Delhi Blasts news and info

kshirin · Post by **kshirin** » 19 Sep 2008 21:43

narayanan wrote:
Cannot believe that a team going to arrest few pigs would be so casual with its leader not even wearing a BPJ....Anyways, hats off to a job decently(not great) done. Conflicting reports on NSG involvement with residents saying that they saw NSG guys also and TV channels saying that NSG was on standby.

This is what really enrages me and strain my well-known peaceful nature. This death would not have occurred, IF the Indian police treatment of Muslims was ANYTHING like what the sh1ts of the anti-India "establishment" claim.

Had this been in the US:

1. They would have sealed off the neighborhood with a helicopter and police cars.
2. Sent in an armored personnel carrier.
3. Stationed snipers on the surrounding rooftops.
4. Dealt with EVERY house by ordering the occupants to come out, and account for the residents.

5. Anyone who even THOUGHT of hesitating would be immediately tackled, probably knocked down with 3 200-lb gents sitting on them, handcuffed, put in leg irons (special Federal and State treatment) and hustled off for interrogation.

6. Entry into the (supposedly unoccupied) houses would be preceded by flash-stun grenades, or at least teargas.

7. THEN, the SWAT team would have gone in, wearing body armor, covered by about 20 rifles, shotguns etc.

8. If shots had come out of the house, they would probably have demolished the house using bombs or missiles from the helicopters.

Instead, what we have here is an incredibly brave police inspector leading his men from the front, knocking at door after door.

Obviously, the loyal, law-abiding, patriotic citizens in the neighborhood would have alerted the p1gs as soon as the police enquired at the first house, so they would have been waiting.

I seriously believe that the police procedures in India need to become a lot more uniform, so that there is no expectation of getting away with anything less than immediate and complete obedience and respect.

As for the TV presence, that was clearly also mandated to bend over backwards trying to show how much of a kid-glove approach the police are using.

This is what brings out the kindest feelings in me towards the low-life like P**** Mishra, ****dhoti Whineroy, and all their ilk.

The net result of all this is precisely what these anti-India gangs hope to achieve: the aam janata is rapidly (and I mean rapidly) losing its natural restraint based on native decency and kindness, towards anyone remotely associatable with any sort of sympathy towards these terrorists. This is what I find truly sad and alarming.

Why send these brave men to their deaths for nothing? Much easier to do a systematic cleaning. I think Old Delhi, parts of Mumbai and Bangalore, a lot of Hyderabad, and most of the K valley, need such clean sweeps.

To quote the introductory sentence in KPS Gill's book:

Terrorism in the Punjab did not end because the "people got tired" - the people never wanted terrorism. Terrorism ended because we killed the terrorists.

Likewise, I think "respect for places of worship" in India is carried waaaaaay too far. If the mosque community knew their place of worship was being used by terrorists, it was up to them to alert the authorities. There is no "sacrilege" in law-enforcement authorities using a mosque to station snipers to kill terrorists. The Law of the Land and the Constitution apply equally inside a ******* mosque (with all due respect) as inside a public latrine.

If the "community" doesn't like that, I want the area converted to one where there is no structure left, so that the terrorists are denied cover. Aerial bombing or missiles are the way to go. The residents can be "processed" with proper ID through gates set up for them to escape.

This should be standard operating procedure.

You people should be advisors to the Government. If only we had half the brains/will there - to do all that. Just saw Mumbai Meri Jaan, very troubled at the end. It is often forgotten what a great country we are.
But the lack of foreplanning and strategy is unbelievable and unforgivable, as is sending a man on a routine "stroll" in these infested areas. I fear for the future if we continue with these limpheads. I really think only Modi can deliver on terrorism but I hear even BJP will not allow him any role at the centre.

G Subramaniam · Post by **G Subramaniam** » 19 Sep 2008 21:43

narayanan wrote:
Daniel Pipes says that only 15% of muslims are active jihadists
but this 15% is a frighteningly large number

Per the seculars it is only 0.0001%

Ah! Now we can apply the GUESS Predictor-Corrector Algorithm that was so brilliantly validated during the Afghanistan Pakicide Pest-e-Sha'eed of 2001-2002.

This goes to the heart (or musharraf in the case of some people) of the problem.

So let's say that u r a policeman who has to go in and search a house because there is reason to believe that armed, desperate terrorists are hiding there. What is your life expectancy calculation?

If I believe the anti-India lobby, the probability is 99.999% that anyone inside the house is a terrorist sympathizer. So there is no excuse to treat anyone differently from how one would treat, say, a Buddhist.

But let's do the numbers. 150 million Muslims inside India. That's 15E+07. Now so far, I would say that well over 30,000 violent terrorists have been neutralized in J&K alone. Add to that, say, 1000(?) confirmed terrorists involved in attacks in all the Indian cities combined. Say 40,000. The SIMI probably has a membership of about 100,000 (?) of which I would say at least 5000 are sympathizers of, if not actively criminal, terrorists.

Add those up by madarssa math: we get 45E03. Divide by 15E07. I get 3E-04. IOW, 3 out of 10,000, or 0.3% are dangerous terrorists.

So, assuming a uniform distribution all over India, a police officer encountering 3334 Muslims is already living on borrowed time. The laws of probility say that he is cheating Fate.

How do you think he's going to treat the Muslims in the next house where he knocks on the door?
**************

Now let us refine the madarssa math. In Godhra, the population in 2001 was 121,852 Wikipedia violent mob of 4000 participated in the barbecueing of sleeping children in Coach S-6. Assuming that 100% of the terrorist population of Godhra woke up at 6:30am on a winter day and came over to the railway crossing with the gasoline cans, stones, rags etc., that works out to

4000/121852 * 100 which is 3.28267 percent.

So in Muslim-majority areas which are known to be somewhat violence-prone, the police officer's probability of meeting up with a terrorist is once ever 31 Muslims encountered. IOW, if you have already asked 32 people whether they know anything about a few strange Abduls carrying rather heavy-looking umbrellas, he is cheating Fate as he goes up to the 33rd person.

Assuming that there are 15 people in the average Old Delhi Muslim household (Ummah, Uppa, 9 offspring, 3 daughters in law, and TFTA bearded cousin visiting from Lahore), that means that the third house he goes to is a terrorist house, according to the laws of probability.

How many houses did the brave Inspector visit there again? 3? 4? The laws of probability proved their cruel validity. Q.E.D., as much as I hate to see the sheer accuracy of the GUESS Predictor-Corrector demonstrated again.

Indian lawmakers and law enforcement leaders need to look at my madarssa math, and put in a rule that only officers at rank of DIG or higher should be the first ones to go into the 3rd house searched in any such terrorist-supporting area, and that they must be accompanied by the Home Minister when going into the 3rd such house. And that the Home Minister should precede the DIG, given his superior rank. After all, Police should show Propah Respect to the Civilian Elected Netas. And to ensure the fairness of the process, the Home Minister should have an IBN/TOI/HT/The HUNDI papparazzi with them as they knock at the door.

Narayan, let me give you a more frightening number
In 1948, the Nizam had 200,000 razakars out of a total IM population of 2 million
Meaning 80% of able bodied adult IMs were razakars, involved in rioting and terrorism
Our dear chacha pardoned the razakars instead of hanging them

G.S

sum · Post by **sum** » 19 Sep 2008 21:49

There are a number of strict laws that are capable of tackling these crimes and so there is no need of any new law, the committee said.

Im still at a loss to understand as to how a law became equated with a religion?

Somehow, the protests of today have really shaken me up(i still cannot believe that in these terror hit times, people protest when some action against the terrorists is taken

) leaving me very depressed about our future since we host nearly 150mn muslims and certainly, atleast 10%(most conservative) seem to support all the current IM(Indian Mujahideen) activities!!!!

And to believe i was a staunch CBSE educated "secularist"(Kangress definition) of the highest order just a few years back till BR arrived.

Guess our biggest blunder for which we will repent more and more as time goes on was not taking the partition till the logical end once it was started(sad but unavoidable)....

kshirin · Post by **kshirin** » 19 Sep 2008 21:53

sum wrote:
There are a number of strict laws that are capable of tackling these crimes and so there is no need of any new law, the committee said.
Im still at a loss to understand as to how a law became equated with a religion?

Somehow, the protests of today have really shaken me up(i still cannot believe that in these terror hit times, people protest when some action against the terrorists is taken ) leaving me very depressed about our future since we host nearly 150mn muslims and certainly, atleast 10%(most conservative) seem to support all the current IM(Indian Mujahideen) activities!!!!

And to believe i was a staunch CBSE educated "secularist"(Kangress definition) of the highest order just a few years back till BR arrived.

Guess our biggest blunder for which we will repent more and more as time goes on was not taking the partition till the logical end once it was started(sad but unavoidable)....

I sympathise, was in the same mental boat. Now I realise it was all one way, the love and understanding, while they snickered and looked down on us quite openly.

NDTV has this:

Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, who was injured in the encounter in Jamia Nagar early on Friday, has died in a Delhi hospital.

Forty-two-year-old Sharma, who led the police action against the terrorists in Jamia Nagar, received three bullet injuries in his abdomen, thigh and right arm in the gunbattle. He succumbed to his injuries at the Holy Family hospital at 7 pm, doctors attending him said.

"He was bleeding profusely," says Reverend Arthur Thampu, medical director of the Holy Family Hospital.

"We have lost our best man," Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Karnal Singh mourned.

Earlier, Police Commissioner Y S Dadhwal described Mohan Chand as "one of our most brave officers".

In the 10 years since he joined the special cell, Inspector Sharma won six medals. He was involved in some of the police's biggest cases.

He had helped nail the men involved in the attack on Parliament and was credited with helping to kill 35 terrorists. Another 85, who were arrested, were also tracked down by him.

Sharma is survived by 2 children, a son and a daughter. (With PTI inputs)

ChandraS · Post by **ChandraS** » 19 Sep 2008 22:01

Singha wrote:yup N3 you are very right. Fallujah style pacification ops and a brutal kick on anyone
not found 400% obeying instructions in these situations is called for. one squeak of
AoA or "minority harassment" just fall on them and drag them by scruff of neck
for further enquiry.

RIP to the brave man - a victim of the stupid PC approach in tackling terrorists.

a Shmel rocket would have done far better.

N^3, Singha et al - Have you guys seen the movie 'SIEGE'. We need a similar operation in response to present situation. We have enough Bruce Willis types to execute it. No place for bleeding heart liberals and WKKs. Also need more CIK type orgs to 'take care' of the things.

My condolences to the slain inspector's family. May his soul rest in peace.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 19 Sep 2008 22:04

Folks I hardly see any news and info as the thread titel says and a lot of nukkading going on.

Whats the reaction to the raid on the terrorists adda or hideout? Whats the reaction to HM being near scene? was it helpful or not? What is am police saying about such a star police man being killed and looks like without proper gear? It was the abdomen shot that killed him.

sum · Post by **sum** » 19 Sep 2008 22:06

Link

AZAMGARH: Samajwadi Party leader and father of suspected militant Mohammad Saif, who was arrested by Delhi Police after an encounter in the national capital on Friday, claimed his son was innocent and demanded a thorough probe before any punishment is meted out to him.

Shadab Ahmed, vice-president of the SP's district unit, said if found guilty his son should be "shot dead".

"If he is found guilty, I am ready to shoot him dead," Ahmed, who is popular as Mister, told reporters.

Saif, who hails from Sanjarpur village here, had gone to Delhi to pursue a computer course from Jamia Milia Islamia.

Atif, one of the two terrorists killed in the shootout, was also from the same village and had come to the capital to pursue BTech, villagers said.

The terrorists were believed to be of the Indian Mujahideen, the organisation which was involved in the serial blasts in Delhi and other places including Ahmedabad.

Sanjarpur is about seven km away from Binapara, the native village of Abu Bashar, the main suspect of Ahmedabad blast case who was arrested earlier.

The arrested pig turns out to be a SP leader's son!!!!!

And,daddy dear believes he is innocent....Maybe, he had just gone there to watch some patriotic movies and thought that the Ak-47 kept in the flat was a toy gun.

Wonder why is that every such turd killed while police firing etc seems to have been shot while 1.watching the action innocently from his balcony 2.taking milk home without bothering as to ongoing clashes on the street 3.sitting in his home watching tv when evil police barge into his house and shoot him dead while indiscriminately firing 4. same as above except they fire through any open window.5. wrong place at wrong time

kshirin · Post by **kshirin** » 19 Sep 2008 22:07

http://publication.samachar.com/pub_art ... machar.com

No return of POTA, says Dasmunsi
P. Sunderarajan
‘Our laws are much stronger than those of U.S., U.K’

NEW DELHI: Union Information and Broadcasting Minister and Cabinet spokesperson Priyaranjan Dasmunsi on Thursday ruled out any move to bring back the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) or introduce any additional law to combat terror.

“No, No, No. It is a draconian law and against human rights. If the present laws such as the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act are implemented properly, there is no requirement for additional laws,” he said.

“What do you mean by tougher anti-terror laws? Some of our laws are much stronger than those in the U.S. and U.K.,” he said when asked whether the government was planning to bring in an anti-terror law similar to POTA.

He also denied that any issue relating to Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who had come under criticism from some quarters over his handling of internal security, came up for discussion. “Nothing of that sort happened.”

Mr. Dasmunsi was briefing reporters on the deliberations of the special Cabinet meeting on Wednesday night that discussed the the security situation in the wake of the recent terror attacks, including the Saturday serial blasts in Delhi.

The Ministerannounced a series of measures to strengthen the intelligence machinery, including the creation of a wing to analyse the new modus operandi of terrorists.

The Cabinet cleared a proposal to set up a research and technology wing in the Intelligence Bureau (IB), sanction additional manpower for the Bureau and the Delhi Police and steps to install gadgets such as closed circuit televisions and metal detectors in market places.

An additional 6,000 posts had been sanctioned for the IB and the Delhi Police would have 7,612 more posts. Eleven additional police stations have also been cleared for the national capital, Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta said.

The Cabinet also approved a proposal to strengthen the special branches in States and earmark funds for them to acquire and put in place scanners and other security-related equipment.

“The States cannot and will not be left alone to deal with the menace. The Central government would provide them assistance in every way,” Mr. Dasmunsi said.

The Cabinet approved a separate sub-scheme for policing in the metros. For this, the Centre would provide assistance for intelligence monitoring and surveillance.

It would be made mandatory for major market places, shopping malls, multiplexes and hotels to have “minimum, necessary benchmark security systems” to provide adequate security in areas where large number of people congregated.

On the issue of setting up of a federal agency to deal with terror-related cases, Mr. Gupta said a group of senior officers has been set up in the Home Ministry to examine a gamut of issues, including the recommendations of the second Administrative Reforms Commission, in this regard.

kshirin · Post by **kshirin** » 19 Sep 2008 22:11

Really they are asking to be sacked by the people's verdict, any more news reports like these...

http://publication.samachar.com/pub_art ... machar.com

Cabinet divide on tighter terror law
- Ministers see Pota ghost in ‘tough’ amendment proposal
RADHIKA RAMASESHAN
New Delhi, Sept. 18: Some cabinet ministers, led by Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, appear to have virtually stonewalled Manmohan Singh’s moves to beef up anti-terror laws.

“The present law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, is stronger than the laws in the US and the UK, if applied properly. What do you mean by tougher anti-terror laws?” information and broadcasting minister Das Munshi said today, after the cabinet last night discussed such changes. Another minister echoed Das Munshi’s line to blunt the BJP’s accusation that the Centre and the Congress were “soft” on terror. Sources said the majority view at the meeting, called to review the Delhi blasts and its aftermath, was that there was no need to “sneak in” a version of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota) by amending existing laws.

Muslims, they said, remember the act as a “bad dream” and in the run-up to the elections, any suggestion of reviving it would be “suicidal”.

Congress ministers rejected NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s suggestion to hasten presidential assent to the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Act. “We can’t clear such laws. We went to the elections promising Pota’s repeal. We fulfilled it. Now we can’t bring back Pota and hand it on a platter to Narendra Modi,” a source quoted a minister as saying.

The UPA has been sitting on the Gujarat law, prompting chief minister Narendra Modi to accuse the Centre after the Ahmedabad blasts of scuppering his anti-terror measures. Another minister pointed out that the Congress had allowed the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act to continue, but was told the NDA government had facilitated its passage. It was explained that the Centre couldn’t ask the Maharashtra Assembly to repeal the law and even if the Congress wanted it abolished, it couldn’t as the NCP, with whom the party shares power, was said to favour such a “tough” law.

No new step to fight terror was finalised at the meeting, called at the initiative of home minister Shivraj Patil, who has been under fire for failure to prevent strikes.

The confusion in the Congress on stronger anti-terror laws also came through in the way some leaders reacted to the Prime Minister’s remarks at a governors’ conference yesterday. Singh had said the Centre was “actively considering legislation to further strengthen the substantive anti-terrorism law in line with the global consensus” to fight terrorism. But the phrase “global consensus”, some party leaders felt, risked being associated with George W. Bush’s “cowboy” brand of politics against “Islamic terrorism” after 9/11. National security adviser M.K. Narayanan briefed the ministers on “home-grown terrorism”, as distinct from “cross-border terrorism”, and claimed some local militants owed “allegiance” to the Taliban and al Qaida. Singh called for caution in dealing with local terror operatives, saying there should be no attempt to tar any community. “The perspective should begin and end with the offender,” he was quoted as saying.

enqyoob · Post by **enqyoob** » 19 Sep 2008 22:12

Chalta Hai!

A certain portion of footage, timed at 6:25 - seven minutes before the blasts - shows a person clad in white with a carry-bag in his hand.

Police suspect this man planted the bomb. However, while the CCTV installed at GK managed to capture the crucial footage, investigating agencies reportedly drew a blank trying to get footage off the other blast sites.

The cameras installed at all the other blast sites were reportedly dysfunctional and therefore could not capture anything.

How CCTVs help

CCTV cameras are among the most vital devices to monitor activity in a public place.

But most of these cameras in the Capital are not operational and many of them are in a poor condition.

In the commercial hub of Karol Bagh, only five of the 28 CCTV cameras installed function. Those that function, do not give a 360 degree view , thereby defeating the purpose.

kshirin · Post by **kshirin** » 19 Sep 2008 22:14

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/I_kn ... 500272.cms

I knew about Delhi blasts: Ahmedabad blasts' suspect19 Sep 2008, 0300 hrs IST, Rahul Tripathi ,TNN
NEW DELHI: Ahmedabad blasts prime suspect Mufti Abu Bashir, who was brought to Delhi on Thursday in connection with Saturday's serial blasts, allegedly told his interrogators that he knew serial blasts were being planned in Delhi but claimed he was not aware of their timing. The blasts killed 25 people and left over 100 injured on Saturday.

According to police sources, Bashir on Thursday also told his interrogators that more back-to-back attacks on Delhi had been planned. However, no further details have emerged yet.

Bashir, who was being interrogated at length, told cops he was aware of a module working in Delhi to carry out the explosions and that the planning was in an advanced stage but the date and timings were not fixed. He also told cops that the Delhi blasts were planned by Qayamuddin and Abdul Razzik along with Abdus Subhan, who roped in more people to carry out the blasts.

Bashir also told Delhi Police that the blasts carried out by Indian Mujahideen (IM) in different parts of India were justified. ''His interrogation has revealed that he visited Delhi five times between November last year and July this year and met several people, including former SIMI members and sympathisers. He was later taken to identify the places he visited," the source added.

Later, based on Bashir's interrogation, two men - an assistant general manager with a private bank in south Delhi and a PhD scholar from Jamia Millia Islamia University - were detained by the special cell of Delhi police for questioning but later released. Both are residents of Abul Fazal Enclave in Okhla where Bashir stayed during his visit to Delhi before the Ahmedabad blasts.

''Bashir also told us that more back-to-back terror attacks were planned in the Capital but he has not revealed details about those behind the execution of the blasts,'' said a source.

Bashir, a madrassa teacher from Azamgarh, was brought to the Capital by a chartered plane from Ahmedabad on Thursday morning by the crime branch of Ahmedabad police and later taken to an undisclosed location where sleuths from IB and special cell grilled him for nearly 12 hours.

Intelligence officials suspect that Bashir, believed to be a close ally of Abdus Subhan Qureshi alias Tauqueer, has more information about the Delhi serial blasts but is holding back vital information about the module. DCP (crime), Ahmedabad Police, Abhay Chudasama told TOI, ''Bashir has been taken to Delhi in connection with the investigations of Ahmedabad blasts. We need to verify his movements and contacts in Delhi."

Bashir had earlier told Ahmedabad Police that he stayed in Delhi on July 24, 25 and 26, confirming earlier reports that he had stayed at different places in Delhi between July 24 and 27. He also revealed that one of his close accomplices, Danish, also stayed with his brother Abu Zar, a parking attendant at Abul Fazal Enclave in Old Delhi.

Two others - NGO worker Abdur Rashid Agwan and Adnan - were also picked up later but released soon after. The two were picked up after the cops found an entry in Bashir's diary mentioning Abdul Rashid Agwan's name.

Agwan, who had been questioned at length earlier, has denied any knowledge of Bashir but cops said that the two would now be jointly questioned. Bashir's questioning is expected to continue on Friday, said an official.

After Bashir's interrogation, the cops might seek remand of Safdor Nagori, arrested by MP police in Indore in March this year. Nagori is also wanted in connection with a case of unlawful activities registered against banned students outfit (SIMI) in 2001

G Subramaniam · Post by **G Subramaniam** » 19 Sep 2008 22:25

sum wrote:
There are a number of strict laws that are capable of tackling these crimes and so there is no need of any new law, the committee said.
Im still at a loss to understand as to how a law became equated with a religion?

Somehow, the protests of today have really shaken me up(i still cannot believe that in these terror hit times, people protest when some action against the terrorists is taken ) leaving me very depressed about our future since we host nearly 150mn muslims and certainly, atleast 10%(most conservative) seem to support all the current IM(Indian Mujahideen) activities!!!!

And to believe i was a staunch CBSE educated "secularist"(Kangress definition) of the highest order just a few years back till BR arrived.

Guess our biggest blunder for which we will repent more and more as time goes on was not taking the partition till the logical end once it was started(sad but unavoidable)....

A hindutva fanatic is a congressi secularist before he feels islamic 'love'
Agnisekhar of Panun Kashmir, was a congressi secularist until his secular neighbors ethnic cleansed him in 1990
Even Hegdewar was a congressi khilafat supporter in 1919, until he got disillusioned by the moplah riots
Swami Shradananda was also a khilafat supporter in 1919 and even read the khutba from Delhi
Jumma Masjid, before he got disillusioned by the moplah riots

IMHO, the answer is strict law enforcement, a-la singapore
Consider, the cops go to arrest a jihadist, the IM soft jihadists start a riot - the cops shoot the rioters ( in the legs ) and remove them from the rioter pool
Repeat n times, and future jihadists will be discouraged

sanjaychoudhry · Post by **sanjaychoudhry** » 19 Sep 2008 22:25

Whats the reaction to the raid on the terrorists adda or hideout? Whats the reaction to HM being near scene?

I live a stone's throw away from Jamia Nagar and was roaming the area a couple of days back. But haven't been there today. It is a warren of tall but thin buildings with narrow streets -- typical Muslim ghetto. But the area has a substantial population of Hindus too. May go there tomorrow to see the terrorist house and the mosque.

Arun_S · Post by **Arun_S** » 19 Sep 2008 22:28

Clicky

Delhi encounter: Inspector Sharma succumbs to injuries

Received 4 bullet wounds.

For 4 years my work place was at NFC (New Friends Colony opposite Surya Sofital).

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 19 Sep 2008 23:30

What is Swapan Dasgupta saying here?

Dandy in Action

A DANDY IN ACTION
- The UPA had believed that Islamism was not India’s problem
Swapan Dasgupta

The worst thing that happened to the Manmohan Singh government in the past seven days was not the serial blasts in the national capital. Far more devastating than the momentary panic that gripped Lutyens’ Delhi last Saturday evening was the wave of derision that greeted the home minister, Shivraj Patil, the man in charge of internal security.

It is one thing for a minister to be attacked for incompetence and ineffectiveness but it stretches the bounds of political endurance to be mocked and ridiculed in a time of national crisis. Jawaharlal Nehru’s favourite ideologue, the irascible V.K. Krishna Menon, had to confront this in the aftermath of the 1962 debacle. He could never recover from the taunt of facilitating the manufacture of coffee percolators in the ordnance factories. As a matter of fact, neither could Nehru. The disastrous Sino-Indian war broke him emotionally and damaged his government’s credibility irreparably. The Congress had to encash every last paisa of the Independence dividend to remain afloat politically.

The depiction of the home minister as an incorrigible dandy, more interested in his personal appearance than the security of citizens, may well be a caricature. However, black humour has often captured the public mood more succinctly than fiery denunciations on television talk shows, not least because it corresponds to perceived reality. Patil may have made only a nominal contribution to the United Progressive Alliance government’s decision in 2004 to scrap existing anti-terror legislation and focus on the “roots of terror”. It was a political decision that stemmed from the belief that Islamism was not an Indian problem and that the socio-economic betterment of minorities through covert affirmative action would firewall India against a global menace. At the time the UPA assumed power, India’s liberal establishment believed — and not entirely without justification — that the spectacular terrorist attacks during the National Democratic Alliance’s tenure were the handiwork of imported mujahedin from Pakistan, with only a sprinkling of local involvement. The priority, therefore, was to apply international pressure on Pakistan to call off its dogs and give local Muslims a symbolic sop by scrapping the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

The problem with this seemingly electorally-savvy approach was not that it was inherently flawed but that a policy option became an article of faith. As the Bharatiya Janata Party stepped up the pressure to resurrect Pota — as if this was the magic weapon against terrorism — the Congress and its allies dug in their heels deeper. The face-off may well have helped the government consolidate its support among the Muslim communities had ground realities not changed dramatically.

The belief that the roots of terror were grounded in material deprivation and not ideological subversion led to an overall laxity in policing. Whereas under the NDA, the thrust of counter-terrorism was the detection and elimination of the so-called Inter-Services Intelligence “sleeper cells”, the UPA shifted the focus to political intelligence gathering. This became the core competence of the intelligence agencies. During the trust vote in July, for example, the sleuths did a thoroughly professional job identifying the vulnerabilities of Opposition members of parliament.

The erosion of an intelligence network geared to counter-terrorism led to a commensurate fall in the quantum of “actionable” intelligence. The interrogation of some of the suspects in the Ahmedabad blasts case produced the information that a terrorist strike in Delhi was imminent and that a reconnaissance of potential targets had already been conducted. The information was promptly passed on by the chief minister, Narendra Modi, to the prime minister and the national security adviser. Of course, the interrogations didn’t reveal the date, time and exact location of the blasts but the job of the police is to convert raw intelligence into actionable intelligence. The Central agencies neither bothered to rush to Ahmedabad to question the suspects, nor did they alert the policing network in Delhi and the neighbouring states. Arguably, the Delhi blasts may not have been averted but it was the indifference to raw intelligence that testifies to the rot in internal security — a shortcoming the prime minister has now admitted.

Some of the callousness may stem from indifference, but most of it has its origins in the partisan perception of internal security. Till it was apparent that the Delhi blasts had been carried out by the same group responsible for the bombings in Ahmedabad and Jaipur, it had become customary for the Centre to run down the threats in states run by the BJP and its allies. In 2004, political abuse was showered on the Modi government for the killing of Ishrat Jehan, a student of Mumbai’s Khalsa College. A shrill campaign was mounted suggesting that this was a cold-blooded murder of an innocent Muslim girl. The abuse ended abruptly after the Lashkar-e-Toiba website owned up to Ishrat Jehan being one its martyrs.

It was this same mindset that was in evidence at the Union cabinet meeting after the Ahmedabad blasts. One of the more flamboyant ministers with literary pretensions asserted that the blasts had been masterminded by Modi himself to whip up communal frenzy. At least two important leaders of smaller parties holding important portfolios agreed. Subsequently, after the Gujarat police arrested a large number of suspects and identified the command structure of the infamous Indian Mujahideen, a veritable who’s who of Uttar Pradesh politics travelled to Azamgarh to commiserate with the father of one of the alleged masterminds of the conspiracy. Last Wednesday, Muslim leaders in Mumbai organized a provocative press conference where it was aggressively asserted that Abdul Subhan Qureishi alias Tauqeer, suspected to be the group’s main bomb-maker, was innocent. An understandably distraught mother was brought before TV cameras to say that her son should not be condemned before he is found guilty. The hunt for Tauqeer was painted as a Modi-BJP conspiracy to harass innocent Muslims. The irony is that the more the secular establishment protests and gets into denial mode, the more brownie points Modi earns from Middle India.

The growing perception that the UPA government is both wary and afraid of confronting the terrorists has complicated matters for the Congress. As elections approach and the bombings persist, the fatalistic acceptance of civilian casualties may no longer be the natural response of India. Yet, if Middle India retaliates electorally, can the UPA be certain of consolidating the margins?

In a provocative contribution to the “identity” debate, a Muslim writer has suggested that the Congress’s bid to retain the minority vote is an exercise in futility. He has argued that an emerging alliance of Muslims, Christians, Dalits and Naxalites will shape the electoral outcome in 200 parliamentary seats — to the detriment of the national parties. The implications of India being confronted by a pincer offensive of terrorism and sectarian blackmail are ominous.

The Congress has reason to be concerned at the prospect of being squeezed between a bellicose Moditva and a vengeful minorityism that may rally behind Mayavati. The Gujarat chief minister has already become a national icon for those Indians who want aggressive modernization to be complemented by a robust, no-nonsense administration. He could emerge as India’s Vladimir Putin. Against this, the meekness of Manmohan Singh may be at a very serious disadvantage. Fortunately for the Congress, Modi is not fighting this election; he is at best a mascot. The Congress is toying with the option of going into battle wearing the BJP’s headgear, if not its clothes. Will this accretion be more reassuring to Middle India? Or, has the image of an ineffective dandy become too deeply ingrained?

is the Telegraph creating space between itself and the INC?

GuruNandan · Post by **GuruNandan** » 19 Sep 2008 23:46

WebMasters/Admins, I meant to post couple of videos showing the response of the local muslims to the encounter. I ended up creating a new post titled "Muslims' Love for Congress".
I didn't mean to. Sorry.

But here are the videos

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl= ... a=N&tab=wv#

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl= ... a=N&tab=wv#

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 19 Sep 2008 23:49

as you know Telegraph always has its ears close to the ground on national security and intel matters.

G Subramaniam · Post by **G Subramaniam** » 20 Sep 2008 00:51

dailypioneer

Op BAD was for BADLA

Karn Pratap Singh | New Delhi

After Bangalore, Ahmedabad & Delhi, Lucknow and Amritsar could be on hit list

It was not 'BAD', but 'BADLA' -- the name of the virulent and macabre operation undertaken by the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) activists across India. Apart from only Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi - as suspected earlier -- the full acronym also includes Lucknow and Amritsar.

Well-placed sources in security agencies have told The Pioneer that Ahmedabad blasts accused Abu Basher, who is currently in police custody, revealed to the sleuths that the entire operation was code-named BADLA.

Delhi Police's intelligence sources have got inputs that the next targets of the Indian Mujahideen bombers could be Lucknow or Ludhiana and then Amritsar.
---

If they hit Ludhiana or Amritsar, TSP needs to keep its doors open for 150,000 muslims of Malerkotla ( in Indian Punjab )
It is one thing to bomb gandhian kafir hindus
Another thing to bomb the sikhs

G Subramaniam · Post by **G Subramaniam** » 20 Sep 2008 00:58

Dailypioneer

Ashok Malik

( nothing to do with babri, godhra etc
All done by educated muslims, not madrasa graduates
If this goes on any longer, just as hindus are refusing to rent to muslims, they will stop hiring muslim techies )
--
Shariq is still behind bars. In the absence of an appropriate anti-terror law, he is being detained under the provisions of the Information Technology Act. The IT Act has some stringent, even draconian provisions. When it was legislated in 2000, there were concerns that it would be used to harass cyber-café clients. However, India has innovated -- it must be the only country in the world fighting terrorism with an IT Act.

Shariq's story is instructive. It tells us that, far from the stereotypes we may have formed, the terrorist India is fighting is often educated, intelligent and not propelled by economic and political grievances but by a perverse interpretation of his faith. It also points out how, in numerous unseen forms, the lack of an effective anti-terror law has crippled the police.

Shariq's level of indoctrination is frightening though not unique. Increasingly, Indian Mujahideen modules being uncovered are found manned by middle-class youth, some of them engineers and techies. Terrorism psychologists have long argued that such people can make the most ruthless terrorists, if they are convinced of the rightness of their cause. They are trained to think methodically and mechanically, and see open acts of violence -- rather than subtle subversion, for instance -- as the best method of 'vengeance'.

This makes the Indian Mujahideen less 'political' and less amenable to settlement on the basis of meeting identifiable goals. This is not the Mizo National Front, which will stop fighting if offered an honourable peace in a Mizo-majority State. It is not even the Khalistan Commando Force, the agenda of which was limited to Punjab's 'independence'.

For the Indian Mujahideen, on the other hand, violence is an end in itself. In its 13-page letter announcing the Delhi blasts of September 13, 2008, it makes only one specific demand: "Here we announce our ultimatum: Vacate the land of Babri as soon as you can." However, it also promises to "carry on the struggle and fight against the Kufr (disbelief) till our last breath"; and chillingly announces that "the dust will never settle down".

Like Al Qaeda, which wants the Islamic re-conquest of Spain, the stated aims of the Indian Mujahideen are messianic. The interrogation of Safdar Nagori provides a clue. Arrested in February 2008, the general secretary of the Students Islamic Movement of India said he was working for the revival of the Caliphate. He joked with police officers that they would one day have to send leave applications to Istanbul.

More substantively, Nagori believed state power in India had been snatched from Muslims by the British and surreptitiously handed over to Hindus in 1947. Indian Mujahideen/SIMI wanted to redress this. The strategy was to shake public and institutional confidence through repeated acts of violence. "By 2020, Nagori felt," recalls a police officer, "terrorism would have caused so much destruction that there would be anarchy in India, and the Indian state would be vulnerable."

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 20 Sep 2008 01:05

So that Bengluru banda who got burnt up in Glasgow and Dr. Hanif's cousin could be part of this techi SIMIans?

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 20 Sep 2008 01:14

Giving modern, scientific education to Isalmists is kin to teaching monkeys how to light the fire . Education just make them efficient terrorist killers. The sad truth is Mulsims cannot be mainstream or get integrated in any non Muslim society and unforunatlely India will keep suffering from this curse for long time.

sanjaychoudhry · Post by **sanjaychoudhry** » 20 Sep 2008 01:15

More substantively, Nagori believed state power in India had been snatched from Muslims by the British and surreptitiously handed over to Hindus in 1947. Indian Mujahideen/SIMI wanted to redress this.

This is a common myth held by Muslims. But the reality is that the Hindus had captured India from the Mughals after the death of Aurangzeb.

Since 1760 or so, the Mughal emperors till the arrival of the British to Delhi in 1802 were recieving pension from the Marathas. The battle for the control of Delhi was fought not between the Muslims and the British, but between the British and the Marathas in 1802 on the banks of the river Yamuna. It is called the Battle of Patparganj (also called as Battle of Delhi). The memorial for this battle erected by the British still exists inside the Noida Golf Course.

"state power in India had been snatched from Muslims by the British and surreptitiously handed over to Hindus in 1947" is a lie of Muslims on the lines of "9/11 was planned by the Jews." The Muslim propagandists live in a make-believe world and are experts at pretending that other people's land somehow belongs to them. They still lay claim to Jerusalem because of the "fact" that Mohammad visited jerusalem in the course of one night from Arabia by sitting on Al Baraq, a giant white horse with great wings, the face and breasts of a woman and the tail of a peacock.

Now, do you think these chillum-smoking Nagoris and their ilk will be swayed by the arguments that India belonged to the Hindus before it was snatched by force from them by the Muslims, and that Hindus had regained control of most of India and captured the Mughal emperor by mid-18th century. These people live in cuckoo-land and they only understand the language of force. Otherwise, they will keep laying claim to our homes and hearth and trying to push us all into the Indian Ocean.

sanjaychoudhry · Post by **sanjaychoudhry** » 20 Sep 2008 01:18

The sad truth is Mulsims cannot be mainstream or get integrated in any non Muslim society and unforunatlely India will keep suffering from this curse for long time.

Somebody should have given this basic wisdom to Gandhi and told him to have three monkeys with their eyes, ears and mouths open instead of closed.

satya · Post by **satya** » 20 Sep 2008 01:23

HM couldnt hide his smile and apparent relief when he faced media regarding today's DP's operation in S.delhi. Media is playing to Congress tune and trying to show it to immediate danda by Rajmata via HM on security agencies to bring instant success . Already talks of main suspect being killed / major success is on local media. All BS.

As per non-filtered info. it was a tip off tht led to special cell Inspt. Sharma and his team to check out the adress and were taken by surprise since only Inspt. Sharma and a Head Constable went in so as not to raise the alarm and were over powered by armed terrorists ( Inspt. Sharma and his team didnt know exactly how many are there inside and if they are armed at all ) . Two theories circulating regarding this group of terrorists ,either they belonged to HuJI or they were the 2nd team preparing for another series of blasts in NCR but none of the theories are connecting them to delhi blasts .

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 20 Sep 2008 01:30

Sanjay Ji, you've mentioned correctly this Mughal bullcrap thats fed in based on zero historical fact. Marathas and Sikhs for example retained a large part of India throughout. When Ahmed Shah Abdali fought with the Marathas late 18th century where were the Mughals? Marathas did face defeat then, Suraj Maal did not help him and stayed put in Bharatpur. Seems Marathas were fighting too much the Dharmic way, Suraj wanted them to change tack and tactics. They did'nt agree. That cost Marathas dear. It's the Mughals who tamely handed their part of India to the Brits, Sikhs and Marathas kept fighting till much later.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 20 Sep 2008 01:32

Delhi mourns death of gallant cop M C Sharma
20 Sep 2008, 0000 hrs IST,TNN

DELHI: At a time when most fathers would have stayed beside their sick son's hospital bed, tend to his blood transfusion and ensure that the dengue died down, Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma rushed to Jamia Nagar from the hospital to raid a house where terrorists were holed up. He hadn't gone home for three days, rushing from office to hospital and back and his wife expected him to return on Friday evening finally. But home they brought the warrior dead.

Sharma (42) was undoubtedly Delhi Police's top shot terror fighter, after ACP Rajbir Singh had been murdered a few months back. But he was no gunslinger. His forte was his technical expertise and his surveillance prowess was unmatched in the force.

Winner of seven gallantry awards, including the President's gallantry medal and 150 police rewards, Sharma, who moved with extra protection, was credited with the killing of 35 terrorists and the arrest of 80 others. ''We have lost our best man,'' said Joint commissioner (special cell) Karnal Singh, his boss.

There was no big operation in the cell which could be executed without Sharma and he delivered. Some of the cases he will be remembered for include the Parliament attack, Red Fort shootout and Diwali serial blasts. Sharma was instrumental in arrest of four Jaish-e-Mohammad militants in February last year after an encounter at DDU Marg. He was also involved in an encounter which saw the death of one of the most wanted terrorists, Abu Hamza, at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in 2006 after the Diwali blasts.

On Friday morning, when he went into the L-18 house, Sharma was not wearing a bullet-proof jacket. His colleagues said he had joined the team straight from a Dwarka hospital where his younger son is battling dengue.

His two sons are studying in class VIII and IX and a friend recalled that the cop, who was in line for a promotion to ACP, wanted a change of job as he was looking forward to spending time with his family. ''He wanted to teach his children and concentrate on their careers as they were growing,'' recalled a friend.

Sharma had, in fact, sought leave to attend to his son, but then came the Delhi blasts and he was back with his hand on the holster. He was made the Investigating Officer in the case.

There was a time when Sharma and Rajbir were inseparable. Together, they struck fear in the hearts of all anti-social elements. They were looked upon as trigger-happy cops who would not refrain from shooting if criminals crossed their paths.

Like all encounter cops, Sharma's career too was not shorn of controversies. Sharma often cribbed that his onetime boss, best friend and mentor Rajbir Singh alone got all the credit for their operations, but death perhaps has restored the balance.

Sharma was often called called Delhi's encounter cop number 2, after Rajbir. But after Rajbir's marginalisation and subsequent death, Sharma was the mainstay of Delhi Police's fight against terrorism. But some say the two had fallen out. When Rajbir was transferred out of the special cell, many believed that special cell would no longer be the same, but Sharma worked overtime to prove this wrong.

Even some of his senior officers grudged the confidence he enjoyed with the chief of special cell. Sharma joined Delhi Police in 1989 and, 6 years later, got an out-of-turn promotion to become inspector. Sharma, however, came into his own after being transferred to the special cell in 1998.

Opposition leader L K Advani, who visited Holy Family Hospital, where Sharma died, said the latest incident had again proved that the present government was not sensitive enough to ensure security for the common man. ''How many more sacrifices are still needed?'' he said, demanding that now ''at least'' punishment be meted out to the guilty, Mohammed Afzal, in the Parliament attack case.

enqyoob · Post by **enqyoob** » 20 Sep 2008 01:37

What I want to know is why these students are getting into this. My take is that there is no truly deterrent public punishment. I am sure that it is no fun to get arrested and "debriefed", but it appears that these fools don't understand what is involved there.

How many times have we heard of a terrorist actually executed in India? "Encounter" pest-e-shaeeds don't count.

The message has to sink in, unambiguously - u do the crime, u do the time and u hang. Ur tongue hangs out and ur eyes bulge out and the sphincters relax, so u go out stinking and in horror, nothing herrowic about it. Nothing painless or swift about it, the rope takes forever to tighten and crush the windpipe, and the brain takes forever to stop feeling the pain and horror.

Only some public executions, with absolute certainty and inevitability, will get the message across.

fanne · Post by **fanne** » 20 Sep 2008 01:40

Singha sir, its too late in Desh. Go to bed, not good for health. BR these days is not doing anything good for my health either.
Thanks
fanne

gandharva · Post by **gandharva** » 20 Sep 2008 01:41

This is a common myth held by Muslims. But the reality is that the Hindus had captured India from the Mughals after the death of Aurangzeb.

THE MYTH OF MUSLIM EMPIRE IN INDIA

Reviewed as a whole, the period between the last decade of the 12th century and the first quarter of the 18th - the period which is supposed to be the period of Muslim empire in India - is nothing more than a period of long-drawn-out war between Hindu freedom fighters and the Muslim invaders. The Hindus lost many battles, and retreated again and again. But they recovered every time, and resumed the struggle so that eventually the enemy was worn out, defeated, and dispersed in the final round which started with the rise of Shivaji.

As we read the history of medieval India we find that only a few Hindu princes made an abject surrender before the proved superiority of Muslim arms. Muslim historians cite innumerable instances of how Hindus burnt or killed their womenfolk, and then died fighting to the last man. There were many instances of Muslims being defeated decisively by Hindu heroism. Many of the so-called Muslim conquests were mere raids which succeeded initially but the impact of which did not last for long. The account which Assam, Rajasthan, Bundelkhand, Orissa, Telingana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and the Punjab gave of themselves in successive waves of resistance and recovery, has not many parallels in human history.

It is, therefore, a travesty of truth to say that Islam enjoyed an empire in India for six centuries. What happened really was that Islam struggled for six centuries to conquer India for good, but failed in the final round in the face of stiff and continued Hindu resistance. Hali was not at all wrong when he mourned that the invincible armada of Hijaz which had swept over so many seas and rivers met its watery grave in the Ganges. Iqbal also wrote his Shikwah in sorrowful remembrance of the same failure. In fact, there is no dearth of Muslim poets and politicians who weep over the defeat of Islam in India in the past, and who look forward to a reconquest of India in the future. Hindus have survived as a majority in their motherland not because Islam spared any effort to conquer and convert them but because Islamic brutality met more than its equal in Hindu tenacity for freedom.

Nor is it anywhere near the truth to say that the British empire in India replaced an earlier Muslim empire. The effective political power in India had already passed into the hands of the Marathas, the Jats, and the Sikhs when the British started playing their imperialist game. The Muslim principalities in Bengal, Avadh, South India, Sindh, and the Punjab were no match for the Hindu might that had resurged. The Mughal emperor at Delhi by that time presented a pitiful picture of utter helplessness. The custodians of Islam in India were repeatedly inviting Ahmad Shah Abdali from across the border to come and rescue Islam from the abyss into which it had fallen.
http://voiceofdharma.org/books/siii/ch8.htm

enqyoob · Post by **enqyoob** » 20 Sep 2008 01:53

Gandharva:
Whether the Grand Ayatollah owned India or not, is really of zero relevance. Who gives a flip what these morons "think"? What is clear is that these f****** terrorists are just anti-humans, and must be hunted down and killed without mercy. They and all their friggin' supporters.

I think the SP Minister should be arrested. Can you imagine a guy like THAT having access to sensitive information as a State Cabinet Minister? So it's not his fault that his brat is a terrorist? yeah? Is it the fault of the children who were blown up?

He should pay. No compunction needed.

saip · Post by **saip** » 20 Sep 2008 02:14

Coincidentally, in NOV I will be visiting Bombay, Delhi, Bangalore, Jaipur and Agra. I hope the last 'A' in BADLA doesnot stand for AGRA.

I may also visit our friendly neighbor but that is not definite.

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 20 Sep 2008 02:21

His two sons are studying in class VIII and IX and a friend recalled that the cop, who was in line for a promotion to ACP, wanted a change of job as he was looking forward to spending time with his family. ''He wanted to teach his children and concentrate on their careers as they were growing,'' recalled a friend.

Those two kids suffer so that other kids around the world do not suffer like them.

ManishC · Post by **ManishC** » 20 Sep 2008 02:22

A in BADLA got to stand for Azamgarh. Spontaneous vaccum bulb explosions in that crummy place. Now that would be very appropriate for these As***oles

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 20 Sep 2008 02:24

Need more details. Who were the dead ones? The fact they fired on police shows they were not innocent abduls.

What about this Saif guy? What else is known about him?

added later...

Delhi avenges bloody Saturday

Sumit Saxena | New Delhi

Serial blasts 'mastermind', accomplice shot in daylight encounter in Jamia Nagar; one nabbed, two escape

The Delhi Police on Friday finally got an order from the Centre to crack down on subversive forces, leading to a swift operation by the Special Cell in Batla House, Jamia Nagar, which resulted in the killing of the alleged mastermind of last Saturday's serial blasts in the city.

An operative of the Indian Mujahideen, Atiq alias Bashir -- the mastermind of the Delhi serial blasts - and his associate Sajed were gunned down in an encounter at 11 am at their rented accommodation in Batla House. While two terrorists managed to escape, another was arrested. Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil was reportedly present during the entire operation and monitored the situation from Delhi Police Headquarters, where he had gone to attend an official function.

On the other hand, police lost one of its encounter specialists, Mohan Chand Sharma, the winner of President's Gallantry and other bravery awards, after he took four bullets in the encounter and succumbed to injuries at a hospital in the evening.

At 10 am, columns of Special Cell, Delhi Police and NSG personnel cordoned off Batla House. The personnel halted civilian movement in Block L and ordered the residents to stay indoors. Police said that during ongoing investigation, information was developed about the presence of terrorists in the area. But their exact location could be confirmed only early on Friday.

"Sharma asked the men in the house to produce identification documents, but the terrorists opened fire. We neutralised two terrorists, and arrested one. Eight rounds of bullets were fired by the terrorists and the police fired 22 rounds. The encounter lasted over 90 minutes. The other two suspected terrorists might have fled after bullets were fired," said a police officer.

Bashir is reportedly an associate of Tauqeer Bilal, the techie who is alleged to have masterminded the entire BADLA operation.

Delhi Police commissioner YS Dadwal said Atiq alias Bashir, the Delhi blasts' mastermind, and his associate Sajed were gunned down in an encounter at 11 am at their rented accommodation.

Bashir was responsible for manufacturing explosive devices used in Ahmedabad. He had gone to Gujarat on August 24 and returned on August 27 with more than 12 IM operatives. Bashir had also gone to Jaipur on July 13.

The arrested 'terrorist' has been identified as Shaif. All the three hailed from Azamgarh, UP. The police have recovered an AK-47 assault rifle and two pistols of .30 bore from the terrorists.

The rule should be no raids without BP jackets for all the personnel invovled. Its not just bravery but about live and let die as James Bond said.

I dont know why they call this an enounter when it was clearly a police raid on suspects. Encounter has a different connotation. And Insp Sharma was gunned down while he was asking for papers and not like he had his gun drawn. So there is bad reporting going on.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 20 Sep 2008 02:56

One more from TOI. Looks like no chance of wearing BPJs.

Shootout at Jamia Nagar; 2 terrorists killed
20 Sep 2008, 0000 hrs IST, Rahul Tripathi ,TNN

NEW DELHI: It lasted barely half an hour, and a total of 33 shots - 25 by the cops, eight by terrorists - were exchanged. But the reverberations of the battle of Batla House will be felt far and wide, for many days. After a fierce shoot-out in Jamia Nagar area, Delhi Police killed two terrorists, including key SIMI operative Bashir alias Atiq, who allegedly played a crucial role in September 13 Delhi blasts. But it also lost a gallant officer, Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma of the special cell.

Inspector Sharma, who boldly led the 11 am operation in mufti, fell victim to terrorist bullets. Shot thrice, once in the stomach, the 42-year-old cop was rushed to the Holy Family Hospital in critical condition and breathed his last on Friday evening. Head constable Balwant Singh, who was also injured in the battle with the terrorists who were armed with an AK-47 and two pistols, is out of danger.

The other terrorist who was killed has been identified as Mohammad Sajid. Cops also arrested Mohammad Saif, a resident of Azamgarh, from the flat that the group had rented posing as students, while two others managed to flee.

Later in the day, one more person was picked up for questioning from Jhandewalan. He has been identified as Zeeshan, and is said to be a room partner of Atiq.

The death of Inspector Sharma cast a pall over the celebrations among cops and intelligence agencies over the shooting of Bashir. An Azamgarh resident like Sajid and Saif, Bashir was also involved in the July 26 blasts in Ahmedabad.

The special cell squad barged into the fourth floor of house no. L-18, within the Batla House area of Jamia Nagar, following credible inputs about the presence of a person whose physical appearance tallied with that of a senior SIMI operative repeatedly mentioned by those held for the Ahmedabad blasts. A special cell team, helped by inputs from the Intelligence Bureau and Gujarat and Maharashtra police 'developed' the information and after confirming the presence of suspects reached the house near Khaliullah Mosque to pick them up.

The raiding team did not expect to come under heavy and accurate fire. Though trained to use firearms, SIMI/Indian Mujahideen members are not known for engaging police in gun battles, preferring to act by stealth and use "bomb-and-scoot' methods.

Leading from the front, Sharma entered the building dressed in a kurta-pyajama and inquired about the "tenants", when the cops suddenly came under fire from behind a door in the flat. The unit had two doors, one of which was locked from inside. As Sharma rushed to the second door which was ajar, he was shot by the terrorists.

Various police teams rushed inside and took part in the encounter. An NSG commando team also moved in to support the Delhi Police team and soon the two terrorists were gunned down while another was arrested. Despite the police cordon, two of the terrorists managed to escape. It was not clear by which route these terrorists were able to make their getaway in the melee.

A significant cache of arms, including an AK-47, pistols, six mobile phones and several SIM cards along with two laptops were seized from the three-bedroom flat. The material in the laptops might give the police more information on the IM network as Atiq was very much part of the core group which also includes SIMI general secretary Safdar Nagori and others held at Indore in March.

After the firing stopped, large number of people thronged the narrow lanes of the area and shouted religious slogans. "We are all against terrorism, then why were our religious places targeted?" asked a resident.

Addressing the media, police chief Y S Dadwal brushed aside the criticism, saying, ''There were a total of five suspected terrorists at L-18. Two were shot dead and one arrested while two managed to escape. Those who died were Atiq alias Fakruddin alias Bashir (24) and Mohammad Sajid (23) while the one who was arrested was identified as Mohammad Saif (21)."

Bashir had been identified as the the leading light of Indian Mujahideen's core team — responsible for blasts in three UP towns, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, failed bid on Surat, and Delhi — by both Abu Bashar and Sajjid Mansuri who have been arrested for the July 26 attack on the capital of Gujarat. Dadwal, however, asserted that inputs had not come from Bashar.

The Friday morning operation was the result of close coordination between central agencies, and the police forces of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. It also shows the trove of evidence and leads that the arrest of Bashir and his fellow terrorists has yielded. The success in reaching those allegedly responsible for Delhi blasts came after similar coordiantion helped achieve breakthroughs with regard to blasts in Ahmedabad and Jaipur and the plot against Surat.

The shootout also blasted a hole in SIMI's defence that it is a cultural organisation- and may help Centre with its plea before the Supreme Court to restore the ban on it.

Besides providing a new insight into SIMI's audacity, the dramatic event has once again trained the spotlight on Azamgarh. Four of the terrorist involved in the recent serial blasts in different cities are from Sarai Meer in Azamgarh. Two of them, Atiq and Mohammed Sajid, are dead. Mohammed Saif, the terrorist who was arrested from Batla House, is also from the same part of Azamgarh. Mufti Bashir, also from the same district in eastern UP, is seen as the main ideologue and planner of the IM.

The identities of the two terror suspects who got away is not known but Delhi Police commissioner Y S Dadwal said the arrested terrorist Saif was being interrogated. He refused to respond to queries whether one of them could be IM's Mumbai techie Tauqeer.

Bashir's father in Azamgarh, Sadaf Ahmed, told tv channels that the terrorist had been in Azamgarh recently till July 10 and was an MA degree holder. He had left for Delhi on July 10 after a brief bout of illness. He was friends with Saif but largely kept to himself. Atiq was one of 10 siblings and had told his father that he was going to Delhi for a computer course.

Investigators said that Bashir alongwith 10 others had gone to Ahmedabad before the blasts there and had returned by train to Delhi, this time with 12 persons, on July 27. Cops said Bashir was invloved in the recce operations in Delhi ahead of the September 13 blasts. On examination of reservation charts the identities were found to be falsely entered.

All the recent blasts bore the signature of the IM-SIMI in the bombs being made from ammonium nitrate, wooden frame, similar timer clocks and two detonators in each device. The links between Bashir and the Ahemabad blast-accused points to the veracity in the Gujarat Police's investigations.

Police added that the five terrorist were reportedly staying for past two months at the rented flat. The owner of the house has been detained along with four others from the locality, a senior police official said. All the terrorists possessed fake identity cards of Jamia Milia Islamia University. The flat had some clothes, empty plastic water bottles, a copy of the oxford English dictionary and was other quite indistinguishable.

But then why say the Gujarat Police did not provide leads? Is it to shield the INC political masters?

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 20 Sep 2008 03:01

Congress frowns at local label

Congress frowns at local label
RADHIKA RAMASESHAN

New Delhi, Sept. 19: Congress leaders are apparently uneasy that a section of the government is trying to project recurring serial blasts as a product of “home-grown”, not cross-border, terror.

Sources quoted the leaders as saying such a distinction would help Pakistan — known to instigate cross-border terror — put on a face of injured innocence if there was another major strike and fingers were pointed at it. The classification would also foster greater communal stereotyping and make every other Muslim seem like a potential terrorist, the sources said.

National security adviser M.K. Narayanan dwelt on the concept of “home-grown” terror when he briefed the Union cabinet on Wednesday at a special sitting on terror.

He said the arrest of Simi general secretary Safdar Nagori — from Indore in March 2008 — had helped establish the primacy of the outfit’s role in blasts and its links with the Laskhar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Harkat ul-Jihad-e-Islami. Simi appeared to have picked up the terror baton from the Lashkar and the Jaish, he said.

The sources said Narayanan’s message was that counter-terror strategy ought to revolve around the “home-grown” factor.

But Congress leaders felt it was “too early and premature” to come to such a conclusion. They said if terror had struck deep roots among India’s 150 million Muslims, the impact would have been far more grievous. Very few Muslims were influenced by “fundamentalist thinking”, they said.

The sources quoted the leaders as saying individuals or operators could be “home-grown” but the “motivation”, “resources” and “impetus” to strike came from outside.

Imran Kidwai, who heads the Congress minorities department, questioned the definitions of “terror” and “violence”. He asked why a blast in Kanpur, allegedly set off by a stockpile of arsenal gathered by the Bajrang Dal as part of a larger bombing plan, was termed “violence”, not “terror”.

“This talk of home-grown terror makes me uneasy. I was born and raised in India but what will stop people from lumping me with home-grown terrorists?” Kidwai said.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 20 Sep 2008 03:06

Hereis the main problem of the INC

“This talk of home-grown terror makes me uneasy. I was born and raised in India but what will stop people from lumping me with home-grown terrorists?” Kidwai said.

Once he stops defending the terrorists. Simple no? Why is he searching his shoulders when the people cry melon thief? In rural areas people who steel melons carry them on their shoulders.

RobinM · Post by **RobinM** » 20 Sep 2008 03:31

Encounter was fake, say Jamia Nagar residents

Tensions ran high in the Jamia Nagar locality of South Delhi as news of one religious place being transgressed reportedly by police, during the encounter with terrorists on Friday.

The house where terrorists were holed up lies very close to a religious place. Once the firing stopped, large number of people thronged the narrow lanes of the area and shouted religious slogans.

"We are all against terrorism, then why was our religious place targeted," asked one of the residents.

Refuting any such news, DCP South Delhi HGS Dhaliwal clarified that no religious place was used during the encounter.

"The firing was done from a place near the religious place," he said.

The tensions were fuelled by rumours that the operation was concocted by police and no fire was shot from inside the house.

Meanwhile, one media personnal, who was informing his office about the encounter, was abused by the local residents. They claimed that no shot were fired from inside the house and the encounter was a blatant lie.

Neighbours of the house where entire operation unfolded, however, confirmed that gun shots were fired from both sides.

"It all started at 10.30 in the morning. We were preparing to go to our work when some police people came in the area," said an eye-witness who refused to disclose her identity.

Bharati · Post by **Bharati** » 20 Sep 2008 03:36

While the orders and funding to carry out terror acts come from across the border, the people executing them and the ones providing the logistic support are not foreigners. Terror modules cannot thrive without local support. Those providing logistic support and the sympathizers who try to defend such acts claiming them to be acts of revenge for injustices done are equally guilty. This newfound wisdom of INC that the recent terror is homegrown is meaningless. IM have been collaborators since the first attack and have become 'self sufficient' of late.

sanjaychoudhry · Post by **sanjaychoudhry** » 20 Sep 2008 03:37

Few takers for police version on Delhi shootout

Hours after the Delhi police claimed to have caught the mastermind behind the September 13 serial bombings in the capital in a dramatic shootout, hundreds of people, mostly Muslims, roamed the narrow bylanes of south Delhi's Jamia Nagar - angry and frankly sceptical of the claims.

As a loudspeaker from a nearby mosque issued appeals for calm and thousands of security personnel trawled the area near the Jamia Milia University, people spilled out into the streets shouting anti-police slogans and alleging that the bodies had been planted in the fourth floor apartment for the "fake encounter".

The media came in for flak after some channels wrongly reported that the terrorists were hiding in the mosque.

The tension was palpable, long after the half hour shootout which ended in two terrorists, including the suspected mastermind of the September 13 blasts Atif, being killed, one being held and two managing to escape from the warren that is Batla House in Jamia Nagar.

S A R Geelani, the Delhi University lecturer who was acquitted in the December 2001 Parliament attack, demanded a judicial probe into the shootout and said: "People have been harassed in the area for a long time. It is not something new. Whenever something happens, this area is the first target being a Muslim one."

That most could not catch sight of the bodies of the two terrorists who had been killed added to the suspicion.

Furious with the police for not showing the face of the terrorists and wrapping the bodies in a blanket, Faisal Khan, a resident of the area, asked: "Why didn't they show us the faces? If they were students or people from the area we could have recognised them."

R Abid, another resident, wondered how anybody could escape: "See the area for yourself. How can anybody run away in this crowded locality amid such huge police deployment."

The scepticism found wide echo.

Jamia University lecturer Fariyad, who lives just behind the L-18 apartment where the suspected terrorists were said to be hiding, said: "I don't know whether they were terrorists or students. But one thing is for sure. I heard only one kind of bullet sounds. It seemed the firing was only from one side. However, nothing can be confirmed as yet."

Saleemuddin, a local, fumed: "The truth is in front of us. Everybody is trying to malign Muslims. They are here because this is a Muslim dominated locality."

http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14762527