Bharat Rakshak

Inefficient leadership resulting in the force’s morale being at the lowest ebb. Or that of a straitjacketed force asked to fight terror with both hands tied behind its back? The story of the Special Cell, the elite counter-terror unit of the Delhi Police that was once considered one of the finest in the country, is rife with controversy and the proverbial blame game – despite Delhi Police Commissioner BK Gupta’s stated objective of ‘resurrecting’ it alongside its (recently) less-famed counterpart, the Crime Branch.

According to senior police officer who requested anonymity, things began going downhill for the erstwhile elite investigation unit after September 13, 2008, when it lost Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma during the Batla House encounter.

“This was not only a big blow to the anti-terror capabilities of the cell, but there were bigger things, of a political nature, at play. There were quite a few officers in the cell who would have filled the void left by Inspector Sharma, but the top brass had decided that they would not allow any cop to acquire a larger than life image enjoyed either by Inspector Sharma or his predecessor, ACP Rajbir Singh,” said a senior police officer.

By the end of 2010, however, the cell was busy nabbing interstate gangsters, including highway robbers and snatchers in addition to concentrating on catching members of banned political groups mostly hailing from northeast India.

Now, the cell not only has deputy commissioner of police-level officer, but also a joint commissioner of police under the overall supervision of a special commissioner looking after it – something which makes files as well as information from lower functionaries to the upper echelons of power next to impossible.

“With our teams made to run after petty criminals, what also added to the destruction of our intelligence infrastructure was the fact that senior officers were hesitant to give adequate source money demanded by field officer,” the officer said. With inadequate source money — it became very difficult to cultivate sources in the first place.

The problems of the Delhi Police have doubled since the National Investigation Agency (NIA) came into existence in 2009. “Our mandate has been restricted since the NIA was formed,” the officer said.

negi wrote:This is what happens when the usual response to any terrorist act is to float a new investigative agency.

Investigators probing the blast outside the Delhi high court on Wednesday suspect Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and/or Indian Mujahideen (IM) provided logistical help to Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) for the attack. An email sent to the media purportedly by HuJI, hours after the blast, claimed it executed the attack.But the three groups are part of the ‘Karachi Project’ of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The project seeks to use Indian operatives who are hiding in Pakistan to carry out terror attacks in India.

Also, the infiltration of three HuJI non-Indian operatives a few days before the Independence Day via the India-Bangladesh border has strengthened the suspicion. The men had been identified as Omar Suhail, Shahabuddin Sheikh, and Rana. “They had come at the behest of the Lashkar-e-Taiba,” said a counter-intelligence official on condition of anonymity.

The investigators are likely to grill senior HuJI commander Mohammed Amjad alias Khwaja who is in Hyderabad’s Cherlapally jail. Khwaja was arrested in January 2010 for allegedly orchestrating an attack on the Special Task Force headquarters in 2005.

“Khwaja had revealed HuJI’s close relationship with the LeT and the ISI and their Karachi project,” said another official.

Authorities held a meeting nearly every fortnight on strengthening security at the Delhi High Court following the low intensity blast outside the complex this May — but not much moved as a result.

No one was hurt when a crude bomb attached to a car parked outside the court exploded on May 25 but it raised enough safety worries to put the spotlight on securing the complex. And when today’s blast — far more lethal — happened, at least 150 police and paramilitary personnel were guarding the complex then, besides six Police Control Room vans positioned nearby.

The Delhi Police and civic agencies have had at least six meetings with High Court judges and lawyers since the May blast, said Secretary of the Delhi High Court Bar Association D K Sharma.

The need to install close-circuit cameras in the complex, a key security requirement that couldn’t be completed despite a proposal being moved nearly three years ago, was stressed again after the May blast. But the 49 cameras proposed to be put up are still in the pipeline, a delay Delhi Police officials today blamed on the Public Works Department’s (PWD) inefficiency. “We even reminded PWD they needed to float tenders. It remains a key problem area,” a senior police official said.

But PWD officials said the delay in procuring cameras was partly due to Delhi Police officials who suddenly changed purchase requirements this year. “After the May blasts, the police told us that 32 cameras, as mentioned in the original proposal, would not be enough and that we would now have to install 49. We had already floated tenders in March which had to be recalled,” a PWD official said.

The official said tenders were floated again this June and are being scrutinised now. “The process will be finalised in two to three weeks,” the official said.

But M K Meena, Joint Commissioner of Police (Security), said they had sent details about camera requirements “long back”. Bar Association’s Sharma said that after the May blast, security agencies agreed to proposals like installing cameras outside the High Court, providing high-level electronic gadgets like scanners and deploying police personnel in plainclothes to gather local intelligence. “While all proposals were approved on paper, nothing much was implemented,” Sharma said.

Additional Solicitor General and President of the High Court Bar Association A S Chandhiok told The Indian Express that security could have been more stringent. “I will only blame the institution and the system that we have created for ourselves. I find myself responsible to the extent that I could not persuade the authorities to install CCTVs soon and make them understand the urgency,” said Chandhiok.

Asked what finally changed since the attack on May 25, he said that more security personnel in plainclothes had been put on the job besides enhancing the security during the night. “The personnel have also been provided with better gadgets and arms following meetings between the Bench and the Bar from the court and security agencies,” he said.

With no specific leads from the explosion site at the Delhi High Court today, intelligence and investigative agencies were reluctant to point the finger of suspicion at any particular terror group despite an email from one “Harkat-ul-jihadi” claiming responsibility for the attack.

But security agencies agree that fresh terror modules are active even if their handlers are the same. There seems to be a strong effort this time, sources said, to not leave any trace and to link the claim to a politically sensitive and potentially destabilising issue like death sentence and clemency.

While the email demanded that the death sentence to Afzal Guru — convicted in the 2001 Parliament attack — be withdrawn, intelligence agencies are looking at this in conjunction with the specific security alert against Delhi courts they sent out in July. That alert spoke about a possible plot by extremist Sikh groups — Babbar Khalsa International and Khalistan Zindabad Force.

The case in question in that July alert was that of Devinderpal Singh Bhullar, on Death Row, whose clemency petition was turned down by President Pratibha Patil. The alert had warned, based on “credible” inputs, that these groups were in touch with certain ISI “handlers” and a plot to carry out blasts in Delhi had been hatched in Pakistan.

According to security agencies, there has been significant interaction between anti-India groups of late regardless of their primary motivation. The mention of Afzal Guru, whose clemency petition is lying with the President, in the email brings the main group behind the Parliament attack — Jaish-e-Mohammed — into the equation.

Jaish is known to have close links with the Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami but the email does not put out HUJI’s name in full. JeM is also on the revival path in Pakistan but experts feel that the blast does not carry an explicit Jaish signature.

The explosive device, a key piece of evidence when it comes to joining the dots, has left fewer clues. It is common knowledge that all three — the Mumbai blasts on July 13, first attempt at Delhi High Court on May 25 and this one — were nitrate-based explosives. PETN, used in today’s blast, was also present in traces in the explosives that did not go off properly in May.

Not just that, today’s blast occurred just outside the reception where there was no CCTV coverage. There are cameras on the court premises within but many of them were also said to be on the blink. The point underlined by investigators is that the place could have been surveyed to avoid plausible detection by cameras.

As in the recent Mumbai case, there’s no clarity on the detonator used even though NIA teams are combing the spot. Unlike the Mumbai case, sources added, this was a targeted attack on Delhi High Court and not serial blasts of the kind usually associated with the Indian Mujahideen. The use of the briefcase was clearly meant to make it easier to “melt into the crowd coming to court,” sources said.

Incidentally, an email had landed even after the July 13 attack in Mumbai which highlighted the Telangana cause — another issue challenging the government. Incidentally, that email had its origins in the Middle-East and investigations are still under way on that front.

While investigators try to locate the attackers, sources said, fresh modules have come up in major cities which could be planning a spate of low-intensity attacks with high impact around politically sensitive issues of the day. Government authorities feel this could be a planned effort to destabilise the situation without exposing the external link, much like the phase after the Parliament attack.

abhishek_sharma wrote:New terror group likely behind Delhi high court blast

........... But the sources said the only alert the Delhi Police got on July 29 was about a possible attack by Sikh militants in case of death row convict and Khalistan Liberation Front leader Devinder Singh Bhullar being hanged..............

Earlier in the day, the High Court, along with several benches of the Supreme Court, had suspended proceedings after a powerful blast rocked its premises. However, it resumed functioning within hours to “send a strong message that it will not be cowed down by such terror acts”.

Almost three years have passed since Jaipur witnessed serial blasts killing 70 people and injuring many, yet investigative agencies are far from arresting all the accused. Most of the arrests were by the agencies other than Rajasthan Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) such as Delhi police and Uttar Pradesh ATS....A major breakthrough came for Rajasthan ATS when Delhi Police arrested the accused in connection with the Jamia Nagar (Batala House) shootout. "After Delhi Police identified 13 accused in connection to the Batala house encounter, the Jaipur police identified nine out of 13 connected with the Jaipur blasts," said a Rajasthan ATS officer.

The agencies have also contended the blasts in Jaipur were quite similar to that of Hyderabad. "The blasts that rocked Jaipur were quite similar to those at Hyderabad in 2008. In both cases shrapnel were fixed on the outer curves of a wooden piece and between them explosives containing ammonium nitrate were packed using black tapes and 'Samay' brand watches. Timers were use to detonate the bombs. The shopkeepers later identified the sketches and confirmed that they had dealt with the same persons," an investigator said.

According to senior officers, the NIA’s creation had limited the role of the Special Cell because it is no longer allowed to go beyond the periphery of the city. As soon as any intelligence input is received, they share it with the NIA which, in turn, informs the police force of the state concerned.

...

According to junior officers, the 300-member unit is plagued by red-tapism, and they no longer have the mobility required. “Most of our time is wasted in attending meetings, and we have to keep our officers informed about every move we make. The log book of our official vehicles is also monitored by the seniors. There are serious leadership issues, and we know there is nobody to back us if we take a risk. It is affecting our work,” a Special Cell officer said on the condition of anonymity.

“We have serious issues as far as flexibility of work is concerned. Our area of work has become very limited. Most of our time is wasted in paperwork. Sometimes we receive information that have links with other states as well, but we are not allowed to go there,” said another officer.

However, former Police Commissioner Ajay Raj Sharma does not buy the Special Cell’s argument that its wings have been clipped. “The argument that the Special Cell’s role has become limited after the creation of NIA is ridiculous. The officers in this unit should have an inclination, and be motivated enough to take risks. There seems to be a disconnect in gathering intelligence at the ground level. You need to reward the officers and effect a few promotions to motivate them,” he said.

When asked to comment, Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) P N Aggarwal said, “We are trying our best to solve terror-related cases and put our best mechanism to work in such cases. We can move anywhere in the country if our investigations demand it, and we can also go abroad. There are due procedures to be followed, and we work in total harmony with other agencies such as the NIA. There is no conflict.”

15 ‘mystery’ blasts in 10 yrs, none solved

...

ramana wrote:
Altair there is lack of leadership in the ranks. That IPS guy can give all sorts of brave statements as n one can remove him unlike ordinary policement

ramana wrote:It has to be bottom up approach. Waiting for raja is like waiting for Godot.

ramana wrote:Altairgaru, After the epic age, India went for the janapadas which was bottoms up restructure lasting for over a thousand years. So we do see saw between top down and bottom up approaches. Gandhiji's movemen was bottoms-up while his predecessors and successors sought top down appoach.

According to senior police officer who requested anonymity, things began going downhill for the erstwhile elite investigation unit after September 13, 2008, when it lost Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma during the Batla House encounter.

abhishek_sharma wrote:Investigators suspect LeT hand in attack

Investigators probing the blast outside the Delhi high court on Wednesday suspect Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and/or Indian Mujahideen (IM) provided logistical help to Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) for the attack. An email sent to the media purportedly by HuJI, hours after the blast, claimed it executed the attack.But the three groups are part of the ‘Karachi Project’ of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The project seeks to use Indian operatives who are hiding in Pakistan to carry out terror attacks in India.

Also, the infiltration of three HuJI non-Indian operatives a few days before the Independence Day via the India-Bangladesh border has strengthened the suspicion. The men had been identified as Omar Suhail, Shahabuddin Sheikh, and Rana. “They had come at the behest of the Lashkar-e-Taiba,” said a counter-intelligence official on condition of anonymity.

The investigators are likely to grill senior HuJI commander Mohammed Amjad alias Khwaja who is in Hyderabad’s Cherlapally jail. Khwaja was arrested in January 2010 for allegedly orchestrating an attack on the Special Task Force headquarters in 2005.

“Khwaja had revealed HuJI’s close relationship with the LeT and the ISI and their Karachi project,” said another official.

Invisible enemy: Shift in terrorists' strategy stumps investigators

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, P Chidambaram and Ghulam Nabi Azad, who visited RML Hospital on Wednesday, came face to face with anger and outrage of families of the victims. Even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who flew down from Dhaka and was soon at the hospital, was met with hostility. This was in contrast to the visit of BJP leader LK Advani who spent several moments with the injured who spoke about their trauma.

The first to face the public ire was Rahul. The Congress general secretary, who later visited the high court to inspect the blast site, refused to speak a word to several relatives of the victims outside the hospital building who were in a mood for confrontation.

As the 41-year-old negotiated his way through the hospital around 2.38pm, relatives of the victims of the blast and several locals started to boo him. A grim Rahul Gandhi chose to remain silent and quietly made his way to the hospital wards and finally made a quiet exit. "Rahul Gandhi sharam karo, aatankwaad pe rajneeti mat karo (Rahul Gandhi show some shame, don't play politics on terrorism)," chanted the crowd, half-angry and half-disappointed when he did not stop to speak to them. Around 60 relatives of the blast victims and several locals protested and raised slogans for the 30-odd minutes that Rahul remained at the hospital.

Amarjeet Singh Chatwal, a neighbour and friend of the family of 20-year old Amanpreet Singh Jolly, who died in the blast, was livid. "We want answers. First corruption and now lack of security. A child is dead. Par Rahul Gandhi toh maun dharan karke aaye aur chale gaye (But Rahul Gandhi has appeared to have decided to take an oath to remain mum)," said an outraged Chatwal.

The PM's visit around 8:30 pm was highly anticipated with tight security inside and outside the hospital complex. As soon as the PM's entourage came, he directly went inside to meet the victims and the building was sealed for all outside entry. Sources inside the hospital said that the PM visited each and every victim on different floors and assured them of full support.

Minutes after the PM left, Union home minister P C Chidambaram arrived. He, however, was stopped by the furious relatives of the victims near the elevator. Family members of the blast victims complained about the poor compensation amount and demanded to know what the government would be doing for them. Suman Goyal, whose father was among the injured, confronted Chidambaram and demanded to know if the government would provide a job for her family as her father, who received head and leg injuries, was the sole bread-winner. She and other relatives also insisted that Chidambaram should give them his phone number when he said the government would do everything possible. Chidambaram tried to placate the family members and moved on.

Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who also came to the hospital, was surrounded by angry family members and friends of the injured with a tirade of complaints against the hospital for mismanagement and delay, which he patiently heard out. Furious relatives said the victims were still bleeding and lying untreated at the hospital for hours and despite waiting from noon to late evening, they were not being handed over bodies of the dead. Dinesh Goyal, relative of one of the injured, Ratan Lal Shroff (60), said Shroff was not given medical treatment for hours as the hospital staff was too busy preparing for the VIP visits. ``The victim was not given treatment till the staff heard of the PM's visit in the evening and only then was he given some attention. "The behaviour of the staff is atrocious. No one is giving us information and we don't know where to turn to,'' he said angrily.

abhishek_sharma wrote:Blast didn’t stop HC, work resumed after a few hours