Mumbai Terrorist Attack-News stories and timeline

[Gerard]

Italy: Pakistani leader says 'no surprise' in link to terror attacks

A Pakistani community leader said on Tuesday he was not surprised to hear of a link between Pakistani immigrants in Italy and the deadly Mumbai terrorist attacks.

"It all began years ago, when several Pakistanis were managing telephone networks for foreigners. It was because of this contact that Pakistanis became involved in the call centre business and all of them threw themselves into this work. "Today there are around 4,000 Pakistanis that run call centres or shops in Italy from where you can send money abroad." Ahmad, who is also the Pakistani community representative on an Islamic consultation committee set up by the Italian interior ministry, said he was not surprised to learn that the Pakistani allegedly involved in the telephone registration scandal was a resident of the Spanish city of Barcelona. "There is a strong rapport between Pakistanis in Italy and those in Spain, particularly in business," he said. Ahmad said many of the Pakistanis in Brescia had come from the Punjab region of Pakistan, and many had also migrated to Spain.

[Gerard]

Italy: Pakistani money agent denies link to Mumbai attacks

A Pakistani money transfer agent in the northern Italian city of Brescia has denied any involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks which killed 173 people last November. Mohammed Yaqub Janjua is the owner of the Madina Trading telephone centre and Western Union branch which was allegedly used by a collaborator linked to the attacks.

The account with Callphonex was allegedly set-up by a man called Kharak Singh, who claimed to be of Indian nationality. However, an individual named Mohammed Ashfaq is said to have activated the account after a moneygram was transferred under his name.
The payment was made from Yaqoub's agency in Brescia.

[arun]

Excerpt from the speech of Robert S. Mueller, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation at the Council on Foreign Relations on February 23, 2009 :

............ For three days, Mumbai was a blur of gunshots, explosions, fire, and confusion. …………..........

Even before the crisis ended, the investigation had begun. Agents from FBI offices in New Delhi and Islamabad joined forces with the Indian government, the CIA, the State Department, MI-6, and New Scotland Yard.

Through these partnerships, we had unprecedented access to evidence and intelligence. Agents and analysts conducted more than 60 interviews, including that of the lone surviving attacker. Our forensic specialists pulled fingerprints from improvised explosive devices. They recovered data from damaged cell phones, in one case by literally wiring a smashed phone back together.

At the same time, we collected, analyzed, and disseminated intelligence to our partners at home and abroad—not only to determine how these attacks were planned, and by whom, but to ensure that if a second wave of attacks was in the offing, we possessed the intelligence to stop it.

Our work in Mumbai was not out of the ordinary. …………………........

For the full text of the speech, Click Here.

[Avinash R]

Chilling Mumbai terror attack tapes released
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... eased.html

[ramana]

Those two news stories, posted by Gerard, originating in Italy, tell quite a background story. The former hawala centers have been transformed with TSP and Western Union control. The local TSP guys run Western Union shops/franchises and carry on the old trade. Can ISI be behind some/all the TSP guys running money transfer shops? Most intel agencies have links to such outfits. British spy story writers always mention covert banking facilities all over the world for their work.

[anishns]

Sorry if this link has been posted before

But, it appears to be a video from inside the Taj

http://ishare.rediff.com/filevideo.php?id=578794

There are 4 pigs in this video

However, only 3 pigs were killed! according to this link!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/world ... umbai.html

MUMBAI, India — Indian commandos took control of the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, the last nest of terrorist resistance, on Saturday morning, after a lengthy assault that left three terrorists dead and sections of the hotel in flames, the head of the commando unit said in a televised news conference.

What happened to the 4th one then?

[Tamang]

26/11 calls traced to Pak serving colonel

MUMBAI: The VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) calls made by the 26/11 terrorists to their handlers have been traced to a serving colonel of the Pakistani army, investigations have revealed.

Although the 11,509-page chargesheet in the 26/11 case filed by the Mumbai police on Wednesday does not spell this out explicitly, it does name the officer as Colonel R Sadatullah from the SCO.

[John Snow]

Tamang said

26/11 calls traced to Pak serving colonel

Can somebody bring this to the notice of Ananthasayanam MK Narayanan?

[ramana]

You should call him by his DIE name_ Neroyanan. He was attending a music katcheri in Delhi while Mumbai's Taj burnt.

[Lalmohan]

Sorry if this link has been posted before

But, it appears to be a video from inside the Taj

http://ishare.rediff.com/filevideo.php?id=578794

There are 4 pigs in this video

However, only 3 pigs were killed! according to this link!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/world ... umbai.html

MUMBAI, India — Indian commandos took control of the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, the last nest of terrorist resistance, on Saturday morning, after a lengthy assault that left three terrorists dead and sections of the hotel in flames, the head of the commando unit said in a televised news conference.

What happened to the 4th one then?

check the clothes on the video clips against the corpse shots that were collated earlier. i think you'll find them all there

[ramana]

op-ed from Pioneer, 26 Feb 2009

OPED | Thursday, February 26, 2009 | Email | Print |


FBI’s lesson from 26/11

Robert S Mueller

It was highly coordinated and deceptively simple

Nearly three months ago, several men in a rubber raft landed on the shores of a bustling financial capital as the sun began to set. They scattered in different directions, carrying backpacks with automatic weapons, hand grenades, and satellite phones. Within just a few hours, innocent civilians were lying in the streets, buildings were burning, hostages feared for their lives, and a city was under siege.

News of the attack quickly circled the globe, from traditional media coverage to streaming video, blogs, text messages, and even twitters. The attackers used that same technology, not only to monitor the movements of police and rescue teams and to evade capture, but to communicate with their leaders, who were some distance away.

It was an attack both highly coordinated and deceptively simple in its execution. Of course, I am speaking about Mumbai, in which terrorists killed more than 170 individuals and wounded more than 300. But how many other cities around the world could fall prey to such an attack? How many cities in the US?

This type of attack reminds us that terrorists with large agendas and little money can use rudimentary weapons to maximise their impact. And it again raises the question of whether a similar attack could happen in Seattle or San Diego, Miami or Manhattan. The world in which we live has changed markedly in recent years, from the integration of global markets and the ease of international travel to the rise and the reach of the Internet. But America’s perception of the world —— and its place in it —— also has changed.

The universe of crime and terrorism stretches out infinitely before us, and the US, too, is working to find what it believes to be out there, but cannot always see. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, America’s world view was somewhat limited. Americans were primarily concerned with Al Qaeda’s leadership and its structure. Today, the US still faces threats from Al Qaeda. But America must also focus on less well-known terrorist groups, as well as home-grown terrorists. And it must consider extremists from which-so-ever country, who are merely an e-ticket away from the US...

In each of the plots that have been disrupted since September 11, some have asked whether the individuals in question had the intent and the capability to carry out their plans. There will always be a tension between acting early to disrupt a plot in its planning stages, and continuing to investigate until we are certain that the individuals in question are poised to attack. And in each case, that calibration will be different.

Take the planned attack against Fort Dix, for example. The men the US convicted had engaged in target practice in the woods of Pennsylvania. They had watched Al Qaeda training videos. They had a map of the base, and a plan to get in. And they had purchased semi-automatic weapons from an FBI sting operation. Like the Mumbai attackers, these men wanted to inflict as much damage as they could. And as the Mumbai attacks illustrate, the simplest of weapons can be quite deadly when combined with capability and intent…

In every case where an individual poses a threat, we must ask key questions: Where has this individual been? Who are his associates, and where are they now? What are they doing, and who are they talking to? This targeted intelligence-gathering takes time. It requires patience, precision, and dedication. And it requires a unity of effort, at home and overseas.

Intelligence enables us to see the unseen, to discover new threats on the horizon. Yet even the best intelligence will not provide complete certainty. The question remains: How do we protect ourselves from threats that emanate from overseas? We cannot close our borders or cut off the Internet. We must start at the source.

The day before the attacks in Mumbai, Special Agent Steve Merrill —— a legal attaché in the FBI’s New Delhi office —— was enjoying his first day off in nearly a month. He was on his way to Jodhpur to play cricket on the US Embassy Team, in the Maharajah’s annual tournament. The moment we learned of the attacks, Steve made his way to Mumbai. All he had were the clothes on his back, his Blackberry, and his cricket gear. He immediately made contact with his Indian counterparts and got to work. No red tape, no turf battles —— just first responders, standing shoulder to shoulder in a time of crisis.

For three days, Mumbai was a blur of gunshots, explosions, fire, and confusion. In the midst of that mayhem, Steve helped to rescue Americans trapped inside the Taj Hotel.

He set up lines of communication with his FBI and intelligence community counterparts. And he coordinated the arrival of the FBI’s Rapid Deployment Team. Even before the crisis ended, the investigation began. Agents from FBI offices in New Delhi and Islamabad joined forces with the Indian Government, the CIA, the US State Department, MI-6 and New Scotland Yard.

Through these partnerships, the FBI had unprecedented access to evidence and intelligence. It examined the scenes of several attacks. Agents and analysts conducted more than 60 interviews, including that of the lone surviving attacker. The FBI’s forensic specialists pulled fingerprints from improvised explosive devices. They recovered data from damaged cell phones, in one case by literally wiring a smashed phone back together.

At the same time, the FBI collected, analysed, and disseminated intelligence to its partners at home and abroad —— not only to determine how these attacks were planned, and by whom, but to ensure that if a second wave of attacks was in the offing, we possessed the intelligence to stop it.

-- Excerpted from the FBI Director’s speech at Council on Foreign Relations, Washington, DC.

[rajsunder]

LINK

.........
Highlights of Charge Sheet
..
..
M V Kuber, in which they entered Mumbai, was not hijacked

any info on the above highlight????

[ramana]

The master of MV Kuber was a fisherman who had recently been released from TSP jails. I thought he might have been rendevouzing with the gang while under threat or willingly. In one of the many threads I had posted my thoughts.

[Avinash R]

26/11 Terrorists made 284 calls

Thursday, February 26, 2009 07:54 [IST]

Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch has traced the trail of money used to get a Callphonex account, which was used by the 10 terrorists and their Lashkar-e-Tayiba handlers in Pakistan to communicate with each other during the 26/11 terror attacks.

The terrorists had made 284 calls from Mumbai to their handlers in Pakistan during the 60 hours they had laid siege to the city, the Crime Branch said.

The Crime Branch was helped by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the US in piecing the puzzle together.

According to the police, the report submitted by the FBI to the Crime Branch revealed that the nine terrorists killed by National Security Guards (NSG) commandos had used mobile phone numbers 9819464530, 9820704561 and 9910719424 to communicate with their handlers.

Records showed that calls were made to phone numbers 43720880764, 43720880767 and 43720880768, and calls were received from another number, 012012531824. The calls were made to or received from co-conspirators in Pakistan for instructions, the Crime Branch said.

Investigations also revealed that these numbers were connected to a Callphonex account. Callphonex is a VoIP (voice over internet protocol) service provider based in New Jersey, USA.

On October 20-21, 2008, an individual calling himself Kharak Singh called the company up for an account, saying he was a VoIP reseller in India. Two payments were made to Callphonex for the account. On October 27, an initial payment of $250 was wired to Callphonex via Money Gram (receipt number 80700471903880005473).

The money was sent by one Muhammad Ishfaq through Money Gram's agent, Paracha International Exchange, located at Road Anarkali Fayazuddin in Lahore, the Crime Branch said.

According to Money Gram records, Ishfaq gave an address in Peshawar, Pakistan, as his.

On November 25, the second payment of $299 was wired to Callphonex via Western Union Money Transfer (WUMT) (receipt number 8364307716-0). The sender was one Javed Iqbal, and the money was wired through WUMT agent, Madina Trading, in Brescia, Italy.

Iqbal, who has since been arrested by the Pakistan police, had provided a copy of his Pakistani passport (number KC092481) to Madina Trading as his identity proof. Investigations found that he had communicated with Callphonex through the e-mail id, [email protected].

Crime Branch officials said the account was accessed from 10 different IP addresses in Pakistan, Chicago, Kuwait and Russia.

Finish 26/11 trial pronto, hang Ajmal

Thursday, February 26, 2009 08:24 [IST]

Mumbai: Shortly after Mumbai police filed the chargesheet in the 26/11 terror attacks, daughter of a senior police officer Vijay Salaskar killed by terrorists demanded the trial should be over soon and that Mohammad Ajmal Amir, the lone terrorist caught alive, be hanged.

"Over time, people forget...that is the reason the trial should not drag on for months. There should be a quick trial and quick result," Divya said demanding capital punishment for Ajmal.

Salaskar, along with two other senior police officers, was killed after terrorists sprayed bullets on their vehicle with automatic rifles on November 26 in south Mumbai.

Ajmal is suspected to be behind the killing of the three officers.

[Prem]

Interesting thing to watch is if our Pseudos,Pinkoes and UPA leeders still try to do Chai-Biscoot with TSP after listening to these tapes.

[Avinash R]

Interesting thing to watch is if our Pseudos,Pinkoes and UPA leeders still try to do Chai-Biscoot with TSP after listening to these tapes.

Shabnam Hashmi of "SAHMAT" who was part of the campaign to protect SIMI/IM terrorists has gone to pakistan on peace mission. vaman posted the news in TSP thread.

If these pseudo-secularists had any brains they would have wisened after the parliament was attacked by pakistani terrorists. They didn't. Even after Terrorist Attack on Mumbai(TAM) they continue this anti-people and anti-democratic behaviour of siding with the terrorists and fighting for rights of terrorists instead of common people.

So no use hoping to see these people reform.

[ramana]

They bought cellphones with money originated from Italy. How does Callphonex fit in? and how did they get Indian phone numbers?

Arent these Indian numbers? Which cell compnay has these SIM cards?

9819464530, 9820704561 and 9910719424

[Tamang]

They bought cellphones with money originated from Italy. How does Callphonex fit in? and how did they get Indian phone numbers?

Arent these Indian numbers? Which cell compnay has these SIM cards?

9819464530, 9820704561 and 9910719424

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_tel ... g_in_India

[Prem]

[So no use hoping to see these people reform.[/quote]

Forgive them for they have religious obligation to side with their ummah brothers and our mortal enemies. Jub apna Sikka hi Khota to why blame others.

[Gaurav_S]

Latest Trident Video

Can someone notice his gunfire @ 1.07?

[Avinash R]

xpost from TSP thread.

Ok some news about the Terror Attack on Mumbai(TAM).

The TAM was co-ordinated by the 313 brigade of pakarmy. The officers mentioned in the chargesheet are most likely from this brigade.
313 Brigade has 10 battalions with a dummy Headquarters in punjab and the real Headquarters in Swat valley which is under taliban control.
This brigade co-ordinates the activities of 10 tanzeems aka terror outfits. The officers from this brigade are known to indoctrinate, train and arm terrorists before they are sent to afghanistan.

And remember the Kunduz airlift when pakarmy soldiers figthing for taliban were allowed to be airlifted.
Well those soldiers were from this brigade which had it's HQ at that time in afghanistan.

Just after kargil there were reports of pakarmy conducting joint exercises with some terror outfit. Again it's likely this brigade was part of the exercise. I cant find a link to this particluar newsreport but i am quite sure to have read though. google doesn't help. If anyone has archived this report please post it.

In the coming days if more TAM like attacks have to be prevented this brigade needs to be watched more closely.

Indian Express has a report on 313 brigade but some of the above details are not there.

[sum]

Link

How the Lashkar planned Mumbai massacre

Praveen Swami

NEW DELHI: Sahil Pavaskar used to leave home early and return late, and appeared to have no friends or family — in other words, leading a colourless life exactly like those of hundreds of thousands of young migrants to Mumbai.

Pavaskar’s neighbours found that the young man, who had rented a one-room tenement at 98-B Batatawala Chawl on Patthe Bapurao Marg, did not encourage casual conversation. Staff at Soft Pro computers in Mumbai’s Fort area, where he attended computer classes, thought he had moved from New Delhi in search of work.

But police in several States, who had reason to get to know Pavaskar better, found he was in fact Fahim Arshad Ansari — a print worker who went on to become one of the Lashkar-e-Taiba’s key covert operatives in India.

From his teen years, Ansari had shown a deep fascination for jihadists. Osama bin Laden, he told co-workers at the Dubai printing press where he worked in 2005, was his role model. Early next year, he made contact with the Lashkar — the organisation whose theological beliefs mirrored his own faith in the neo-conservative Ahl-e-Hadis sect — and volunteered for service.

Ansari, investigators say, arrived at the Bait ul-Mujahideen, the Lashkar’s headquarters in Muzaffarabad, in February 2007. During the 10 months he was to spend at Lashkar camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Ansari allegedly completed several military and intelligence training courses.

Sabahuddin’s links to the Lashkar, police sources allege, date back to 2001, when he was recruited by the Uttar Pradesh-based Islamist cleric, Mohammad Zubair — an enigmatic figure who was killed by the Jammu and Kashmir police in 2006. He dropped out of Aligarh Muslim University the following year, and is alleged to have trained at Lashkar camps in Pakistan until mid-2005. Travelling, like Ansari, through Kathmandu on a Pakistani passport, Sabahuddin set up home in Bangalore.

[shyamd]

Who gave him the Indian visa to get to Mumbai on a Pak passport? Pak passport holders go through extra checks in the application process.

[Gaurav_S]

This is from mailtoday.in written by Manoj Joshi
Was Indian Army ready for war?
Manoj Joshi
New Delhi, January 17, 2009

The Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy were ready to strike almost immediately after the Mumbai carnage on November 26 the former activating its forward bases and the latter fuelling its anti-ship missiles.

But, the government stayed its hand when the Indian Army apparently indicated to the government that it might take it several weeks before it could prudently begin the operations.

Sources said that the Army apparently lacked adequate stocks of ammunition as well as key elements of artillery and other equipment.

This was confirmed by a well-connected retired general who said, “The 400-odd Bofors guns we bought in the 1980s are falling apart for want of spares, the (600-odd) Shilka anti-aircraft cannon are in desperate need of upgradation. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.” He added that India’s numerically vast tank fleet is in poor shape, and it did not have any mobile artillery to speak of. The government’s mantra in all this has been that “all options are open.”

According to officers familiar with the developments, the Air Force was prepared to strike specified targets using a variety of weapons. These included the Israeli-made Popeye, a very destructive 100- km range flying bomb of remarkable accuracy; or the Paveway GPS-equipped guided bombs.

IN and IAF were ready to strike but IA was not adequately prepared to strike due to ammo stock and Bofors guns, Shilka anti aircraft guns in upgradation state. More interestingly these will take several WEEKS before IA can began operations. (and by this time we would have gone into exchanging of evidences to prove Kasab was Paki..and blah blah blah..) Now does OFB makes ammo to last few days or couple of weeks only? Is MMS going to sit back and beg to Pakis please dont declare war on us 'because we dont have enough ammo in stock"...

Link

Is this a joke?? OR Is this guy gone nuts?

[Tamang]

26/11: A Taj survivor's untold story

[Tilak]

TERROR CHRONOLOGY
Thursday, February 26, 2009

November 26, 2008: 10 terrorists launch daring attack on Mumbai; Kasab arrested by security forces

November 29, 2008: NSG clears Hotel Taj, Oberoi-Trident hotel and Nariman house

November 30, 2008: Shivraj Patil resigns as Home Minister; P Chidambaram replaces him

December 11, 2008: Kasab remanded to police custody till Dec 24; Chidambaram says attacks “unmistakably” points to Pakistan

December 14, 2008: FBI takes DNA samples of all nine LeT militants killed in Mumbai attacks to ascertain if they had any Afghan or other terror links

December 15, 2008: Union cabinet approves setting up of NIA to combat terror

December 16, 2008: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee says Islamabad should follow up its promise to the global community with action

December 16, 2008: Government introduces bill for setting up NIA

December 22, 2008: India says it will use “all measures” to tackle terror; 5-member Interpol team meets Mumbai police, seeks Kasab’s details

December 23, 2008: FBI finds evidence of Pak security establishment’s involvement; Pak claims it has no record of Kasab.

December 26, 2008: India impresses on China and Saudi Arabia to pressurise Islamabad to take concrete action against those behind Mumbai attacks

December 27, 2008: Mumbai police shifts Kasab to Arthur Road jail for identification parade

December 29, 2008: Kasab brought back to Crime Branch lock-up

January 5, 2009: India hands over evidence to Pakistan; shares evidence with China

January 6, 2009: PM Manmohan Singh says attackers must have had the support of some official agencies in Pakistan; India gives Pakistan list of “handlers” based in that country and in touch with terrorists during attacks

January 7, 2009: India slams Pakistan for rejecting within 24 hours the evidence provided to it

January 9, 2009: US commits itself to ensure perpetrators of Mumbai attacks are brought to justice

January 17, 2009: France asks Pakistan to extend “full cooperation”

January 19, 2009: Kasab remanded in police custody till February 2 in the CST firing case

January 22, 2009: Navy chief says Mumbai carnage could not have been carried out without indirect support from “professional organisations” in Pakistan

February 2, 2009: Kasab remanded in police custody till February 13 for murdering captain of Kuber

February 17, 2009: FBI hands over all crucial evidence to a team of Mumbai Police in Washington

February 20, 2009: Police remand of Kasab shifted to judicial custody

February 23, 2009: Chidambaram says India’s approach of “cohesive diplomacy” “forced” Pakistan to admit its soil was used for launching Mumbai attacks

February 25, 2009: Mumbai police files 11,500-page chargesheet in 26/11 terror attacks before metropolitan magistrate MJ Mirza

[ramana]

I remembered something I read a long time ago while watching AAJ Tak news channel about ISI and Dawood Ibrahim.

Long ago before Kushwant Singh became editor of Illustrated Weekly and destroyed it, it was the premier weekly news magazine in Indian homes. Once it had a series on Bombay underworld and traced its ascent after WWII. In particular Haji Mastan who was the king of numbers racket and the underworld. The writer pointed out that the foreign exchange controls that GOI imposed after 1955(?) led to an increase in smuggling of cigarettes and liquor. And the smugglers used to use the hawala method to transfer money from expatriates who were penalized by the FE rates of the GOI channels and buy gold in Dubai and smuggle it into India. The smugglers had a very sophisticated techniques of motoroized boats and wireless sets and contacts in Gulf countries. He said these smugglers were formerly employed by British secret services to land supplies and agents in Nazi sympathizers territory in Iraq and even North Africa. In other words the Bombay smugglers had links to intel agencies of the British.

My conjecture is with the British withdrawal they might have become ISI assets. Wonder if the Bombay CID or Special branch had ever pursued the angle of links between the criminal underworld and British Secret Services being retained after the end of WWII?

[Raju]

that's the problem, because of these overlapping organizations like Mumbai underworld we do not know if the British/Anglo-Saxon Intelligence services or the ISI are orchestrating these attacks using such underworld's as cover. So the assumption is both are doing it together.

Pakistan provides convenient deniable excuses like uncontrolled jihadis or groups and cliques within Armed forces who 'act on their own'. Under military rule in several countries of the region what we are seeing is a formalization of tie-up between American/Western/Anglo-Saxon and Islamic interests in the region.

Bangladesh Military decided to stay away from this axis by denying themselves the right to power. Have they been punished for this ?

[ramana]

Please dont abuse the ATS officers killed in line of duty. BTW their survivors are clear about what needs to be done.

Martyrs’ kin praise RSS for shaping Young Generation
02/03/2009 13:59:48 By Kiran Tare:
http://www.dnaindia.com

Panvel:
The kin of 26/11 martyrs, Smita Salaskar and Shirish Karkare praised RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for its contribution in guiding youths towards the right path.Vijay Salaskar’s wife Smita and Hemant Karkare’s younger brother Shirish were the chief guests at a RSS rally in Panvel on sunday. Tukaram Ombale's daughter Vaishali was also present on this occasion. Noted music director Shridhar Phadke presided over the rally. Salaskar, Karkare and Omble were gunned by terrorists last year.” It is shameful that an illiterate killed my husband we should perform our duties to avoid such incidents. The youths can get inspiration from RSS on how to perform their duties,” said Smita Salaskar. Shirish Karkare said that the middle class will have to perform their nationalduties well in future. “Every citizen should perform his duties. RSS can inspire the youths for patriotism,” he said. RSS Joint general secretary Bhaiyaji Joshi asserted that international laws and weapons should be used to tackle terrorism.

They are coming back to roots. Watch the whirlwind as the good book says.

[ramana]

X-posted...

The IB agents sitting in new delhi had better situational awareness than the mumbai police.
Was this due to intercepts of the terrorist communications or did the local IB agents in mumbai do a better job than the mumbai police?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indi ... 235124.cms

NEW DELHI: The Mumbai Police had "little knowledge" about the number of terrorists involved in the 26/11 attacks and the NSG was helped by the intelligence bureau with certain vital inputs, says former NSG chief J K Dutt.

Dutt, who himself led the NSG operations to flush out the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, said he had some information about the actual number of militants before launching the commando operation and was helped by intelligence bureau with vital inputs.

"The Mumbai police had little knowledge about the strength of the terrorists even after arresting Mohammed Ajmal Iman Kasab (the arrested terrorist) and told us that there were between four and 20 terrorists," he said.

"Locally (in the Mumbai Police), the figure was varying. It was put between 4 to 20 by the Mumbai Police. But, the intelligence bureau from New Delhi told me that my men had to account for eight AK rifles. It gave an indication of the presence of eight men," Dutt, who retired recently as NSG chief, said.

After the ambush of the ATS, Mumbai police chiefs went into tortise mode and just wasn't prepared for the fallout.

BTW the count of 8 AK-47s, shows the IB had a good estimate on the scope of the attack and also was the cause of the surprise when the terrorists fired Major Sandeep's gun.

[Sumeet]

20-ft tunnel, Rs 2 crore to keep Kasab safe in Mumbai

Mumbai: It is possibly the costliest piece of real estate being built in Mumbai and it is coming up inside the walls of the Arthur road prison at a cost of Rs 2 crore for 20 feet.

Over 250 workers are working round the clock to finish a special corridor to take 26/11 accused Mohammed Ajmal Kasab from his cell to the special court inside the jail and back. The corridor will be bomb, bullet and chemical weapons proof.

It is believed that the special court and Kasab's cell are also being reinforced with iron plates. Also, Kasab's cell, the corridor and the special court will be centrally air conditioned.

Surveillance cameras will keep a 24-hour watch in the cell, along the corridor and inside the court.

This is for the first time in India's history that Rs 2 crore is being spent on security for a terrorist. For the police, it is money well spent, keeping in mind the threat to Kasab’s life.

The jail itself will be turned into a fortress. A battalion of armed paramilitary personnel will be manning it 24/7. The Mumbai crime branch has also asked for ITBP personnel for the three-tier security arrangement.

Paramilitary personnel will patrol the corridor and the area outside Kasab's cell. Commandos will be placed outside the special court too.

“We are making all necessary arrangements for Kasab’s security. We have asked the Centre for their best commandoes so that his security is complete,” State Home Minister, Maharashtra, Jayant Patil said.

The trial is expected to start by the end of March and throughout the proceedings Kasab will remain chained.

For the Mumbai Police the first challenge is to ensure Kasab's security. The bigger task of presenting evidence and securing a conviction comes next.

[sum]

This is starting to look more and more like the film "Khakhee"....

Shows how infiltrated we are to have such extraordinary security in place.

[Avinash R]

^ The issue is not inflitration within ranks, the issue is safety of the captured terrorist. You cant take him through the normal process of bringing him to the courthouse and take a chance of grenade being thrown at him from the crowd that will gather to see him, or possibly allow a few person to give 'kasab' a taste of vigilante justice like the pandher in noida got. So the police is taking no chance this time.

OT, but who is aishwarya if this is Khakee and dont mention burkha here.

[pgbhat]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/chargesheet-samajhta-nahin...urdu-mein-chahiye/433119/

Shrimangle: Chargesheet ka copy mila? (Did you get a copy of the chargesheet?)

Kasab: Haan mila. Par usmein jo likha hai who mere samajh ke bahar hai. Mujhe meri zabaan Urdu mein chahiye. (Yes, I got the chargesheet. But I can’t understand its contents. I want a copy in my own language, Urdu.)

Shrimangle: Copy mila na? (You got the copy, right?) (Turning to chief investigating officer Ashok Duraphe) Diya copy na?

Duraphe: Yes.

Kasab: Copy mein jo likha hai woh samjhta nahin hai. Urdu mein chahiye. (I don’t understand what is written in that copy. I want it in Urdu.)

Shrimangle: Jo diya hai woh barobar hai, chal abhi tu jaa, tera case abhi March 23 ko session court mein chalenga, iske baad jo bolna hai sessions court mein bolna. (What has been give to you is all right. You go now. Your case will begin on March 23 in the sessions court. Whatever you want to say, say there.)

I say give it to him freakin' arabic.

[Anujan]

This is regarding Havildar Gajender Singh
Zee news says

The force will induct light firearms and special grenades to equip its heliborne commandos as during the Mumbai strikes the force lost one of its black cats, Havildar Gajender Singh, while he was coming down from a helicopter.

Gives an impression as though it was an accident during insertion.

IE Says

"While clearing the fourth floor of the Jewish residential complex, Singh spotted a terrorist fleeing into a room and engaged him by fire. As he closed on the militant, he was hit by grenade splinters unmindful of the injuries, he moved forward and then came under a hail of bullets," another official said.

Doesnt look like an accident during insertion. Methinks the current weapons were too cumbersome to fire while slithering down. Any more explanations ?

[KLNMurthy]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/chargesheet-samajhta-nahin...urdu-mein-chahiye/433119/

...

I say give it to him freakin' arabic.

I don't get the sloppiness. Why not just give the guy an Urdu translation and be done with it? If we are going to try him, might as well do it right, and not make it look like a kangaroo court.

It looks like there is no senior-level official with the required sophistication and awareness of psyops overseeing this trial. They seem to be treating kasab like an ordinary crook, going by the dialogue.

[ramana]

Google is screaming that SS Menon and H Clinton met and stressed the need to ensure no repeat of Mumbai attack.

Wonder what the odds are for a repeat before the elections and after the elections in May 2009?

[putnanja]

Ajmal Kasab has no right to trial

by Dr N.M. Ghatate

Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor of the terrorist group, which killed scores of innocent people in Mumbai after a four-day gun battle with the armed forces, is a Pakistani citizen. The question of all questions is: what are his rights under the Indian Constitution and the international law?

The answer assumes grave importance because it is now known worldwide that India is vulnerable to such attacks from citizens of Pakistan and other unfriendly countries. And, secondly, India has been fighting foreign-aided proxy for decades.

First, let us note what the Constitution mandates. Article 21 guarantees the right to life and liberty to all persons whether citizens of India or foreigners, and clauses (1) and (2) of Article 22 state that a person arrested under the criminal law has the right to be informed of the grounds of arrest as soon as possible.

Also, he has the right to consult and be defended by a lawyer of his choice and the right to be produced before the magistrate within 24 hours.

But Clause (3) (a) of this article states that none of these rights are available to a person who, “for the time being, is an enemy alien” and (sub clause b) who is detained under a preventive detention law.

Clauses (4) to (5) of this Article provide some safeguards to the detainee to regain his liberty such as the right to be informed about the grounds of detention, the right to make representation to the detaining authority and to the Advisory Board; and Clause (6) empowers Parliament to make laws regarding the procedure for fixing a time limit, the constitution and the procedure for the Advisory Board.

But the fact is no such rights or power whatever is given to an enemy alien under Clause (3) (a) of Article 22.

When the Constituent Assembly on September 15, 1949, debated this article there was a long-drawn debate about the likely abuse of the preventive detention law but not a whisper about the detention of an enemy alien.

Introducing this article, Dr Ambedkar also said that there cannot be any controversy on this point. At that time, he said, the “exigency of individual liberty should not be placed above the interest of state…or of defence services of the country.”

In a nutshell, an “enemy alien” is a class by itself. According to Basu’s framing of the Constitution, Parliament has the power to make laws regarding an enemy alien provided he is detained under the preventive detention law.

Now the question arises: who is an enemy alien? According to The Halsbury’s Laws of England, an enemy alien is the citizen of a country which is at “war with the Crown”. In other words, there should be a state of war to categorise a person as an “enemy alien”.

It is significant to remember that when the Constitution was framed and adopted in 1950 or the United Nations Charter, which emphasises about human rights, was framed in 1945, the international law recognised a state of war and a state of peace and there was nothing in-between.

The former phrase existed when there was a concept of declaration of war and later after there was a peace treaty but since the second half of the 20th century, this situation has undergone a sea-change in the international law.

There have been wars without an official declaration – for example, the Korean war of 1950, the Sino-Indian war of 1962, the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971, the Kargil war of 1999 and the recent Iraq war.

In these undeclared wars, both sides followed the international law of war. Soldiers captured in uniform of the other side were given the status of Prisoners of War under the Hague Declaration of 1899 and 1904 i.e. they could not be forced to fight against their own country, officers could not be subjected to manual labour, the Red Cross was permitted to deliver to the POWs their mail and goods without duty.

But, and this is a great but, if any enemy alien is arrested without uniform, he had no rights whatsoever. Such a person is treated as a spy and he could be shot down during the war.

He could also be detained without the right of habeas corpus. No human rights or fundamental liberties under the U.N. Charter and even under our Constitution are made available to him.

Undeclared wars and proxy wars have become a part of international relations and India is neither at war nor at peace with Pakistan and this proxy war is endangering the security, stability and sovereignty of India. Therefore, Ajmal Kasab, who is a citizen of Pakistan and who is caught in civilian clothes, has no right under the Constitution or the international law. Nor does he have the right to trial. Such a clear message should be given to Pakistan, which is conducting a proxy war against India and, furthermore, Pakistan should be told that “Goli” and “Boli” (talks and bullets) cannot go on simultaneously.

The writer is a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court and former Vice-Chairman of the Law Commission of India.

[namit k]

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[Lalmohan]

i think DDM is at work regarding Gajender Singh's death. You shouldn't be firing whilst coming down a rope from a helicopter - you've got to focus on staying alive and coming down in the right spot. Fire support/suppression should come from the chopper/other choppers or ground support troops. i think only rambo can rapell from a chopper and fire (and kill x'000 baddies) all in one go...

the more important question is the immediacy of the news feedback via television to the pak handlers and then the relay to the piglets in the house.