Internal Security Watch

[AjayKK]

Court drops MCOCA against Malegaon blast accused

Fri, Jul 31, 2009, Toral Varia CNN-IBN

NOT RIGHT: Court observed that applying MCOCA on the accused was incorrect

Maharashtra government may challenge order

The special court's decision to drop MCOCA charges against Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and nine others accused in the Malegaon bomb blast case has come as a big jolt for the Congress-NCP government. Chief minister Ashok Chavan and home minister Jayant Patil are in favour of challenging the decision in the Bombay High Court.

There is tremendous pressure on the government from Congress and NCP workers to take the case to its logical end. The Congress-NCP reckons that if all the accused are
let off for lack of concrete evidence, then it would malign the image of the state government.

A senior officer in CMO said, "It is amazing why the home department which claimed to have in possession the video recordings of the accused plotting the Malegaon blast did not stand the court trial."

Also at stake is the credibility of top leadership of the Congress and NCP who had led an aggressive campaign to expose the terrorism in right wing organisations backed by RSS-BJP.

All those fancy theories of Israel , Nepal and what not were developed to assemble the case. But no evidence presented, hence no MCOCA. Logical end.

[sanjaychoudhry]

Times of India, which carried banner headlines about Pragya Thakur, has not carried this story at all, neither on front page nor on inside pages. The owner of this paper is working to an agenda.

[sanjaychoudhry]

State of arms appaling: 26/11 panel

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/arti ... 843937.cms

A high-level inquiry committee, which probed the 26/11 attacks, has pulled up the Maharashtra government for its failure to provide adequate arms and ammunition to the police. It noted that that the "basic weapons for district policing, including city policing, (are) .410 muskets, while for the SRP .303 rifles''. These are weapons which the Indian Ordnance Factories have stopped manufacturing.

Commenting further on the quality of weapons, it said that the pistol used by additional commissioner Sadanand Date, who had rushed to Cama Hospital to take on the terrorists, did not even fire. He faced "certain death, but escaped because the terrorists thought he was dead.''

The DGP stated the state needs Rs 65 crore worth of ammunition if each cop has to fire mandatory 40 rounds each year. But for the last five years, it got (ammunition worth) only Rs 3 crore.

The panel made the shocking revelation that "grants totalling Rs 48,662,000 lapsed in 2006-07 because of the inability to make purchases before March 31, 2007.'' The money was to be used to buy ammunition for Glock 19C and Glock 26C pistols, 7.62 SLRs, amd ammo for .303 rifles, 9 mm pistols etc.

The HLEC said it was "constrained to observed that the Taj and Oberoi managements did not implement important security advice given by the DCP- Zone 1 (Vishwas Nagre-Patil) during security audit visits. In other countries, large hotels do not depend upon police intelligence inputs to beef up their security. The American Hotel and Lodging Association has its own security agencies to watch over security issues affecting their 10,000 members. The Marriott Hotel chain uses a colour code to heighten/downgrade security arrangements. Marriott Hotel, Islamabad, had 196 security officers (60 at a time) during the attack on September 20, 2008. They had beefed up their security worldwide since the attack in Jakarta in August, 2003. Because of this, the death toll on September 20, 2008 was much less.'' The Navy said its commandos were handicapped by the "non-availability of a layout plan...''

[shyamd]

‘Absconders in Akshardham attack could launch major assault any time, any where’

Revelations made by Shaukatullah Ghori, a key accused in the case, only confirms the worst fears of Mumbai ATS that warned Maharashtra cops of Lashkar-e-Taiba’s next big attack.

Several vital leads obtained during the interrogation of Shaukatullah Ghori, a key accused in the Akshardham attack, only confirm the reports that the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Indian Mujahideen are together preparing for the next assault on Mumbai at the behest of Inter Services Intelligence.

A day after the Anti Terrorist Squad issued a warning to the Mumbai police about Indian Mujahideen’s regrouping on Thursday, Ghori, who was arrested on July 18, has reportedly told the police that those absconding in the Akshardham case are planning a major attack in the country any time.

Ghori’s revelations come as the Indian Navy keeps a watch on a suspicious ship spotted close to the Goa coast by fishermen on Thursday night. Goa police have also alerted the coastal police stations which will increase vigilance along the beach belt.

Only six people have so far been arrested in the 2002 Akshardham attack that killed 34 and injured 86 people. These are Chand Khan, Altaf Hussain Malik, Adam Ajmeri, Mohammed Salim Sheikh, Abdul Qayum Mansuri and Abdul Miyan Kadri.

As many as 24 accused are still absconding. Some of them include Rashid Ajmeri and Farooq Sheikh from Ahmedabad, Mushtakin from Mumbai, Abdul Rehman alias Abu Talha alias Khalid from Hyderabad, Abdul Bari alias Abu Hamza, Ayub and Ashim from Jammu and Kashmir and Karim Mannaan and Karim Jameel from Pakistan.

When the Akshardham attacks took place the accused were working for the Jaish-e-Mohammad. They later on joined the Lashkar. Many of those absconding are currently in Riyadh and keep visiting India often, according to police sources.

Accused Ghori and his brother Farhatullah, initially got trained with Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit and worked in Ahmedabad. It is believed that Farhatullah is currently in Riyadh. He is said to have played a major role in financing outfits such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Harkat-ul-Jihadi.

Both the brothers were among the 12 most wanted terrorists by the Gujarat police.

The IB also says that Ghori used to raise funds from rich businessmen in the Gulf and then channelise it to Gujarat to fund terror activities. For the Akshardham attack alone, he is said to have raised almost Rs 5 lakh through his sources in the Gulf.

A Special POTA court had remanded Shaukatullah Ghori to 15-day police custody on July 20. The IB says that the interrogation of this man would be key since he could provide vital clues regarding the operations of the Lashkar and other outfits in the Gulf countries.

Cracking the Gulf code is essential for Indian security agencies as they suspect that the biggest threat for the country apart from Pakistan will be from the operatives settled in the Gulf.

[pgbhat]

PM discusses national security with top brass

<SNIP>
The meeting comes in the wake of intelligence reports of possible terror threats via sea to Maharashtra and Goa, which led to the Navy and Coast Guard launching operations to locate a rogue ship in the Arabian Sea.

The search by Navy and Coast Guard was still on though there was no result even 24 hours after the operation was launched, sources said. <SNIP>

The nearly three-hour-long meeting, attended by Union Minister AK Antony, P Chidambaram and SM Krishna, and National Security Advisor MK Narayanan, is also said to have reviewed the security arrangements for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, an annual pilgrimage, in Jammu and Kashmir.

This year's Amarnath Yatra has been incident-free and the government would like to keep it this way through the rest of the yatra period this year, sources said.

Though the meeting discussed all internal threat issues, the external threats from neighbouring countries did not figure in the meeting, PMO sources said.

Others who attended the meeting include Principal Secretary to Prime Minister TKA Nair, Home Secretary GK Pillai, Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, apart from RAW secretary and Director Intelligence Bureau.

Also present during the discussions were Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor and Air Chief Marshal PV Naik.

[shyam]

CISF cover for Infosys

http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/01/stories ... 301800.htm

Why should government protect Infosys?

- They pressured GoI against Operation Parakram because their customers pressed them under GOTUS demand. Infosys doesn't care about national security, but their own profit

- Infosys is not a strategically important industry for India. Essentially they are an outsourcing vendor for MNCs.

- If Infosys is to be protected, why not all other industries. It is better for government to start a new security force and they will be deployed at private companies for a good fee.

[Yayavar]

CISF cover for Infosys

http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/01/stories ... 301800.htm

Why should government protect Infosys?

- They pressured GoI against Operation Parakram because their customers pressed them under GOTUS demand. Infosys doesn't care about national security, but their own profit

- Infosys is not a strategically important industry for India. Essentially they are an outsourcing vendor for MNCs.

- If Infosys is to be protected, why not all other industries. It is better for government to start a new security force and they will be deployed at private companies for a good fee.

heh! and they do not sing the Indian National Anthem since foreigners may feel left out .

But then Infosys has money and provides jobs and is very visible...

[Sachin]

Why should government protect Infosys?

Considering the Infosys capabilities of over-hyping itself, I hope that the CISF charges them for the services. Government need not support any private company free of cost.

[shyamd]

I have already reported this, no foreign companies will be allowed in border states.
Govt issues security guideline to BSNL

LeT on terrorist hiring drive

The next likely date of attack is August 21, a day before the Ganesh festival in Mumbai.

LeT training camps in the country?

Link

Less than ten days before the deadly strike in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, information was building up in the offices of Indian intelligence authorities. For instance, the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) centre at Bhuj was hearing about ‘cargo on its way…’

Dutt gets six months extension as Dy National Security Advisor

New Delhi
Former Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt has been granted extension for six months as Deputy National Security Adviser while Amber Sen will continue to be Strategic Intelligence Adviser for another three months.

The name of Dutt and Sen was cleared by the competent authority, an official release said today. It said the competent authority has approved extension of appointment of Dutt as Deputy National Security Adviser with effect from August one, 2009.

Dutt retired as defence secretary on July 31, 2007. The post of the Deputy National Security Adviser as created by M K Narayanan after he became the National Security Adviser..........

The announcement also mentions the approval of extension of appointment of Amber Sen, a Research and Analysis Services Officer, as Strategic Intelligence Adviser in the Cabinet Secretariat for a period of three months with effect from 1st August, 2009.Sen was in race for the top slot in Research and Analysis wing but lost it to Ashok Chaturvedi.

The release said both the above extensions will continue to be treated as being're-employment on contract basis'.

[Sridhar]

CISF charges infosys, but only the actual salaries of the employees posted there. No administrative fees to cover the costs of infrastructure, equipment, training and the administrative structure to support the personnel deployed there. No fees to cover the pensions of these employees or other benefits (health, housing etc.). Thus, the CISF incurs a significant loss to provide security to Infosys.

[Pranav]

Actually, it is the responsibility of the GoI to protect all civilians who are peacefully and lawfully going about their jobs. So the CISF cover to Infosys should not be regarded as a special favour.

[Sachin]

Actually, it is the responsibility of the GoI to protect all civilians who are peacefully and lawfully going about their jobs. So the CISF cover to Infosys should not be regarded as a special favour.

But then that is what the local police and the security apparatus is for. Infosys is hyped up so much so that they are considered to have some security threats which no IT company faces.

[shaardula]

detailed account of what happenned in mysore by the deputy commisioner & the police commisioner of mysore. the DC's (Manivannan) own blog post:

http://praja.in/en/blog/mani300bc/2009/ ... -july-2009

starting from July 2nd to july 14th.

Day 1

July, 2nd: Thursday

1. Around 6.30am in the morning, the Udyagiri police station (located in the North-east of Mysore city, which has predominant Muslim population) received information that a carcass of a pig was found within the compound wall of an Arabic school, under construction. (The construction of this Arabic school was embroiled in a controversy, as a local temple committee objected to that, and the construction was earlier stayed by the Municipal corporation)
2. Immediately the local police inspector rushed to the spot, and started the procedure of booking an FIR and also tried to remove the carcass from the place, so that it won’t attract the crowd. In sometime, the local MLA, Shri. Tanveer Sait and the Ex-Mayor of the city, Shri. Ayub Khan rushed to the spot and tried to pacify the growing crowd and assist the Police in removing the carcass.
3. But the Muslim youth present there, belonging to one organization called Popular Front of India (PFI), obstructed the police who tried to remove the carcass, and demanded the presence of media. They also incited other youths to obstruct the Police to remove the carcass. The attempts made by the MLA and the Ex-Mayor in removing the carcass also went in vain.
4. By that time, the jurisdictional ACP, followed by the senior police officer, DCP (Law& order), rushed to the spot and tried to convince the Muslim youth of the immediate necessity in removing the carcass, so that, rumors can be controlled and things don’t go out of control, as only 2 months back there was communal violence in same area.
5. The situation at that time did not warrant use of force, to remove the carcass, as it was expected that the local leaders from the community/locality would be able to convince the agitated youth.
6. Meanwhile, by 8.30am, the Police Commissioner arrived at the spot and assured the crowd, which has swelled to around 500 now, that immediate FIR will be filed and the police will do everything to nab the culprit. He appealed to the youths to disperse peacefully, and allow the carcass to be removed.
7. The youths did not agree. At this juncture, to divert the attention of the swelling crowd, Police Commissioner asked the agitating crowd to come over to Udyagiri PS with their complaint, assuring them to receive the same personally and take immediate action against the culprits, to which they agreed.
8. Accordingly, Police Commissioner, after instructing the DCP, to get the carcass removed immediately, proceeded to Udyagiri PS. However the crowd changed their mind, and did not go to the Police station. But, still, by 10am, the police somehow managed to get the carcass out and sent it for postmortem.
9. The news of carcass at the Arabic School spread like wildfire and youths of the minority community had started gathering in and all around the area in almost every street, as the locality is predominated by the minorities. The use of cell phone and sms ensured the rumours spreading fast.
10. By then, the Deputy Commissioner, Mysore, (Collector) joined the Police Commissioner and both started moving together and appealing to the mobs at all places to disperse. As the mobs were getting armed with weapons and getting violent, the Police commissioner immediately invoked section 144 of CrPC, and ordered that that there shall be no gathering of more than 5 persons.
11. Simultaneously, The DC and the Police commissioner also talked to all the Muslim leaders and appealed to them to talk to their youths and control them. They talked to the MLA, Ex-Mayor and even to the youth leader, one Shri. Kalim of the PFI. They informed them that unless the mobs disperse, the police will have no other option but to use force and it will lead to injury to people.
12. Though a mob led by Mr. Kalim of PFI, wanted to take a peace rally, they were desisted by the DC, as the rally of one community itself may go out of control in such situations. Soon information was received thru the wireless that at different places the mobs have started pelting stones at the police, shops etc and are putting fire on the vehicles. Even one ACP and DCP were injured in the stone pelting. The Police jeep of the ACP was put on fire, and burnt completely. The service revolver of an Police officer was snatched.
13. Hence, armed police were requisitioned and authorized to use minimum force, to control the crowd. The Police used both tear gas and lati charge to disperse the crowd, which was getting uncontrollable. The surging of the crowd and brandishing of weapons (swords, sharp weapons, iron rods, long sticks) have been captured by the media who were present.
14. As the area is predominated by Muslim population of more than 1 lakh, the crowds gathered very easily, in every street. As the locality has innumerable lanes and by-lanes, it was becoming very difficult to control the mob. Mob dispersed in one street easily resurfaced in another. Both the DC and the Police commissioner had tough time in ensuring that the violence doesn’t spread to the other parts of the city, having population of around 12 lakhs.
15. Additional police forces were requisitioned to take control of around 120 streets. Meanwhile, report was received that 2 men were stabbed (Tirupathi and Mubarak). They were rushed to the hospital where they were declared brought dead. Later, around 1pm, the local MLA called the DC over the phone and informed that a boy of age 13 (Junaid) was killed in police firing.
16. But, when verified it was found that the Police had fired only, in the air, to scare the mob and it couldn’t have killed anybody. By that time, the body of the boy was rushed to the hospital. The Police commissioner and Deputy Commissioner consoled the parents. By that time, additional forces came and took positions and the situation was brought under control.
17. Both the DC and the Police commissioner visited the mortuary and inspected all the three bodies. The body of the boy (Junaid Pasha) showed a small opening in the chest and another at the back, which appeared to be caused by a bullet (entry and exit wound), leading everybody to think that it was caused due to Police firing.
18. But, at the post mortem table, the doctor cleaned the wound, and disclosed that the injury was not caused by bullet, but by a sharp long weapon, piercing the chest, and coming out. Still, ensuring transparency, the administration allowed one doctor recommended by the leaders of the minority community to inspect the body. They also arranged for an x-ray to see if any metal residue is inside (in bullet injury normally metal residues are found) and also took the decision to get the postmortem done by a committee of doctors headed by the HOD of Forensic Medicine. (Normally Postmortem is done by a single doctor)
19. The district administration also invited the media to see the body and interact with the doctors there. The experts from the Forensic lab from B’lore were summoned to give their opinion. They came at midnight, examined the body before everybody, and made it clear to everybody that the injury was caused by a sharp weapon, like a pointed steel rod, which was thrust inside making a hole in the front and coming out in the back, and not a bullet injury.
20. Meanwhile, the Police Commissioner and the DC went to all the hospitals where there were other injured patients. The DC talked to the District in charge Minister over the phone, and the Minister immediately announced 1 lakh relief to family of the deceased and also declared that all the expenditure regarding the injured will be borne by the Government. All the injured were shifted to the best hospitals in the city like Apollo, Vikram etc, and every patient was looked after and taken care by the administration by attaching one official 24hrs with each patient.
21. Prohibitory orders were imposed in four police station limits viz., Udyagiri, NR Mohalla, Mandi and Lashkar from 2.7.2009 to midnight of 5.7.09 by the Police Commissioner. Evening the district administration immediately called for a ‘Peace meeting’ of both the communities and appealed for peace. It was attended by important leaders of both the communities. They also agreed that the bodies of the three deceased have to be buried the next day without giving chance for any gathering and frenzy, as it happened to be a Friday. The night withered off with an eerie calmness.

[Rahul Mehta]

CISF charges infosys, but only the actual salaries of the employees posted there. No administrative fees to cover the costs of infrastructure, equipment, training and the administrative structure to support the personnel deployed there. No fees to cover the pensions of these employees or other benefits (health, housing etc.). Thus, the CISF incurs a significant loss to provide security to Infosys.

The other expenses like pension, nfrastructure, equipment, training and the administrative structure etc are almost equal to salary. So all in all Infosys is getting a huge discount = subsidy = (bheekh+loot)

Then why is PC giving CRPF cover to Infosys at such subsidized rates? The occam's razor says that PC is collecting part of the difference aka bribes. Or else, why is PC giving such subsidy to Infosys? And is there something we can do to stop this? How, What?

[Sachin]

Then why is PC giving CRPF cover to Infosys at such subsidized rates? The occam's razor says that PC is collecting part of the difference aka bribes. Or else, why is PC giving such subsidy to Infosys? And is there something we can do to stop this? How, What?

Mehta-ji, I am sure you know law better than me . How about a PIL? Infosys has only one campus in Bangalore, that is at Keonics Electronic City. There are other IT majors too in the same vicinity, who have not even asked for a CISF protection. We need to find out what is the 'special threat' which an Infosys campus faces in Electronic City? . It may expose the fraudulent nature of Infosys folks .

[Sanku]

There are other IT majors too in the same vicinity, who have not even asked for a CISF protection. We need to find out what is the 'special threat' which an Infosys campus faces in Electronic City? . It may expose the fraudulent nature of Infosys folks .

They must have been involved in the EVM process somehow I am sure.

[ramana]

Its the potential/percieved linkage to the National Id project. And especially with Nilekani in govt circles there is threat perceived to Infosys.

[ramana]

She never felt the same when she set off the blast that took so many lives.


Deccan Chronicle, 5th August 2009

‘My kid will get orphaned’August 5th, 2009

By Our Correspondent Mumbai

Aug. 4: After taking the lives of 52 people and injuring 184, Fehmida Syed, convicted accused in the Gateway and Zaveri Bazaar blast case, pleaded that she had not done anything and should not be punished. “Maine kuch nahi kiya hai, Meri bachchi lawaris ho gai hai (I have not done anything, my daughter will be an orphan),” said Syed to the court.

“Aap ne (judge) ek aurat ko atankwadi bataya hai (You have called a woman a terrorist),” added Syed. She said during the arguments by prosecution and defence regarding the quantum of sentence that she does not acknowledge the conviction pronounced by the court.

The special Pota court had convicted Fehmida, along with her husband Hanif Syed and Ashrat Ansari, for carrying out blasts at the Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar in 2003. While arguing whether the accused should be hanged or sent for life imprisonment, Syed’s lawyer said in court that Syed was ready to spend the rest of his days behind bars without ever asking for parole, provided he was not given the death sentence.

{Plea bargain?}

“The state has said that life imprisonment in terror related cases would be extended to 50 years. This means that my client will never breathe the air of freedom in this life. The top court commuted a death sentence of a convict to life in jail when he submitted he would never claim premature release on parole,” said defence advocate Khan Abdul Wahab Khan.

What happens when others claim that, like Afzal guru?

[Sachin]

Its the potential/percieved linkage to the National Id project.

My understanding is that Infosys at the current stage is not a part of the National ID project. They may get some work after the tendering processes etc. are over. In that case why give the protection now itself?

And especially with Nilekani in govt circles there is threat perceived to Infosys.

Nilekani has officially resigned from Infosys, so why give Infosys the protection?

My take on this. Narayanamurthy how ever much he acts as humble,simple etc. really craves for attention especially in the politcal circles (and may be media and with general public). And so does his company. This tactic of getting CISF security is some thing very similar to a politician trying to get NSG security. It gives an impression of perceived threats, and high self importance. Infosys employees may also get the additional thrill of working in a "highly risky" environment . To put it bluntly this is another publicity stunt from Infosys.

PS: I remember reading ToI when SM Krishna was the Karnataka CM. Every day they would be some news like "SM Krishna goes for an oil bath... Infosys chief Narayanamurthy congratulates SM Krishna on this move" etc. etc.

[Sachin]

I will X-Post this in the Internal Watch, The Police Reforms thread as well

Hindu:Security: police to share details
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Director General of Police Jacob Punnose said on Monday that the forthcoming conference of heads of police departments of south Indian States would streamline the system for timely sharing of intelligence on matters relating to left wing extremism, religious radicalism and coastal security.

Senior police officers from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, the Lakshadweep islands and Puducherry, on Tuesday, will discuss these subjects that affect the internal security of south Indian States in varying degrees.

The Hindu: Coordinated police action mooted
The delegates will discuss chiefly the activities of Left wing extremist groups, with special reference to the activities of the CPI (Maoist). The meeting will also deliberate on the current status and activities of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and pro-LTTE organisations in South India. The issues of Sri Lankan fishermen, including their arrests in the Indian waters, will also be discussed. The meeting will devise a strategy for joint response in the event of a terror strike.

Though Kerala does not have a sizeable threat from the Naxalites, she faces a problem thanks to the large number of migrant labour coming in from AP and other North Eastern states. The labour contractors do no maintain proper records, and many cases of naxalites and North Eastern guerilla cadre coming and working in Kerala had been reported. The whole issue came into lime light when AP Police came in to a place near Ernakulam, picked up a hard core naxalite (Malla Reddy??) from one of the worker groups and went back. He was then reported to be killed in a police encounter. Coastal security is one important aspect, and hope there is enough follow up action on this. Kerala received a good patrol boat recently, and 8 more are supposed to come in soon from the shipyard in Goa.

[Hari Seldon]

x-post

Chemical terror: [AK Antony puts] India on alert

Imagine the destruction if chemical weapons were released in a crowded mall, a Metro train, a bus or a subway – nerve agents, vesicants, cyanide – vapour or liquid. No blast, no explosion, yet hundreds would be killed and thousands impacted for years.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony has warned of terrorists increasingly getting more desperate, aggressive and acquiring new technology.

Is this real intell or DDM sensationalizing? Either way, chem weapon use is way beyond the war threshold. No 'non-state actor' BS can hold back even an MMS from holding back Pak's accumulated bad karma reaching its just conclusion.

[Muppalla]

Is this real intell or DDM sensationalizing? Either way, chem weapon use is way beyond the war threshold. No 'non-state actor' BS can hold back even an MMS from holding back Pak's accumulated bad karma reaching its just conclusion.

Nothing more than what happened after Mumbai attack will happen to Pakistan. I can bet on that. What kind of chemical weapons they can use? Nerve gas or similar agents - not more than a 1000 here and 1000 there will die. As per conspiracy theory, the plaugue that occurred in Surat during 1995 was allegedely a biological attack from TSP.

There is some serious mindset problem going on in India and there will be no retaliation from India.

[pgbhat]

Nasreen arrives in India; whisked away to unknown destination

Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, who was dramatically bundled out from West Bengal in November 2007, returned here on Thursday for extension of her visa which is ending on August 17.

The papers for extending visa of Taslima, who will celebrate her 47th birthday on August 25, had been moved and the nod for the extension was likely to be given by the government soon, sources said. The sources said they were awaiting Government's order over the future course of action. She had come in February earlier this year but was asked to leave immediately after visa was granted to her till August 17 because of the general elections in the country.

[Hari Seldon]

Aajtak showing 3 2003 bumbai bum blasts accused sentenced to death under POTA. Of course, their lawyer was valiantly on air declaring grandly that the sentence would be appealed in the mumbai HC.

/* prediction begins....

From there it will goto SC and from there to rashtrapati bhavan as a mercy petition.

Aroy, amirkhan, binayak sen types will get free PR and airtime on phoren-influenced channels

From rashtrapati bhavan it will go to home ministry, awaiting 'advice' on the mercy petition and there it will mysteriously remain in suspended animation .... until the 3 accused die of old age.

...prediction ends */

really, why bother with trials and all only?

BTW, the 3 accused look like pakka packees. brave and unbending. heroic. truly. Esp the holy beards the male accused flaunted should not have been shown on national tv. I fear others might inspired to go down this path. At the very least it might inflame suspicion and discrimination against bearded people. Not good.

[ramana]

More over the display will trigger fears about for similarly attired folks who might not be inclined as these criminal terrorists.

[Singha]

hope people are aware that Lalgarh offensive was a total failure.

leader bikash is fully on the prowl, murders continue and yesterday a
rally of 1000 villagers was addressed by bikash, 2km away from a police
thana were he calmly admitted killing 3 people recently. he promised
much more.

the DC of Midnapore town has written to kolkata saying he fears a maoist attack on the town 'anyday'.

(hope the jailed maoists have been evacuated to more secure locations
else we will have a jehanabad type jailbreak here)

[Singha]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news ... 869637.cms

Naxals hold armed rally in Lalgarh
TNN 8 August 2009, 01:31am IST
|
LALGARH: A day after the West Midnapore district administration admitted its failure in tackling the Maoists, the Red rebels in a brazen show of
strength held an armed rally in Lalgarh about 200 km from Kolkata.

Attended by around 1,000 villagers, the rally was held on Friday evening at Domohani, barely 2 km from Dharampur police station, where the rebels assured people that they were completely prepared to take on the armed forces. ‘‘None of our people has been killed or arrested,’’ claimed Maoist leader Bikash.

Police, too, were busy devising a new strategy to counter the Maoists at a meeting in Lalgarh. With chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee scheduled to visit Jangalmahal on Tuesday, the meeting definitely sent out a strong signal to the administration.

Addressing the meeting barely a kilometre away from the spot on the Dharampur-Lalgarh road where the central forces marched on Friday, Bikash admitted to killing three CPM workers Jhontu Soren, Naru Samanta and Asit Samanta who have been missing since June 14.

‘‘We have served the death penalty on people who exploited and tortured tribals. Who started this violence? When the villagers started their movement at Sijua, Salboni and Khasjangal, who assaulted them,’’ asked the Maoist leader. ‘‘These are examples of peoples rage,’’ he said.

Bikash, however, denied their involvement in Wednesday’s murder of three Jharkhand Party (Naren) men. He also denied the Maoist hand in the abduction of two policemen from Brindabanpur. After targeting CPM leaders and party offices, Maoists seem to have trained their guns on Congress now. They have threatened to stop Congress leaders from opening their party offices and do any work.

[sum]

'Lovestruck' informer led cops to Gateway blast accused

Lovestruck' informer led cops to Gateway blast accused

The 2003 Gateway blast in which three people were sentenced to death on Thursday was cracked thanks to a lovestruck informer. And the
investigations that followed could easily provide the fodder for a thrilling crime novel.

There is no doubt that the team investigating the case was blessed with luck: the taxi driver who ferried the accused to the scene of the blast on August 25, 2003, escaped certain death rather miraculously. And it was he who provided the police with a starting point.

Based on his descriptions of the suspects Hanif Sayed, 46, his wife Fehmida, 43, and their teenaged daughter Farheen, the police were able to create sketches, which were then circulated among their information network. Simultaneously, a special team comprising PI Vinayak Savade, API S Talekar, PSIs Yogesh Chavan, Satish Malekar, Sudhir Dalvi and constable Anil Ahire was formed to tackle the case on a priority basis.

Fortunately, one of Savade’s informers recognised the sketch of Farheen, said Crime Branch chief Rakesh Maria. The man, who lived in Juhu Galli from where the accused were later arrested, had seen her coming to his area and was enamoured by her beauty. He told us that he had seen her meeting Ashrat Ansari, who later turned out to be another accused. And when we asked him if he was 100% sure, he said, “You can’t forget a face as beautiful as that.” That was the investigating teams first clue, which set them on Ansari’s trail.

The day the blasts occurred, a history-sheeter from Juhu Galli, named Mukhtar, ran away from the city. Suspecting that he could be involved, the police was hot on his heels. On his way to Ajmer, however, he met with an accident and died. This created communal tension in the Juhu Galli area and people started holding morchas. We did not want to arouse any suspicion by apprehending Ansari from his home, lest it alerted other suspects, Savade said.

Thus members of the team masqueraded as chaiwallahs and bhajiwallas in and around Juhu Galli to collect more information on Ansari. “We were basically watching each and every move he made. We wanted to catch him when he was alone,” Savade added. To ensure this, the team even attended Mukhtar’s funeral.

Draped in mourning whites, the team even shouted slogans of Mumbai police, hai hai with the irate crowd. Ansari, however , was accompanied by his family — and the police, lost yet another opportunity to corner him. But luck didn’t hold out on the team for too long. Five days later, Savade’s posse whisked away the man while he was on his way to work. The special team then took Ansari to Aarey Milk Colony.

“There, in a cowshed, we interrogated the man. We did not know of his involvement and only wanted to know about Farheen and the other accused. But once he began talking, he disclosed details of the entire conspiracy, and even implicating Hanif, Fehmida and Farheen,” Maria said.

The police now had to make sure that they got to Hanif without raising any suspicion. To do this, they sent a woman officer, Gopika Jagirdar, disguised as a rationing official to Hanif’s home. Jagirdar went to the address and found Fehmida. She told her that she was from the rationing office and that she wanted information on the family as the rationing rosters were being updated.

After that she demanded to meet Hanif, for the records purposes. Fehmida then told the officer when Hanif would be available. As Savade’s team was busy interrogating Ansari, PI Vijay Salaskar was sent to Jogeshwari to apprehend Hanif. But despite preparations, cops failed to catch the man due to heavy traffic on the route. “Thankfully, Hanif wasn’t aware police were on his heels. Salaskar finally caught up with him, after a long chase,”
said Maria.

[John Snow]

Take it from me we are going to have swat valley like situation in the three states (actually 4)
from moaists. WB,Orrisa, Chattisgarh/Jharkhand and AP.

These maoists need to be put down in the same ruthless fashion as Stalin did to his opponents.
Very soon we may have to use Helicopter gunships and agent orange ...
Very sad indeed.

[VinodTK]

Andhra police downplay terror threat

The police in Andhra is clue less; They are still in the dark, about the previous bomb blasts in Hyderabad.

[ramana]

Sounds like Bhansali's "Blue" or Sawariya!

[Singha]

yesterday on gearth I learnt to my horror that coco island is right off the
north edge of andamans and not just off the myanmar coast as I earlier
imagined. I would urge people to look at it - hundreds of houses, airbase
etc.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news ... 872916.cms

Ferry passenger spotted Korean ship 48 hrs on
Sachin Parashar, TNN 9 August 2009, 05:10am IST
|
NEW DELHI: The lessons learnt from 26/11 seem already lost. In what is inarguably the most sensational security breach since the Mumbai attacks,
the North Korean ship detained off Hut Bay in Andaman Islands not only managed to evade the Navy and Coast Guard for close to 48 hours but was eventually caught only after passengers on a ferry noticed it and brought it to the notice of the authorities.

Highly placed sources told TOI that the North Korean ship, apparently on its way to Iraq from Thailand, inexplicably diverted along the 6th degree channel and started moving towards Little Andaman. It’s here that the ship, which is said to have travelled several times to China from North Korea in the past, first went undetected by Indian naval vessels and later, by Coast Guard.

The sources said the observant passengers were on their way from Port Blair to Hut Bay on a ferry called ‘‘M V Hut Bay’’. They first noticed the ship about 7 km from Hut Bay, the entry point for the Little Andaman islands, in a highly isolated stretch of the sea. One of the passengers informed the captain of the ferry. He brought it to the notice of harbour master Ashwani Kumar at Hut Bay.

Kumar then alerted the port control tower which, in turn, flashed the message to the joint services command. It asked the Coast Guard and Navy to hunt down the ship.

Sources said the captain of the North Korean ship has been identified as Yun Jonge Sun. Intelligence authorities interrogating him disclosed that his activities seemed highly suspicious. He has admitted the ship dropped anchor off Hut Bay on August 5 without anybody noticing for almost two days.

Captain’s excuse fails to convince

The Andaman administration has sent a report on the security breach by the North Korean ship to the Union home ministry.

‘‘The captain has not been able to explain what he was doing all this while. He says there was an engine failure but then again why he diverted from the route in the 6th degree channel remains unclear,’’ said an official. What’s still puzzling the interrogators is why the ship chose to drop anchor in seas that are extremely rough with very few ships crossing that area.

‘‘The fact that he (the captain) ventured into this isolated stretch, which is mostly avoided, evokes suspicion. In fact, the sea is so rough here that the few ferries which ply there are often forced to return back because of strong currents. The ship might have gone undetected for a few more days had this ferry not noticed it,’’ said the official.

North Korean ships have often been suspected of carrying nuclear components and missile parts around in the past. In June this year, the US military had tracked one such ‘‘proliferator’’ ship, King Nam, along the coast of China.

[Singha]

our solitary airbase in car nicobar is actually 280km upstream from the
southern extremity of our land which is great nicobar island. car nicobar is 20x
smaller than great nicobar.

if we are ever going to build a big LRMP, strike and submarine base in that
region its got to be in great nicobar. there are moutains coming down to sea's
edge, ideal for a submarine cave.

its will also further extend the reach of all a/c by 300km one way.

[ramana]

Maybe he was sniffing for Indian activity in those solitary islands. Bet he is PRC agent.

[sanjaychoudhry]

Coco Island was "gifted" by Nehru to Burma as a goodwill gesture. Lacking in any kind of strategic understanding--a suicidal trait in any ruler--he claimed everything from Tibet to POK to Coco was "merely a peice of barren rock" that was fit to be gotten rid of. He was a master of handing over to others what belonged to Indian people.

This problem won't have existed if Nehru could get rid of his juvenile "magnanimity." The man didn't even have brains to hand over Coco to Burma on a lease. He handed it over in perpetuity. It is time Indians considered taking their Coco gift back from Burma if it is going to be used for anti-India activities. I don't think there will be much noise created internationally considering the dump that Burma is lying in. Just take over the island and call it "correction of a historical wrong done to Indian people." Nehru's gift of Coco to Burma was unauthorised by Indian people and is invalid.

[tripathi]

indian history after independence is full with examples of magnanimous pms right from nehru to mms who always sacrificed indian strategic advantage for the sake of personal glory.may be they all had finishing trouble coz all were beyond their expiry date when they became pms hence were not able to think strategically.

[derkonig]

^^^^
The common thread across of all our strategically brilliant PMs is the Congress party. As long as this plague persists, India is doomed to fail at every step.

[Singha]

unfortunately the history of post-independence rule minus 10 years is the congress party

now if only they could a chankian PM like late Rao sir the rot could be arrested if not reversed.

he and IG seems to be the only non-naive PMs that party ever produced.

[Rahul M]

^^ LB Shastri.

[Singha]

looking at history, naive and non-naive seem to interleave almost

Nehru->LB Shastri->IG->RG->N Rao sir->MMS->Rahul sir.

I hope the heir apparent is better than MMS