that panda has seeded in yindia are a reeeeally low cost+negative risk option that me only foresees as being ramped up all the more. Dilli has shown little stomach to confront this menace head-on.

Bottomline, things'll likely get worse before they get better, if they get better. Some of the uglier possibilities include civil war and a second partition, particularly in the NE and Assam.

No other politically correct way to say it but the Indic 'religions' have to form a vote bank of their own against the religious minorities in this country for it to change course in any meaningful way. The abrahamics are fighting for political domination, not spiritual upliftment. And yes, if the Indics don't realize it in time, they'll deserve every bit of Darwinistic music coming their way. The fittest survive, it is the law of nature. And Dharma shall be whatever the victors say it is. As always.

[G Subramaniam]

Dailypioneer

Church petitions against move to curb population growth

Pioneer News Service | Kochi

The Catholic Church in Kerala has started efforts to defeat the Left move for limiting through legislation the number of children per couple to two and to impose a fine of Rs 10,000 for each child born thereafter. The law reforms committee appointed by the Government has already recommended that a law is desirable to keep a check on the population growth by restricting the number of children per couple to two. The committee is headed by Justice VR Krishna Iyer.

The Pro-Life Council of the Kerala Catholic Bishop's Council, the most influential collective of the Church heads in Kerala, has submitted a memorandum to the State Human Rights Commission requesting rejection of the recommendation of the law reforms committee to fine parents for their children in excess of two.

The Pro-Life Council has said in his memorandum to the rights panel that it was the right of the parents, vested in them through the institution of marriage, to have offspring and that it was the right and responsibility of the parents to decide how many children they should have as per their financial, health and social situation.

The council said that no country or government had the right to interfere in this right of the parents.

It asked in the memorandum submitted to commission member S Varghese that the Government should not be allowed even to consider the recommendation of the commission.

The recommendation of the law reforms panel had come at a time when the Christian society in the State was searching for ways to salvage the Christian population from a steady fall witnessed in the last three decades.

It was only recently that the church had begun considering ideas like providing special support to families with three or more children in Church-run hospitals and educational institutions.

The committee had in July drawn up the draft of the proposed Bill, Kerala Family Planning and Control Bill, for legal provisions to ban giving birth to more than two children per couples.

Apart from imposition of a fine of Rs 10,000 on couples for every child they begot after the second child, the draft also proposed that such children should not be given education or other social benefits.

In the particular context of the Church's call for having more children than two, the committee also wanted the Government to prohibit the efforts to promote begetting and rearing more children than two per couple on the basis of community, religion, class, caste or region.

The law reforms panel had also recommended regular awareness campaigns on family planning methods in the rural areas. It also wanted distribution of contraceptives and other family planning implements through hospitals and community and primary health centres.

The committee had drawn up the recommendations because there were no comprehensive and effective laws to control population growth. The panel held that certain communities were trying to grab several benefits through collective efforts using the population size as strength thus leading to the collapse of the financial system of the State.

In Kerala, Hindus constitute 55 per cent of the total population, while Muslims form 24.7 per cent. The Christians constitute 19 per cent or less.

The larger family concept is being mooted by the Church in the context of the fall in the population growth at a rate of 0.40 per cent a decade. Sources in the Church say that the Hindus in the State also should view the situation seriously as their rate of fall of population growth, at 1.55 per cent a decade, was far more critical in the context of a growth in the Muslim population at a rate of 1.75 per cent in ten years.

KCBC sources say that demographic studies show an alarming trend in Kerala where Muslim families alone are showing increase in children, while the number of kids in both the Hindu and Christian families has been falling sharply.

Among the chief seven denominations of the Christian Church in Kerala, Syrian Christians, who constitute 80 per cent of the total Christian population, are the most concerned about this fall in population. "Our men and women had got good education and this had contributed hugely to the shrinkage of the population.

It is when we are trying to find ways to re-educate them to have more children the Government is moving in to restrict our strength," said a KCBC source.

The source said the Syrian Christian population, which stood at 9.7 per cent of the total Kerala population just a year ago could plummet to a mere eight percent in another ten years. "The children-per-couple status among us is less than 1.7 while that of the Muslims is above three", he said.

[Kati]

Some latest info gathered from various sources:

1. Bangladesh Rifles has set up a special training camp just inside the BD border at Maximhaat
-on the other side of Cooch Bihar district of North Bengal. The idea is to train the various
terrorist orgs from KLO, BLT to ULFA under a single command. Apparently, Pak ISI through
HUJI is putting pressure on BDR elements to undertake this training. The terror orgs had/have
been planning to create nuisance during this festival season in the north bengal region.
Today's communal riot in North Dinajpur, where minority community elements threw
cow flesh at a puja mandap was probably to instigate trouble.

2. Jihadi elements from bangladesh are avoiding West Bengal-BD border. They are now
entering India through desolate forested border of Meghalaya (Tura sector), and
then some are going eastward to Assam, and some going west toward West Bengal and other
parts of India.

3. Since security is tight right now till the time of Diwali, some jihadi outfits from BD are lying low,
and they are planning to target right after Diwali. Indications are that they might target
long distance buses (khalistani style) with concealed explosives to create chaos and destruction.
Also, ISI is trying to tie-up khalistani elements with jihadi ones. So, the next target could be
Punjab-Hariyana area.

[Sachin]

Latest reports mentioned 2 mallus gunned down. Both confirmed from Mallapuram.

Local media reports indicates that one chap is from a place Kovalam. This is no where close to Malappuram Dt (central Kerala), but is quite close to Thiruvanathapuram (South kerala), the capital. Famous for the beaches too. Waiting for more local news reports.

[sum]

Truly a theater of the absurd:
Link

Different laws for trial of IM-SIMI modules

NEW DELHI: The prosecution and trial of Indian Mujahideen-SIMI members for serials blasts across the country may see an anomaly: while modules hau
led in by Mumbai Police will be proceeded against under the tough MCOCA, police in Delhi, Rajasthan and Gujarat may not have recourse to special laws.

The Maharashtra government's decision to use the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) is aimed at faster trials while increasing the prospects of conviction of the accused. This is because special MCOCA courts — like those provided for under TADA and POTA — can be expected to deal with the cases expeditiously.

While TADA courts had a mixed record — some cases have carried on for years — delays are also because of the complex nature of crimes as in the 1993 Mumbai bombings. But these courts have handed out convictions, as in the 1993 blasts itself and other cases like the Rajiv Gandhi assassination.

TADA was an anti-terror law introduced after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi; it was also subjected to misuse. The Gujarat government under Congress's Chimanbhai Patel in 1990-92 arrested thousands of farmers belonging to a BJP-affiliated union under TADA. Later, with successive court rulings, special laws were upheld, reformed and fine-tuned.

MCOCA was born after NDA convened a joint session of Parliament to pass POTA and like the central law — repealed by UPA — the Maharashtra law has certain provisions that give bite to anti-terrorism measures. Brought in by the Congress-NCP government, it has provisions for admitting wire taps and confessions before a senior police officer (to be repeated to a magistrate) as evidence, tougher bail conditions and stringent sentences for crimes that result in deaths.

As things stand, Delhi can use MCOCA as it is a Union territory and its police system is under the Union home ministry, but so far those arrested for the September 13 blasts have not been charged under this law. This could make, said official sources, the task of Delhi Police more complex apart from underscoring the dichotomy of linked modules being prosecuted under very different sets of laws.

Offical sources said taht while special laws had become politically contentious as they had been attacked for being "misused", particularly against minorities, they did make a difference. Special laws were a statement of the government's political will and stiff sentences acted as deterrents, underlining that terrorism was a high-risk enterprise.

While concerns over special laws and individual rights were valid, the larger question was whether special laws were required to tackle terrorism, given its national and international spread. In the case of IM-SIMI, despite the close coordination between the police forces of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi and UP, the Jaipur, Delhi, Ahmedabad and UP court blast cases will be tried under varying laws.

Some of POTA's provisions like admissibility of wire taps have been included in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), but officials point out that establishing the conspiracy angle was not easy, particularly in the case of tech-savvy terrorists. When plans were made and discussed in code in internet chat rooms, through SMSs and in great secrecy, confessions were a valuable tool for investigators.

The political faultlines are also likely to sharpen as Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has already launched a high-decibel campaign against the Congress and the UPA for keeping GUJCOCA on hold, alleging that the ruling alliance at the Centre was playing vote-bank politics. Similarly, Rajasthan's version of MCOCA remains in cold storage.

This cheap vote bank politics regarding terror laws will ensure that most of these "innocents" walk away within 10 yrs while few unlucky ones caught in Maharashtra will have to rot away in jail...

Added later: Seems all the caught(acc to other newspapers) will be put under MOACCA to ensure that all are convicted since no other state has tough laws to ensure conviction!!!

Law enforcement has been turned into a pathetic joke by the netas.

[Sachin]

Added later: Seems all the caught(acc to other newspapers) will be put under MOACCA to ensure that all are convicted since no other state has tough laws to ensure conviction!!!

I have heard of a practise in US, which may be helpful for us too. In US too there are some states which have strict laws (for eg: death penalty), while others dont have such provisions. So if a person is caught for a serious offence in state x (which has got strict laws) and also in state y, the prosecution tries to move the case to a court in state x. If the various police agencies can join hands and bring up evidence that all the arrested had some role in crimes/bombings in Mumbai and roped in as accompolices they can all be tried under MCOACA.

[sum]

So,basically the police have given up on the netas to untie their hands and are trying their own tricks to ensure justice!!?