Re: 26/11 Saga Continues: Sid Harth
chhotemianinshallah
Something’s got to give
Rajdeep Sardesai
December 25, 2008
First Published: 19:52 IST(25/12/2008)
Last Updated: 02:24 IST(26/12/2008)
One of the more joyous moments of fatherhood was taking my son, then
all of nine years, to watch an India-Pakistan one-day match in Lahore
in 2004. Our Pakistani friends had rolled out the traditional Punjabi
hospitality: from the waiting limousine at the airport to the best
pavilion seats, we were treated as honoured guests. In a sea of
competing blue and green, my son was caught up in the excitement of
the occasion. Through the day, he had been furiously waving the
Tricolour.
In the last overs, as it became clear that India was winning, some
visibly frustrated Pakistani supporters handed over a Pakistani flag
to my son. The offer was promptly accepted, and on our way home he had
two flags in his hand: the Tricolour and its Pakistani equivalent.
Call it the innocence of a nine-year-old, but the Indo-Pak equation
has always had a romantic edge. No relationship has been as
schizophrenic as that between the two subcontinental neighbours. Where
else can you have a heated argument on Kashmir one moment, and then
proceed to draw up an all-time best Indo-Pak cricket eleven the very
next? How does one explain travelling to the headquarters of the
Lashkar during the day, and sitting in the evening in the hotel lobby
listening to a pianist play a Lata-Rafi melody?
The dualism was starkly driven home when I was interviewing then Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif in the midst of the Kargil war in 1999. The
interview saw a few sharp, testy exchanges over just who was
responsible for the war. With the camera off, Sharif was back to being
his gregarious self. As we ate a several course feast in the luxurious
prime ministerial gardens overlooking the Margalla hills, the tone was
anything but bellicose. Instead, Sharif proceeded to reminisce on his
favourite Hindi film star, Rajendra Kumar. “Waah, kya actor
tha!” (perhaps the only time anyone has recognised ‘Jubilee’ Kumar’s
acting capabilities). The conversation then drifted to Sharif’s other
great obsession, cricket, and he appeared awe-struck by Tendulkar’s
batting. Finally, while leaving, I mentioned that I hadn’t eaten
better kebabs. Sharif, the foodie, smiled, “Not as good as the ones I
once ate in Purani Dilli. And the gajar halwa was something else!”
Perhaps, the food and conversation was only meant to soften an Indian
journalist in a time of war, but the affection has always felt just as
real as the enmity over the years. Has 26/11 changed that? Are we now
as a people less inclined to give our Pakistani counterparts the
benefit of doubt, less prepared to distinguish between the Pakistani
State and its civil society, less willing to get carried away by
nostalgia and shared interests?
At one level, the end of the jhappi-pappi culture in the Indo-Pak
relationship is to be welcomed. Candlelight at Wagah and the sound of
guns along the Line of Control were always colliding images that
discomfited those whose minds were less cluttered by sentimentalism.
Geography and generational change had perhaps something to do with
contrasting attitudes. For those who had been affected by Partition,
the love-hate relationship with the ‘other side’ was connected with
their collective memories of childhood. But for those who lived south
of the Vindhyas, with no real connect with Pakistan, the obsessive
relationship always seemed a little incongruous.
The romantics were looking for a Veer Zara equation; while the
extremists on both sides were keen for a Gadar-like confrontation. The
more mature approach lies somewhere in-between, based on a more
pragmatic and less emotional assessment of the relationship. Take
cricketing ties for example. In the afterglow of that heady 2004
series when chants of “Balaji zara dheere chalo!” were heard across
Pakistani stadiums, the romantics believed that there had been a
tectonic shift in attitudes, with the average Pakistani ready to
embrace the idea of India.
The truth is that cricket has its limitations beyond the boundary.
Cricket matches cannot be a substitute for statecraft, an Indian
cricketer being cheered by a Pakistani crowd does not mean that the
terror infrastructure has been dismantled. It is too much in the first
place to have ever expected our cricketers to achieve what politicians
on both sides of the border cannot: a permanent peace. You cannot, for
example, have a situation where cricket is expected to compensate for
our failures to work out a meaningful joint mechanism against terror.
It is no use for Pakistan to claim that it, too, is a victim of
terror, and then use that as an excuse not to act against Masood Azhar
or Dawood Ibrahim. What 26/11 has done is driven home the double-
standards of a feeble Pakistani State to the average Indian citizen:
how can you play ‘normal’ cricket with a country which is living
through an ‘abnormal’ situation by denying the links between a section
of its State apparatus and terror groups?
And yet, it is difficult to accept the extreme view that all Indo-Pak
sporting and cultural contacts be abandoned as a demonstrable measure
of our anger post-26/11. The idea that the social isolation of
Pakistan could have the same effect as that of the ostracism of South
Africa during the apartheid years is misplaced. The campaign against
apartheid worked because it was a global effort. Moreover, apartheid
was institutionalised by the South African government while Islamabad
retains the fiction of terror being a ‘non-State’ act. Importantly,
the only hope for a stable Pakistan lies in the strengthening of its
civil society as was seen during the anti-Musharraf lawyers’ protest.
We haven’t seen the same kind of nation-wide movement against the
jihadis yet.
The challenge then is to strike the right balance. We must hold the
stick of sanctions — economic, sporting and cultural — if Pakistan
refuses to cooperate with the 26/11 investigation but also offer the
carrot of even greater interaction if there is concrete proof that
Islamabad is acting against the jihadis. Above all, we must all live
in hope that sanity will ultimately prevail. My now teenaged son
certainly does: he still has the Pakistani flag in his room.
(Rajdeep Sardesai is editor-in-Chief, IBN Network)
...and I am Sid Harth
chhotemianinshallah
Mainstream, Vol. XLVII, No 41, September 26, 2009
Latest Moves by Islamabad and Beijing
Editorial
Saturday 26 September 2009, by SC
Recent developments in Pakistan relating to Hafiz Saeed, the founder-
leader of Jamat-ud-Dawa-cum-Lashkar-e-Taiba, have been cautiously
welcomed by India.
On September 16, the police in Pakistan’s Punjab province registered
two cases against him in Faisalabad for glorifying jihad and
soliciting funds for it. The cases were unconnected to the Mumbai
terror attacks in November 2008. But what is significant is that for
the first time cases were filed against him by the Punjab Government
under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
What is more, on September 19 Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman
Malik told a press conference in Islamabad that Pakistan was pursuing
the leads provided by India on Hafiz Saeed, adding:
I have not rejected the leads… if there is evidence against (him)
during our investigations… he will not get out of the clutches of law.
And on September 21 the police in Lahore confined Hafiz Saeed to his
house, but did not arrest or detain him; however, he was prevented
from leaving his home to lead the Id prayers at the Gaddafi Statium in
the city.
All these constitute a half-step. And given the Pakistani
administration’s past record there is no guarantee “that justice is at
last being done”, as has been observed in The Hindu. Nonetheless it
would be futile to dismiss this half-measure as of no consequence
whatsoever. In the words of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram,
He (Hafiz Saeed) has been charged under two FIRs unrelated to 26/11.
If this is a face-saving technique, I have no objection. My demand is
that he be interrogated… on his role in the 26/11 attacks.
This a correct and appropriate response shorn of any trace of jingoism
and deserves to be acclaimed.
However, the government’s sharp criticism of the media for expressing
legitimate apprehension on Chinese intentions in view of Beijing’s
latest activities on the Sino-Indian border is inexplicable, to say
the least. In this context the words of former Chief of Army Staff
General Shankar Roy Chowdhury in The Asian Age are noteworthy:
India’s responses (to Chinese moves—S.C.) have been non-
confrontational and even passive, sometimes to the point of apparent
deference. The psyche of the Han race… is another factor to be
understood when interacting with China, irrespective of the political
system prevailing… Xenophobic by natural mindset, the Han consider
China as the “middle kingdom” of the world, superior to those
countries and peoples on the periphery, which in current perspective
includes India. The underlying inflexibility in matters of territory
considered national, no matter how long ago in history, has its
origins in this perception, and applies to territorial frontiers,
whether Taiwan, Vietnam, the South China Sea, or in India’s case the
Sino-Indian border in Tibet…
…the “trust but verify” mantra needs a little modification in the
context of China. How about an alternative: “Speak softly but carry
the big stick”?
The words merit serious consideration of all concerned.
September 23 S.C.
Sid Harth
Assembly Elections 2009
India Today Assembly Elections 2009 Story Maharashtra polls: PM
attacks Raj Thackeray
Nishika Patel
Mumbai, October 11, 2009
On the last day of election campaigning in Mumbai, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh urged voters to select the alliance of unity and
development rather than the divisive politics of the Shiv Sena-BJP
alliance and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
Disapproving of Raj Thackeray's politics, Singh was convinced the
Marathi leader would get a correct reply from the Maharashtra
electorate in the Assembly Elections to be held on October 13.
"Your vote for us…will be a vote against the agenda of dividing
society and creating tensions in it," he said.
Singh touched on various issues as he addressed the media at the
National Center for Performing Arts in Mumbai on Sunday.
Despite the massive backlash over high inflation, triggered by one of
the worst droughts in recent memory, Singh was optimistic that "the
worst is over". He said a good rabi crop would ease inflation in the
coming months.
Singh admitted the alliance had fallen short in improving the
infrastructure of Mumbai and said developing the city would be the
party's biggest priority if re-elected. Urban transport, the metro
rail system and the next phase of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link would all
be on top of the government's agenda.
On the rising Naxal menace, Singh ruled out the use of armed forces to
tackle the problem and said he would be willing to talk to Naxals if
they shed violence. But as well as stepping up the security response,
he said the government would also look at the causes of tribal
alienation.
Nearly one year after the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai, Singh was
unwilling to admit that the government's policy to force Pakistan to
act against the perpetrators had failed. Instead, he said for the
first time ever Pakistan had admitted the terror attack had been
hatched in Pakistan by its citizens.
The government's policy in uplifting the welfare of the common man was
also praised by Singh, who said nine lakh rural families in the state
were guaranteed 100 days of employment in the last year while 42 lakh
farmers in the state had benefited from the debt waiver scheme.
chhotemianinshallah
I have no faith in Indian court: Kasab
PTI 12 October 2009, 08:10pm IST
MUMBAI: After facing trial in the Mumbai attack case for nearly six
months, the lone surviving Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab today said he
had "no faith" in Indian court and made a dramatic plea for transfer
of the case to an international court.
But Judge M L Tahaliyani rejected 22-year-old Kasab's plea saying "it
is misconceived".
"I have no faith in Indian court and this case may be transferred to
an International court", Kasab said in an application to the court. He
had moved the application written in his own hand in Urdu.
The application was filed through jail authorities who translated it
into Marathi and produced before the court.
The judge asked Kasab whether he had written the application and he
replied "ji huzoor" (Yes, Sir).
The trial of Kasab, whom police formally charged in February with
several offences including "waging war" against India, began on March
23 via a video link with his Arthur Road prison in Mumbai. Kasab and
other suspected Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives killed 166 people in
a three-day rampage in the city on November 26 last.
In another development, the judge also rejected the plea of co-accused
Fahim Ansari to stay the proceedings on the ground that he had filed a
petition in the Bombay High Court seeking transfer of the 26/11 case
to some other court alleging that the recording of evidence was
incorrect.
"This is yet another attempt by the accused to delay the trial", noted
judge Tahaliyani while rejecting Fahim's plea to stay the
proceedings.
bademiyansubhanallah
26/11 suspects charged by Pakistani Anti-Terror Court
Nirupama Subramanian
ISLAMABAD: The seven suspects arrested here in connection with the
November 26, 2008 Mumbai attacks were formally charged by a Pakistani
Anti-Terror Court on Saturday, but the defence lawyers accused the
judge of making a “mockery” of the law. They said they were
considering asking for a transfer of the case to another court.
Judge Baqir Ali Rana of the Anti-Terror Court 2 in the Adilala prison
at Rawalpindi framed the charges. The case has been adjourned to
October 17.
The seven include Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, operations commander of the
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Zarar Shah, described as a communications
expert in the outfit.
But their indictment came after the team of three defence lawyers left
the court, apparently at the urging of the judge. It is not clear yet
what charges the court has framed out of the multiple charge sheets
presented by the Federal Investigations Agency, which is in charge of
the 26/11 investigation.
Khwaja Sultan, the seniormost lawyer in the team, told The Hindu that
as the defence counsel were not present, the seven suspects refused to
“sign the charges,” that is, they declined to plead guilty or not
guilty.
“We are considering challenging the manner in which this was done at
the next hearing, and we are also considering asking for a transfer of
the case from this court,” he said.
The charges were read out to each of the accused, Mr. Sultan said, but
they refused to sign them as required, as the document was in English,
a language they did not understand, and because their lawyers were not
present.
According to Mr. Sultan, the judge asked the lawyers to leave the
court following the attack at the military headquarters in Rawalpindi,
telling them that they would be stranded if the city were to be shut
down later.
Earlier in the day, the defence team moved a petition before the court
on the manner of arrest and detention of the suspects.
Judge Rana asked the prosecution to respond to the objections raised
in the petition immediately.
After arguments on both sides, the lawyers were waiting for the judge
to make a ruling in the matter. It was that point that they heard
about the trouble at Rawalpindi.
“I told the judge that courtesy demands that I should stay on until
the court remained open, but the judge asked me to leave,” Mr. Sultan
related.
“But the judge asked the prosecution lawyer to return and for the
suspects to be produced before him again, and he framed the charges,”
the Lahore-based lawyer said.
bademiyansubhanallah
India to convey unhappiness to US over Pak delay in action against
Hafiz Saeed
PTI 15 October 2009, 01:53pm IST
NEW DELHI: India is expected to convey its unhappiness over the dilly-
dallying by Pakistani authorities in taking action against JuD chief
Hafiz Saeed to US under secretary of state William Burns, who has
arrived here for a two-day visit.
New Delhi considers Saeed as the mastermind of the 26/11 attacks
though Pakistan has been claiming that there is not much evidence
against him, as a result of which he continues to be a free man.
The status of investigation into the Mumbai terror strikes is expected
to be discussed when the two sides review bilateral ties.
Burns will meet external affairs minister S M Krishna and national
security advisor M K Narayanan and hold talks with foreign secretary
Nirupama Rao.
During the meetings, the two sides will also discuss aspects related
to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Washington next month.
While sharing India's concern over the terrorist threat that could
emanate from Pakistan, US ambassador Timothy Roemer yesterday sought
prosecution of seven suspects of the Mumbai attacks, including Saeed.
"It is very important that Pakistan prosecutes successfully the seven
suspects of the Mumbai attacks, take the facts and evidence about
Hafiz Saeed and prosecute him," he had said.
chhotemianinshallah
India's challenge now: Keeping US's focus on 26/11
Seema Guha / DNA Friday, October 16, 2009 2:51 IST
New Delhi: Even as the government watches the Taliban's growing clout
in Pakistan with concern -- aware of its long-term threat to India --
the ministry of external affairs is also worried about another
challenge: How to keep the focus on 26/11, when the rest of the world,
mainly the US, is watching Islamabad take on the militants with its
back to the wall?
Pakistani security forces are under a frontal attack by the Taliban
and other terror outfits working in a loose syndicate with the al
Qaeda. Islamabad can legitimately claim it is a victim of terrorism
and is doing its best to fight the menace.
The international community, which needs Pakistani forces to take on
the jihadis in Waziristan, will be far more sympathetic to Islamabad
and may think that now is not the time to pressure the Pakistani
government on India's concerns.
India's diplomacy will have to rise to the occasion to ensure that the
world does not forget what happened in Mumbai and that unless the
establishment in Pakistan stops its "selective approach" on terror
groups, the entire region, including the Pakistani state, can
collapse.
US under-secretary of state William Burns is on a two-day visit to
India. He has already met with external affairs minister SM Krishna
and will hold talks with foreign secretary Nirupama Rao. The Indian
side will be pushing the point that pressure on Pakistan -- to act
against the 26/11 perpetrators and other anti-India groups -- needs to
continue.
For the moment, however, India cannot be seen as whining about Mumbai
when the neighbour itself is under attack from the Taliban-al Qaeda
forces, who have already declared their intention of turning Pakistan
into their version of a strict Islamic republic.
New Delhi will also be under added pressure to renew the stalled peace
parleys as a way to strengthen the hands of Pakistani president Asif
Ali Zardari, who has openly supported the Kerry-Lugar bill.
bademiyansubhanallah
India will the walk extra mile if Pak acts against 26/11 attackers:
Tharoor
PTI Friday, October 16, 2009 11:51 IST
New York: India is prepared to walk the "extra mile" to normalise
relations with Pakistan if it takes action against the perpetrators of
the Mumbai attacks and dismantles terrorism infrastructure, minister
of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor has said.
Tharoor, who is on a visit here, said India was not interested in an
environment of conflict and hostility with its neighbour and asked
Pakistan to step up efforts to combat terrorism in a "holistic way".
"The action that is expected from Pakistan has to take place before we
can engage once again in the kind of comprehensive dialogue process
that we want," he told PTI here.
"We are prepared to walk the extra mile but the first step should come
from them because what happened in Mumbai came from their side," the
former UN diplomat said.
He also recalled prime m nister Manmohan Singh's statement in July
that India would meet Pakistan more than half way if it took decisive
action against terrorism.
Tharoor also said India is "certainly disappointed" on the lack of
progress in any action against JuD chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed and in
the Mumbai attack case in Pakistan.
Based on the testimony given by Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist
captured alive during the 26/11 attacks, Tharoor said India believes
that Saaed had masterminded the strikes, "given exaltation and
operational guidance to the killers"."We believethis is a man (Saeed)
who should not be running loose in Pakistan free to preach his sermons
of hatred and incite violence and murder in our country," Tharoor
said.
"We want the infrastructure of terrorism from which assaults have been
launched in India to be dismantled," he said.
The minister said Pakistan should also shut down training camps, crack
down on terrorist organisations and stop them from being reinvented
under different names, arresting their leaders and closing down their
bank accounts.
He noted that Pakistan has so far arrested only seven suspects,
including LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, in connection
with the Mumbai attacks. "I believe they're still looking for others
but we will not be satisfied with just these seven."
While a crack down on the terrorists behind 26/11 attacks remains
paramount, Tharoor said, India hopes that Pakistan would root out the
scourge of terrorism in a more "holistic manner".
"We were engaged in a peace process when 26/11 happened. India is not
the country that has been found wanting when it comes to making
overtures of peace. Governments in India envisioned prosperity for the
sub-continent.
"As we would like these things for our own people, we would like them
for the people of Pakistan," he added.
Sid Harth
bademiyansubhanallah
Hillary Clinton impressed by Pak commitment to fight terror
PTI 17 October 2009, 12:06pm IST
WASHINGTON: Notwithstanding India's dissatisfaction with the steps
taken by Islamabad to punish perpetrators of Mumbai attacks, the US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said she is "impressed" by the
commitment shown by Pakistan in fighting terrorism within its
territory.
Earlier this year, when the Taliban had captured the Swat Valley,
Clinton during a Congressional hearing had raised serious question
over the commitment of both the Pakistani government and its army to
launch an all out war against all the terrorist and extremist elements
in the country.
"Well, I am very impressed with the commitment that the Pakistani
government - both the civilian leadership and the military - have
made," Clinton told the CNN in an interview, when she was referred to
her statement a few months ago that Pakistan was in danger of falling
to the terrorists.
"When I said what I said some months ago, there was not the full
commitment of going after those who were threatening territory and
authority inside Pakistan. There is now. And I think the military in
Pakistan has proven its effectiveness in going into Swat," Clinton
said defending the change in her opinion about both the democratically-
elected government of Pakistan and its army.
"From what I read in the paper, they're very much focused on also
going into the heartland of where the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaida
are located and where these plots and these attacks are planned and
directed. So I think that they understand that there is a direct
threat to them, which they are addressing, which I think is all to the
good," Clinton said.
chhotemianinshallah
NIA probes Headley's role in terror acts, conducts raids
Press Trust Of India
Mumbai, November 14, 2009
First Published: 20:58 IST(14/11/2009)
Last Updated: 21:54 IST(14/11/2009)
Intensifying its probe into the alleged role of suspected American
terrorist and LeT operative David Headley in the Mumbai terror
attacks, a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday
conducted raids at several places in the city.
The NIA carried out searches at various places in south Mumbai and
western suburbs of the city, sources said.
Two hotels in south Mumbai have also been searched, they said, adding
the team is in the city as part of its probe in the Headley case.
The NIA has registered a case against Headley and his Canadian
accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana in connection with terror attacks in
India including the 26/11 Mumbai attack.
chhotemianinshallah
Headley's phone number in India found; probe makes headway
Press Trust Of India
Mumbai, November 10, 2009
First Published: 22:50 IST(10/11/2009)
Last Updated: 23:20 IST(10/11/2009)
Central security agencies have located the mobile phone number used by
David Headley, arrested by FBI for his involvement in an LeT plot to
carry out attacks in India, during his stay in Mumbai.
The clue to the mobile phone used by Headley was given by a 38-year-
old Parsi lady who was working with him at his immigration services
office set up in Mumbai, official sources said.
The security agencies have already started analysising the call
records of Headley who has been arrested by FBI on October three for
allegedly hatching a conspiracy with Pakistan-based terror group
Lashker-e-Taiba to carry out strikes inside and outside the US.
This may also help the security agencies to ascertain whether
disappeared cadres of banned SIMI and Indian Mujahideen had used
Headley's immigration services.
The phone number had come as a boost to the sleuths who were rattled
by the fact that Headley, who came to India nine times since 2006-07,
had wound up the entire immigration business in April this year and
they could not get a single information about the functioning of his
business and clients.
The mysterious disappearance of many terror accused from Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad including that of Rahil Sheikh, an
alleged mastermind in the 2006 Mumbai serial blasts that left 187
people dead, was also being looked into.
chhotemianinshallah
Mahesh Bhatt's son questioned on Headley link
Indo-Asian News Service
Mumbai/New Delhi, November 13, 2009
First Published: 14:11 IST(13/11/2009)
Last Updated: 16:18 IST(13/11/2009)
Mumbai police have questioned Bollywood filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's son
Rahul for his alleged friendship with David Coleman Headley, the
Pakistan-born US national who is in FBI custody as a Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT) suspect.
Rahul Bhatt, a fitness instructor, was let off after questioning as he
was unaware of Headley's terror links, said sources in the Mumbai
Police.
According to sources, during questioning Rahul admitted to having
known Headley and also helping him rent a flat near Breach Candy
Hospital.
However, the filmmaker's son was unaware of Headley's actual
background and took him to be a foreign national in India on a job.
There were several references to "Rahul" in Headley's e-mail exchanges
with his Pakistani handlers that sent the security establishment into
a tizzy.
Information provided by the FBI has revealed that Headley operated a
visa agency in Mumbai for almost two years until July 2008 and had
travelled to India on business visas nine times between 2006 and
2009.
When contacted, Mahesh Bhatt neither confirmed nor denied that his son
had been questioned by police in connection with the Headley case.
"This is an issue of national security and not something trivial
related to Bollywood. Ask the agencies that deal with national
security. I will not say anything more," Bhatt told a television
channel.
Investigators initially feared that the 'Rahul' reference was to
Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi but Home Minister P
Chidambaram promptly denied this. There was even speculation that it
could be a code name for Shah Rukh Khan, who has played characters
named Rahul in several films.
Headley and his alleged accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Canadian
citizen of Pakistani origin, are being held on charges of plotting
attacks in India at the behest of Lashkar.
Intelligence shared by the FBI following the interrogation of Headley
revealed that two of India's most prestigious boarding schools -- Doon
in Dehradun and Woodstock in Mussoorie -- and the National Defence
College in New Delhi were supposed Lashkar targets.
India will ask the US to extradite Headley after the FBI files its
report in January.
chhotemianinshallah
Headley had stayed in a Delhi hotel before 26/11 attacks
Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, November 13, 2009
First Published: 13:14 IST(13/11/2009)
Last Updated: 13:40 IST(13/11/2009)
Suspected American terrorist David Headley had stayed in a hotel in
the national capital just months before the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.
According to the passport details of Headley, he had visited the
national capital and Mumbai during April last year. He had then left
for Pakistan.
Headley was arrested by the FBI for suspected links with the banned
terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which had carried out the Mumbai carnage
last year that left about 180 people dead.
Sources said Central security agencies are also investigating
Headley's suspected links to terror outfit Indian Mujhaideen, which
had carried out a series of bomb attacks across the country, including
in Rajasthan and Delhi, that left over 170 people dead.
Home Minister P Chidambaram had said on Thursday that besides Headley,
the National Investigating Agency had registered a case against his
Canadian accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana.
The duo was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and
for conspiring to wage war against the country.
Maintaining that Headley had visited India several times before 26/11
and once after the Mumbai terror strikes, Chidambaram had said, "We
are conducting investigations in the cities he visited to find out
whom he met and what he did."
The Mumbai attack last November left 183 persons dead. A top Home
Ministry official has claimed that the investigators had enough
evidence to show Headley's link with LeT and the Government is all set
to produce the documents before a US court in January next and press
for his extradition to India.
"We will press for his extradition to India with the evidence," the
official said. The investigators were now trying to find out whether
Headley and his accomplice Rana, also arrested in the US, were
involved in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai and whether handlers of the
duo and Mumbai attackers were the same.
chhotemianinshallah
Is Headley the missing link in 26/11 conspiracy?
Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi/Mumbai, November 13, 2009
First Published: 21:25 IST(13/11/2009)
Last Updated: 23:17 IST(13/11/2009)
With David Coleman Headley's travel itinerary and the persons he met
up with during his nine visits to India becoming increasingly clear,
investigators believe that the Pakistan-born American, now in US
custody, could have played a role in planning the Mumbai terror
attacks.
Top intelligence officials said Headley, a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)
suspect, is now turning out to be one of the prime suspects in the
probe into 26/11 - India's biggest terror attack whose first
anniversary will be observed in a fortnight - and was also looking at
other potential targets in the country.
"Look at the reconnaisance missions he carried out. Why do you think
he was travelling to Kochi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Mumbai and Delhi? Clearly
it was not for sightseeing," a senior intelligence official told IANS
on condition of anonymity.
Investigators say that Headley could well be the missing link in the
26/11 conspiracy.
Headley, say intelligence agencies, had visited India nine times on
his US passport (No. 097536400), issued March 10, 2006 that was valid
for 10 years.
According to officials probing Headley's connections, he had an eye
for detail and was capable of meticulous planning.
Headley, who changed his name from Daood Gilani in 2006, and his
alleged accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Canadian citizen of
Pakistani origin, were arrested in the US last month by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The FBI later informed the Indian intelligence agencies that the two
were plotting terror attacks on behalf of the LeT against India and
the National Defence College in New Delhi and two premier educational
institutions were on their hit list.
An FBI team is expected in India next week to probe the Indian links
of Headley and will be joined by security agencies in Mumbai.
"The FBI investigation shared with Indian investigators reveals that
Headley has played an important role in conspiring the Mumbai attack.
We are probing this link," the officer said, pleading anonymity.
"The criminal complaints the FBI has so far shared expose a serious
plot against overseas targets by the two working for the LeT," the
official said.
Intelligence agencies were also investigating Headley's suspected
links to terror outfit Indian Mujahideen, which had carried out a
series of bomb attacks across the country, including in Jaipur, Delhi
and Bangalore last year.
Headley and Rana have been charged by the FBI of plotting to attack a
Danish newspaper whose cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that led to
violent protests by Muslims.
Headley, according to investigators, also travelled to Pakistan where
he met with a militant having ties with Al Qaeda, Harakat-ul Jihadi
Islami, and communicated with members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba about
their plans to conduct fresh attacks in India.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram Thursday said Headley was in India before
and the after the 26/11 terror carnage that left over 170 people dead
in India's financial capital.
India's National Investigating Agency has already registered cases
against Headley and Rana and has sought their deportation.
Headley's passport details, a xerox copy of which police got from a
Delhi hotel, revealed he had come to the capital from Abu Dhabi March
6 this year - the ninth and his last visit to India. He is also
suspected of having a Pakistani passport, the officials say.
According to Delhi Police, during his recent visits to the capital he
stayed in two hotels of Delhi in crowded Paharganj, a popular
destination for foreign backpackers.
On March 6, he stayed at Hotel Holiday International and then for the
next two days at Hotel Anand, from where he checked out saying he was
leaving for Rajasthan, according to hotel records.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Police have also questioned Bollywood filmmaker
Mahesh Bhatt's son Rahul for his alleged friendship with Headley.
Rahul, a fitness instructor, was let off after questioning as he was
unaware of Headley's terror links, said sources in the Mumbai Police.
"How would you think that a white American had anything to do with
terror," Mahesh Bhatt told reporters when asked about his son was
questioned.
In Mumbai, Headley also met realty broker Sunny Singh to rent a flat
through a former French client. However, since he could not provide
proper documents, he did not help him get a flat, the property dealer
said.
"I asked him for copies of his visa, passport and other identity
papers, which he was not ready to provide," he said.
Sid Harth
Kerala police verifying reports on Headley's visit to Kochi
Press Trust Of India
Thiruvananthapuram, November 14, 2009
First Published: 13:45 IST(14/11/2009)
Last Updated: 13:47 IST(14/11/2009)
Kerala Police is looking into reports that Kochi was one of the places
visited by American terror suspect David Headley before the Mumbai
carnage.
Director General of Police Jacob Punnoose said central agencies
investigating the case had so far not passed on any information on the
matter to the state police.
However, state police was "verifying" reports including those in the
media that Headley had stayed in a hotel in the city.
The State police is also verifying documents at the airport on arrival
of foreign passengers by domestic and international flights for the
last three years, he said.
Headley was arrested by US investigating agency FBI for planning
terror attacks in India.
Sid Harth
My son does not require clean chit from anyone: Mahesh Bhatt
Press Trust Of India
Mumbai, November 14, 2009
First Published: 18:49 IST(14/11/2009)
Last Updated: 19:07 IST(14/11/2009)
Upset over reports attributed to security agencies that they have not
cleared his son of any wrongdoing in connection with his dealings with
terror suspect David Headley, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt on Saturday said
he is hurt and that his son does not require a clean chit from anyone.
"I have read news reports attributed to security agencies wherein they
have said that Rahul has not been given a clean chit for his Headley
connection. I am deeply hurt. He is a true and responsible Indian who
himself volunteered to share the information with the agencies.
Rahul's heart is clear and he doesn't require any clean chit from
anyone," Bhatt told PTI.
He also accused the security agencies of not keeping their word and
leaking selective information to the media.
"We were asked to maintain silence, but see now what is happening. I
kept my word (by remaining silent) and look what the security agencies
are doing?" Bhatt said, adding that the investigating agencies were
clueless about the identity of Rahul, who figured in Headley's e-mails
to his LeT handler, until his son volunteered the information.
"It was my son who approached Rakesh Maria (Joint Police Commissioner,
Mumbai) and shared details after which the investigations have gone on
the right track. The agencies should acknowledge this truth," he said.
Sid Harth
Gujrat Police probe Headley's visit to state
Press Trust Of India
Ahmedabad, November 14, 2009
First Published: 17:23 IST(14/11/2009)
Last Updated: 17:24 IST(14/11/2009)
Gujarat Police on Saturday said it was investigating into US-based LeT
operative David Coleman Headley's visit to the state.
"We had some information about that and we are working on it. Headley
had come for a couple of days with one of his accomplices to
Ahmedabad....that information seems to be almost confirmed," Director
General of Police S S Khadwavala said.
He said that they are yet to receive any official information in this
regard from the Central security agencies.
"Our anti-terrorist squad and other police officials are investigating
into the visit," he further said.
On Headley having any local support here, the DGP said, "Until and
unless there is local support, no terrorist can operate."
In the backdrop of Headley's several visits to India between 2006 and
2009, the Centre has issued alerts to five states, including Gujarat,
Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, as a precautionary measure.
During investigations, it was found that Headley had visited Mumbai,
Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Agra and Delhi and done a recce of vital
installations in other cities.
Headley (49) was arrested last month by FBI for allegedly hatching a
conspiracy with LeT to carry out strikes inside and outside the US.
Sid Harth
A homing instinct
Rajdeep Sardesai
October 29, 2009
First Published: 21:07 IST(29/10/2009)
Last Updated: 21:11 IST(29/10/2009)
In the corridors of North Block, the shadow of Sardar Patel, India’s
first home minister, looms large. Every person who has since occupied
the office is constantly reminded of the Iron Man of India: a life-
size portrait of the Sardar stares down at them. It’s a burden which
has weighed heavily on his successors, which is perhaps why the
country’s roll call of home ministers is littered with notable
failures.
There was SB Chavan who fiddled while the Babri Masjid was brought
down; Brahmanand Reddy who silently acquiesced in the Emergency; Buta
Singh, whose act in bowing his head at the feet of VHP mentor Deoraha
Baba was a new low in Indian politics; Charan Singh who was constantly
plotting on how to become prime minister; Indrajit Gupta, who like a
good leftie spent more time on pay commission hikes than on fighting
militancy; and, of course, the serial dresser Shivraj Patil who
changed his wardrobe every time there was a terror attack. Even L.K.
Advani, who claimed to be inspired by the Sardar, was a rather rusted
home minister in the end, his rhetoric on Dawood Ibrahim and the ISI
hardly being matched by concrete action on the ground.
Enter P. Chidambaram. A little less than a year ago when PC took over,
it was the worst of times. The 26/11 terror attacks had shaken the
security establishment, the state had been exposed as effete and
inept. The home ministry had been pushed into bureaucratic
irrelevance, one reason perhaps why even Chidambaram was self-
confessedly reluctant to take up the job.
And yet, 11 months into office, PC is poised to be recognised as
perhaps the toughest home minister the country has had, if not since
Patel, then certainly in the last three decades. In a sense, PC’s no
nonsense persona — his critics term it as arrogance — is ideally
suited for the ministry that needs a tough talking jailorsaab at the
helm. As finance minister, PC’s style of functioning appeared at times
ill-suited to the demands of coalition politics. But in the home
ministry, the combativeness has been rewarding.
Take for example the recent conference of directors-general of
police: PC used the opportunity to lambast states for treating
policemen as ‘political footballs’. Similarly, PC’s repeated
questioning of Pakistan’s blatant attempt to protect Lashkar boss
Hafiz Saeed may yield little, but at least it sends out a strong
signal that New Delhi isn’t a wimpish state which will allow Islamabad
to win the propaganda war once again.
But there is another, more complex challenge that faces PC: tackling
the Naxal menace. Unlike Pak-based terrorism where the enemy is clear,
the Maoists cannot be seen in black and white. Yes, those who behead
police constables, who mine roads and blast bridges must be seen as
armed militias who have to be either disarmed or eliminated. But
should every armed tribal be seen as an ‘enemy of the state’ who must
be shot dead?
In a recent speech, PC had warned against romanticising Naxalism: “If
the Naxalites accuse elected governments of capitalism, land grabbing,
exploiting and displacing tribal people, what prevents them from
winning power through elections and reversing current policies? We
have not heard a logical answer to this question, not from naxalites,
not from left-leaning intellectuals, and certainly not from human
rights groups that plead the naxalite cause but ignore the violence
unleashed by Naxalites on innocent men, women and children. Why are
the human rights groups silent?”
It’s a question that has enraged human rights groups who believe that
it’s not just their ideology, but their patriotism that is being
challenged. It’s equally the kind of remarks that have drawn applause
from a vocal, middle-class constituency driven by the ‘enough is
enough’ slogan that echoed after 26/11. In the process, the debate
over how to tackle Naxalism is being polarised into a ‘them’ and ‘us’
binary conflict that offers no solution. Yes, we must condemn the cult
of violence spawned by Naxalism in the strongest terms. But does that
mean we turn a blind eye to the random violence of our own forces?
Francis Induwar’s killing must make the headlines and his family must
get justice. But what of Dudhi Muye, 70, who was murdered after her
breasts were cut off in a security ‘operation’ in Dantewada on
September 17? Does her family too not deserve justice?
If the cycle of violence is to end, then Naxals who murder in cold
blood must be dealt with as murderers but equally security forces who
believe they have a unbridled licence to kill cannot be let off under
the guise of inevitable ‘collateral damage’. Who better than a home
minister who started life as a trade union activist and then became a
senior lawyer to understand the primacy of the rule of law and
justice?
Postscript: In the last month, both Chidambaram and Arundhati Roy have
been interviewed separately in our TV studios. Next time, they should
consider coming together in the spirit of encouraging a meaningful
dialogue as the way forward.
Rajdeep Sardesai is Editor-in-Chief , IBN Network
bademiyansubhanallah
Indian investigators got good info on Headley: PC
Agencies
Posted: Saturday , Nov 14, 2009 at 1820 hrs
New Delhi:
The Indian team of intelligence officials which went to the US in
connection with probe into LeT operative David Coleman Headley's
terror designs has come back with "good information", Union Home
Minister P Chidambaram said on Saturday.
He, however, refused to share details, saying investigations were
still underway.
"The team had a good visit. They have come back with good
information," Chidambaram told reporters here when asked about the
trip that officials from Intelligence Bureau and RAW undertook to the
US last week to obtain details of the terror plan of Headley.
Asked whether Headley was linked to the Mumbai attacks, the Home
Minister snapped, saying "This is not a cricket match which gives a
ball-by-ball description. Investigation is on and once the
investigating agency completes investigations, we will share whatever
has to be shared."
Headley, 49-year-old Pakistan-born US citizen, was arrested in Chicago
last month by the FBI which said he was part of an LeT plan to carry
out terror attacks in India.
Officials of IB and RAW went to the US last week and met FBI
counterparts to get details of the plot and Headley's contacts in
India on the basis of his interrogation.
After the return of the Indian team, investigators in New Delhi have
begun unravelling details of Headley's visits to the capital and
identifying people whom he had met in Mumbai, Delhi and other places.
In praise of HM PC
By: anil bharali | Saturday , 14 Nov '09 22:44:46 PM
As an ordinary citizen we feel ashamed of on our honourable HM
minister' s appreciation to the inefficient intelligent deparment.
Separate Bombay from Maharashtra and deal Marathis with iron hand
By: Mona Sharma | Saturday , 14 Nov '09 22:31:06 PM
First arrest Marathi terrorists in Maharashtra. These anti-nationals
and traitors should be shot down before they become risk to our
national integrity.
IB-RAW visit to US
By: Kalpathy Venkataraman | Saturday , 14 Nov '09 22:20:30 PM
Chidambaram's statement is aimed at justifying the wasteful expenses
related to the recent US trip by his puppet IB-RAW lieutenants. Even
if the IB guys know the Headley's local contacts in India, what is
that they are going to do? Nothing. The joint owners of the criminal
enterprises in India are the politicians, bureaucrats and the
criminals. Learn from Koda's experience. In the end , he will go free
with all the looted money.
Indian investigators got good info on Headley: PC
By: sunit | Saturday , 14 Nov '09 20:28:33 PM
Very nice to know they got 'good information'
Go to the root!
By: Firdos Mewawala | Saturday , 14 Nov '09 19:06:27 PM
The Headley affair is indeed an eye opener because the chinks in our
armor are many & unpredictable. Why is it that nobody is bothered to
go at the root of the question as to how & why these terrorist
operators get so much local support?
Chidambaram is right
By: Naveen kUMAR | Saturday , 14 Nov '09 18:48:57 PM
I am no fan of congress or for that matter chidambaram. But his
statement is right. Details to media or public should be released only
after investigation is complete otherwise terrorists will know where
police are going search/raid based on their progress and accordingly
cover their tracks. Revealing step by step progress of an
investigation is just like sharing a LeT plot information with
pakistan so that they can plan better next time.
Indian investigators got good info on Headley: PC
By: Hemant | Saturday , 14 Nov '09 18:06:17 PM
In this internet world, wouldn't it save time and money of Indian tax
payers if these info. was exchanged through email rather than sending
a team of investigators for this thing!!??
investigation by email
By: rajneesh sharma | Saturday , 14 Nov '09 20:33:55 PM
hemant this is not a office matter where your boss can email you or
vice versa. this is an investgation where one has to go through
hundreds of documents and other pieces of evidence. Also investigators
have to interview the accused to extract any valueable information.
your world of internet is good to share information without knowing if
it is true or not. Investigations are carried out in a systematic way
otherwise everyone who can operate a computer would be a police
officer or agent of raw.
It is a cricket match.
By: B.K.Kumar | Saturday , 14 Nov '09 17:44:29 PM
Yes it is nothing but a cricket match, fixed in Mumbai's Bollywood and
played out as per script with apt support of socalled watchful secular
media. And ultimately as in Cricket , India will loose by yards. HM
will sy Cricket game is unpredictable.Jai Ho, Mera Bharat Mahan.
national security
By: Thomas | Saturday , 14 Nov '09 17:42:51 PM
Our polititians are busy supporting anti india elements within india
for e.g. anti vandematharam group.
Vandemataram
By: Surendra | Saturday , 14 Nov '09 19:57:28 PM
I fully support singing Vande Mataram but also believe that anti
Vandemataram groups are not necessarily anti national. They are
uneducated religious enthusiastes. Just dismiss it as their personal
opinion instead of making it a front page news.
Uneducated
By: Henry | Saturday , 14 Nov '09 20:35:58 PM
Surender, Things need to be seen in proper perspective. There's no
need to be complacent and call others "uneducated" religious
enthusiasts. The simple logic is Musims can't bow before anything but
one God. so if the song says bowing before the land, some object to
it. I agree with you though they are not less patriotic.
PC: we got good info
By: Ashok | Saturday , 14 Nov '09 17:28:52 PM
PC for get to mention: "..........alongwith the info, our people also
did some good shopping, of course, with tax-payer's money"
bademiyansubhanallah
Police records statement of Rahul and Headley's common friend
Agencies
Posted: Saturday , Nov 14, 2009 at 1817 hrs
Mumbai:
As part of efforts to trace the movements of David Headley, who was in
Mumbai five days prior to the LeT attacks there on November 26 last
year, police has recorded the statement of a common friend of the
suspected American terrorist and Rahul, son of film director Mahesh
Bhatt.
According to police sources, Rahul came into contact with Headley
through one Vilas who also worked at the gym Moksha in Breach Candy
area in south Mumbai.
Rahul, whose name was reportedly mentioned in the emails sent to LeT
handlers by their operative Headley, used to work as a fitness
instructor in the gym.
"It was Vilas who met Headley first and introduced him to Rahul. We
have recorded the statement of Vilas," the sources said, refusing to
divulge further details.
Mahesh Bhatt confirmed that Vilas is a mediator through whom Rahul
knew Headley but the noted film maker dismissed the possibility of his
son's involvement in any terror activities.
Headley has been arrested by US investigating agency FBI for planning
terror attacks in India.
Comments (3) |
SLEEPER UNITS
By: NAVIN ASTI | 14-Nov-2009
After 26/11 some leaders suggested that over and above dealing with
Pakistan,Indian Govt. should also track down on sleeper units, without
whose support the operation was not possible.At that time the so
called Congress managed Media as well as pseudo-secularist political
parties and similar NGOs denounced them as communal.With the news
coming on the surface,it is quite necessary that all these people who
showed soft corner in words as well as action to Batla House
terrorists should be subject to full investigation(including NARCO-
TEST) over and above Bhatt family as well as Amar and Arjun.They
should comply in NATIONAL interest.They need not worry if they are
clear.Even Mr.SG of IE must come out with an Editorial on this,as he
is prompt for opposition parties' denouncement.
Is the Rahul connection really that surprising?
By: khandu patel | 14-Nov-2009
Reports had been circulating for some time that Mahesh Bhatt though
ostensibly Hindu through marriage alliances with Muslims of the film
community pose threat no different to national security than other
extremists. That is the case with Mahesh Bhatt. We saw that with
Sanjay Dutt. It should not be surprising that Headly sought out Rahul
for these reasons. Rahul would have provided good sounding board for
the opinions of those Headly intended to recruit for missions. The
intelligence agencies will be kept very busy finding out what aid
Rahul gave.
Kill the Terrorist Supporters
By: Jay | 14-Nov-2009
I think all the terrorists and terrorist supporters should be
summarily killed. Mahesh does not mince words when seeking punishment
for others. Now that his son is involved, he wants secular justice
which he can then manipulate. If he was in Saudi Arabia, he would have
been killed by now. An eye for an eye is what they practice. So why is
he so apologetic now? He can always rent a crowd, when the matter goes
to court in secular system, like Teesta Setalvad and seek secular
justice. But what of the numerous victims of terrorist violence? What
of the numerous security personnel killed? We want justice and one way
is to make it abundantly clear to sympathisers of terrorists is that
no quarter shall be given. Kill them both- father and son. Good
riddance.
bademiyansubhanallah
26/11 terror attack: BJP demands extradition of Headley, Rana
Agencies
Posted: Saturday , Nov 14, 2009 at 1641 hrs
Hyderabad:
The duo had stayed in Mumbai before terror attacks, Prakash Javadekar
said.
The BJP on Saturday demanded the initiation of extradition process
against suspected American terrorist David Headley and his Canadian
associate Tahawwur Hussain Rana for their alleged role in the 26/11
attacks.
The Central government should take steps to extradite Headley and
Pakistani-origin Rana, who are in custody of the US investigating
Agency FBI. The duo had stayed in Mumbai just five days before the
terror attacks last November, BJP national spokesperson Prakash
Javadekar told reporters here.
Central government should also probe thoroughly the alleged logistic
local support in the Mumbai attacks, he said.
The Mumbai strike was a well planned attack carried out with local
support, BJP leader said, adding there was a need to probe thoroughly
who had assisted the terrorists to work out the attack plan.
bademiyansubhanallah
26/11 fallout: Chavan orders probe on faulty bullet-proof jackets
Agencies
Posted: Saturday , Nov 14, 2009 at 1433 hrs
New Delhi:
Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said on Saturday that he will
"find out the truth" in the claims that ATS chief Hemant Karkare was
killed in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks because of a faulty bulletproof
jacket he was wearing.
"I will find out what is the truth in the matter," Chavan told
reporters here when asked about claims that the jacket worn by Karkare
was defective.
A PIL filed in the Bombay High Court had claimed that the bullet proof
vests worn by Karkare and two other senior officers while fighting
terrorists on November 26 last belonged to the batch of 110 defective
pieces purchased by the police way back in 2002.
This comes in the wake of revelations by Karkare's widow Kavita that
the bullet proof jacket worn by her husband was missing. She had filed
an RTI request in this regard.
Chavan said he had heard about the claims and would look into them.
The Chief Minister was talking to journalists after inaugurating the
Maharashtra Pavilion at the India International Trade Fair in New
Delhi.
On allegations by SP leader Amar Singh on threat to party MLA Abu
Azmi's life, he merely said "Amar Singh is a big national leader, I am
a small leader from a state."
Chavan had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday. "These were
courtesy meetings," he said.
Comments (2) |
Secuity is just to tell the media that we are prepared
By: freddie | 14-Nov-2009
This is second time I am writing here. It looks like when you speak
the truth even IE doesn't like it. It is all media and politician
handinglove. So we can trust you that we are prepared for all terror
attack in Mumbai. When I was on holiday in september in Mumbai and
have been to Gorai beech. I seen only two officers at the beech corner
chatting with out dated guns in their hands. No goggles, no
birnorcules, no bullet proof helmets
How to believe you politicians - Provide autonomy for Police.
By: Indian | 14-Nov-2009
Dr Mr Chavan, with due respect to an elected leader I would like to
ask how can we believe you? Yesterday you proclaimed any further
terror attacks will be tackled by your government. But looks like
almost an year you dont much details and root cause why we lost such
good people in the last terror attack. What kind of enquiry was
conducted, what strategies has been worked out. How can we believe the
police forces will be very effective this time. Indian need a white
paper and strong action. Do it we will believe you and PC.
bademiyansubhanallah
India second worst terror-hit country, says NGO
Agencies
Posted: Saturday , Nov 14, 2009 at 1102 hrs
Mumbai:
'According to the report, terror attacks in India have increased in
the past few years and claimed 3,674 lives.
India is the second most worst terrorism-afflicted country - behind
only war-ravaged Iraq - facing eight terror attacks in 2008 alone and
losing over 3,500 lives in the last few years.
Quoting a recent United States (US) report, city-based NGO "Bombay
First", said India follows Iraq in the number of lives lost in terror
attacks last year.
"According to the report, terror attacks in India have increased in
the past few years and claimed 3,674 lives, which is second to that of
Iraq," NGO Chairman Narinder Nayar said on Friday at a security summit
organised at Hotel Trident, one of the sites of the last November's
assault in Mumbai.
The NGO is working to make the metropolis, which has seen some deadly
attacks, a better and safe place.
Nayar said India, battling terrorism for nearly three decades now, has
been attacked from outside and within. The summit saw global security
experts, including those from the US and United Kingdom, discussing
various aspects of terrorism and sharing their experiences.
"The 26/11 terror attacks, as the Indian Prime Minister said, was an
attack on the aspirations and dreams of making Mumbai a global city,"
Nayar said.
He stressed the need to modernise the police and review the criminal
judicial system. Besides Mumbai, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and New
Delhi were also among terror targets last year.
Comments (10) |
citizen
By: johna | 14-Nov-2009
This should be a wakeup call for the corrupt politicians,who managed
to divide and rule for their political ambitions with the help of the
"goons" with religious connections. RSS??These jokers made the country
more divided than united.. Mumbai(Bombay) now is the dirt place.
Bombay polits " jobs only for Maratis" even they told that to State
Bank of India clerical job tests?Maratis did not build Bombay,Indians
did,which include all from north,south,east and west -in whichever way
they want to put it.It is now even scary to travel through Mumbai
airport.Well Air India monopoly..Look where AI is now?Average Indian
do not travel on AI.. Why? it is a monopoly for the Babujis of Mumbai??
We need change. Only the young generation can accomplish this beyond
any religious beliefs. Leave religion alone - In a demoractic society-
treat them separate - Politics and religion. PEACE.
indian
By: sindu | 14-Nov-2009
What are you congress people do all these years making all Hindus
cowards and slaves still u want these RSS people to be hanged wiped
out Well done just finish that also
Corrupt JAI HOs to go...
By: TTR | 14-Nov-2009
We need patriotic JAI HINDs but not corrupt JAI HOs. As long these
corrupt HAND JAI HOs exist there is not future for India! Only Sh
Advani like leader could solve our problem but media is corrupt and
they give wrong information about BJP.
Incorrect
By: John | 14-Nov-2009
I do not think it is correct statement. Pakistan is the worst hit
country followed by Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel. India could be the
fourth or the fifth worst hit country.
Hindu fascism is the cause of terrorism in India
By: George Orwell | 14-Nov-2009
The main reason for India suffering from terrorism is communalism
advocated by the Hindu fascist and terrorist organization 'RSS' and
pro-RSS Hindu fanatic police forces that support Hindu hooligans and
rioters. RSS orchestrates communal riots and the Hindu police forces
blindly support RSS activists in destroying the lives and properties
of Muslims and Christians.After the riots the pro-RSS police officials
arrest,torture and jail the affected members of the minorities.Thus,
all the doors of justice are closed against the affected Muslims and
Christians.Then, RSS activists like Pragya Thakur,
Pandya,Col.Purohit,etc.with the support of police and IB personnel
launch terrorism dramas - bombings - in the name of Muslims further
giving opportunities for the same police personnel to continue
persecuting the minorities, looting their money(taking bribes),
depriving them employment and education,torturing them after stripping
them naked and jailing them or killing them in fake encounters.
Not religion
By: Squid | 14-Nov-2009
It's only because of the extremist views of muslims in neighboring
jealous countries like pak, afghan, iran, etc who can not see India
doing so well even after being a secular nation. They are just jealous
and want to spoil our harmony. I agree with Vijay on this point. Well
said. Stop being racial.
Yes Christianity is best, they imposed apartheid
By: Vijay | 14-Nov-2009
Yes Christianity is the best; they colonized Asia, Africa, America,
imposed slavery. Thousands of native populations were wiped out in
genocide. Christian white South Africans imposed apartheid on native
majority populations. Christian white took away children from
Australian aborigines. The pope never said a word. Come on who are you
kidding. Please respect all religions
We need a sensible and visionary leader
By: squid | 14-Nov-2009
We really need leaders who care for the country and want to do good.
Offcourse there is no one perfect but another Indira Gandhi is what we
need! Jai Hind!
VISIONARY LEADER
By: Rajesh Vyas | 14-Nov-2009
The morass actually set in with Ms. Indira Gandhi who perfected the
art and science of DIVIDE and RULE to a TEE. BE IT THE BHINDRANWALE,
SATEIST LEADERS, MINORITIES ETC>) The other politicians (PLEASE DO NOT
CALL THEM OUR LEADERS) sharpened the art further and we are now paying
a heavy price.
Not that way
By: Squid | 14-Nov-2009
Don't get me wrong. What I meant was, we need some leaders who can
actually 'ACT'. IG was one such lady who could at least act. I've
already pointed out 'no one perfect'. But in these days of coalition
govt. no one wants to even think, let alone discuss or act about any
issues facing India. I'm not supporting what IG did, what I meant was
we need someone so strong to do something single handed. MMS and his
jokers can not act, they are busy pulling their own hair over
controversies.
bademiyansubhanallah
Headley's coded messages 'hint at HuJI link'
Vijay V Singh, TNN 15 November 2009, 10:08am IST
MUMBAI: Officials privy to the David Headley case say the coded
communication between Headley and his Pakistan-based counterparts
indicate they wanted to use terror group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami
(HuJI) for fresh attacks on Mumbai and other Indian cities. Pakistani
handlers had used the LeT for the 26/11 attacks.
Ilyas Kashmiri of HuJI was in regular contact with Headley for some
time and their communications suggested that they were in the process
of plotting fresh attacks in India.
FBI documents submitted in the US court, for the proceedings against
Rana and Headley, reveal their handlers were keen to launch a series
of terror attacks in India and had directed Headley to visit the
country to locate fresh targets (in Mumbai and elsewhere).
Officials here said a National Investigation Agency (NIA) team was in
Mumbai, looking for possible leads into the case, at the places
Headley and Pakistan-born accomplice Tahawwur Rana frequented in
Mumbai. "They are following their own line of probe and, so far, have
not asked us for any help,'' a senior official said.
Headley suggested to his handlers that they "revisit'' Mumbai.
Officials also believe that he played a key role in the selection of
26/11 targets and collected "inside information" about them.
Both NIA and Mumbai police officials say solving the codes would give
them a clearer idea of what Headley, Rana and their Pakistan-based
handlers were trying to achieve.
"The people with whom Headley was in touch seem to be senior members
of Pakistan's terror-exporting establishment,'' an official said.
bademiyansubhanallah
They're making a villain out of a hero: Bhatts
Anil Singh, TNN 15 November 2009, 12:27am IST
MUMBAI: "They’re making a villain out of a hero," said filmmaker
Mahesh Bhatt, referring to media reports about his son Rahul, who is
being treated as a suspect in the David Coleman Headley case.
Bhatt had taken Rahul — a trainer at Breach Candy’s Moksh gym — to the
office of Mumbai’s crime branch chief Rakesh Maria as soon as the
Headley story broke in October-end. "Rahul gave the police the first
lead," sister Pooja Bhatt told TOI on Saturday. "But instead of
lauding him, the media has put him in the dock."
Pooja is upset that the investigating agencies first let Rahul’s name
slip to the media, then didn’t step in to prevent speculation. "We
abided by their instructions and did not reveal details of the case to
reporters," she said. "But they are just sitting back, watching us get
mauled by the media."
Pooja is also particularly angry with an author and former journalist
for having called the Bhatts a ‘dysfunctional family’ on a social
networking website. "I have seen my father age over the last two
days," she said. "It’s cruel. You throw a man to the lions with his
hands tied and sit back and watch."
Pooja also clarified the circumstances under which Headley met her
mother. "Headley and another trainer Vilas Warak (whom Rahul knew)
were going to Bandra together. Since Rahul was taking some time to get
ready, he asked Headley to come to his apartment instead of waiting
downstairs. Those were the five minutes when he met my mother."
As for the references to Rahul in the email Headley sent his handler
in the LeT, Pooja says that even the cops have come to the conclusion
that Rahul was a code for Mumbai and not her brother. "I want
everybody indulging in speculation about my brother to refer to the
link www.scribd.com/doc/21700864/Headley-Complaint and read what the
FBI has to say about the matter on page 22."
She also read out a text message sent to her by Rakesh Maria: "We have
found no connection of Rahul with Headley apart from peripheral
friendship. One cannot rule out the possibility of him being
questioned again. NIA is likely to call him for questioning. His name
has been used only in indicating the city of Mumbai. We have done a
thorough check in the last three weeks on the Rahul angle and it is
true that Rahul Bhatt himself came to us."
Pooja also denies media reports that Rahul helped Headley rent an
apartment. "Let the police speak to all others associated with Headley
and find out for themselves. My brother is being targeted because his
father is famous."
Bitter at the whole experience, Pooja wonders if citizens should
actually come out to help investigating agencies at all. "Even one
year after 26\11, we were clueless about Headley. Now when the FBI and
citizens like Rahul are helping Indian agencies unravel his role, they
are trying to cover up their inefficiency by projecting the
information as their victory."
bademiyansubhanallah
Woman may be involved in Headley-Rana terror trail
PTI 15 November 2009, 08:42pm IST
NEW DELHI: Did Tahawwur Rana, an associate of American terror suspect
David Coleman Headley, travel to Kochi with his wife?
Investigations into the visits of the two terror suspects have led
sleuths to know about the presence of a woman who claims to be the
wife of the latter and had visited India along with him, official
sources said here on Sunday.
Samraz Rana, a Canadian national born in Bahawalpur of Pakistan, had
accompanied Rana to Kochi on November 16, 2008.
Ahead of his Kochi visit, Rana had given an advertisement in a
prominent English daily asking youths willing to immigrate to US and
Canada to appear for interview at a five-star hotel located in Kochi,
they said.
The duo had left Kochi next day. Rana and his school friend Headley
were arrested last month by the FBI on charges of being part of a plan
by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to carry out terror attacks in
India and Denmark.
chhotemianinshallah
No clean chit to anyone in Headley case, probe on: Home Secy
Agencies
Posted: Sunday , Nov 15, 2009 at 1305 hrs
New Delhi:
Security agencies probing the David Headley terror case have not given
a clean chit to anyone, including filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's son Rahul,
who had an acquaintance with the US national, arrested by FBI for
plotting attacks in India at the LeT's behest.
"We have not given clean chit to anyone. Investigation is still on,"
Union Home Secretary G K Pillai told reporters on the sideline of a
function here.
Meanwhile, a team of National Investigating Agency reached Mumbai
yesterday to probe the activities of Headley and Tahawwur Hassan Rana,
a Canadian of Pakistani origin who has also been arrested by FBI in
connection with the plot.
The duo were arrested for suspected links with Pakistan-based terror
group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which had carried out the Mumbai carnage last
year that left 183 people dead. Asked about police failure to get an
inkling about the plot while the two were in Mumbai to do a recce
ahead of the 26/11 attacks, Pillai said, "Primarily they had come
before November 26, 2008, that is why."
Why to wait - Here you do not need permission from othehr countries.
By: Dee | 15-Nov-2009
Mahesh Bhatt and his extended family including the cousin who just can
not live without liplocking young women, should be punished harsh.
People like Mahesh, M F Hussain are the traitors and they can do
anyting to make happy their bosses in other countries.
So called Right Acvities are the Quesslings of India.
By: KIurrupkar Davis | 15-Nov-2009
Not only Rahul should be investigated for anti-national activities but
also his father Mahesh Bhatt and his wifeand his daughter Pooja and
alll their pseudo secularists like Testa Setalwad,Reis Khan,Nandita
Das and the entire Management of NDTV 24x7 including Burkha Dutt for
admittedly attempting to negotiate free passage for the Pak Terrorists
on the alleged basis that the said Terrorists were motivated because
of Gujrat Riots which aws not even the clain ofthe Terrorists.Only
Indian Moles could have provided Burkha Cell No and visa versa to the
terrorists by the Indian Moles like Bhatts,Antulayand all others like
them.The Sharabuddin Episode has been the creation of Sriraj,and other
like Mukul Sinha and Bharatsing and others with help of Sharad Power
and his gang.
What is the reason
By: Arun | 15-Nov-2009
I want to ask this question to all my secular friends and I seek an
honest reply. In their opinion why does Pakistan have enemity with us.
Is it not true that the only reason for their total hatred towards us
is because we are a Hindu majority nation. Just to cause harm to us
they are even willing to die for their religion. Why can we not live
for the same? Therefore why we can not live like a Hindu? As it is
being thought and believed by these secular breed of Hindus being a
Hindu does not make me anti-Muslim or anti-Christian.
We survived and we will be here forever - there is none who can
destroy the 'hasti of Hindustan'
By: Dee | 15-Nov-2009 Reply
We are Hindus and Inda is a Hindu nations. After seeing how far people
can go for a stupid and low IQ ideology, our faith becomes even more
stronger. we gave others two chances to go wherever they want
(Pakistan and Bangladesh)..
Scrutinize all anti nationals
By: Thakare | 15-Nov-2009
Wake Up ALL!! Please scrutinize all anti nationals, especially
celebrities! The darn movie industry has links with the underworld
that is why they come on the US radars with recent incident of
ShahRukh Khan. The Indian Home Land Security needs to watch all these
desh drohis.
Investigate Mahesh connection with anti national elements
By: Anand | 15-Nov-2009
Instead of probing Rahul and his connection the investigators should
put Mahesh under scrutiny and find out the nexus with the militants
across the border.Mahesh frequent Pakisthan and keep in touch with
anti Indian groups and stoke up their feeling against our country.Put
Mahesh behind the bar and find out the truth.all his recent activities
and attitudes are against the national interest and anti Hindu.
Anti National Elements
By: Nayak | 15-Nov-2009
I fully agree with Anand.Anti National and underworld nexus of these
people must be put under scrutiny.they can go to any extent to harm
our nation in general and Hindu religion in particular.
Anti Nationals
By: B.K.Kumar | 15-Nov-2009
Congress should disband UPA. There are many anti national within
congress and within UPA.
chhotemianinshallah
Thahawwur Rana visited Kochi last year: DGP1
Agencies
Posted: Sunday , Nov 15, 2009 at 1402 hrs
Thiruvananthapuram:
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who was arrested with suspected LeT terrorist
David Coleman Headley, had visited Kochi in November last year before
the Mumbai terror strikes, Kerala police said.
"A man named Tahawwur Hussain Rana had stayed in a hotel in Kochi on
November 16," state Director General of Police Jacob Punnoose said
here.
Kerala police had not received any official communication on the
matter from Central investigating agencies, but was collecting
information and verifying it, Punnose said.
According to sources, the hotel records showed Rana checked in at a
five-star hotel in Kochi on November 16 and left for Mumbai the next
day.
Police and intelligence agencies were investigating whether the
purpose of Rana's visit was for recruiting youth for militant
activities, the sources said. The sources said there was no evidence
now about reports that Headley might also have visited Kerala.
Officials of IB and RAW visited the US last week and met FBI
counterparts to get details of the plot but had failed to question
Headley, who is lodged in a Chicago jail.
Headley, 49-year-old Pakistan-born US citizen, was arrested in Chicago
last month by the FBI which said he was part of an LeT plan to carry
out terror attacks in India, including Delhi's National Defence
College, Dehradun's Doon School and Woodstock in Mussoorie.
Along with Headley, Canadian-born Tahawwur Hussain Rana was also
arrested.
Comments (1) |
Kerala, the new hub of anti national activities.
By: Aniyan | 15-Nov-2009 Reply | Forward
Kochi and northern Kerala is the hub of stepped up anti national
activities. The hands of Police are tied whether it is under the
marxist led LDF or Congress led UDF. This is only for political
mileage that both compromise national issues in Kerala. When the
national flag was replaced with a green flag on top of Calicut
airport, the Congress CM of the State, looked to the other side,
because he survives with the support of those green flag holders.
Kerala has passport offices where, passport is issued without
verification and scores of criminals left the country after committing
serious crimes during the past 7 years. Thanks to E.Ahmed, the
earstwhile Minister of State for External Affairs.
chhotemianinshallah
Cop's advice kept Kasab, hope of solving 26/11 mystery alive
Agencies
Posted: Sunday , Nov 15, 2009 at 1254 hrs
Mumbai:
Kasab's capture has helped pin the blame on terror merchants operating
from India's restive neighbourhood. "Yala maru nako. Ha evidence ahe.
(Don't shoot him. He is evidence)," recalls a Mumbai policeman having
told his colleague after catching hold of 26/11 Pakistani gunman Ajmal
Amir Kasab.
These words of wisdom from Sanjay Govilkar, Assistant Police Inspector
of D B Marg police station, helped the Mumbai police capture alive
Kasab, one of the 10 Pakistani terrorists who attacked the country's
financial capital on November 26.
"I cannot claim I had given the issue any thought. The thought crossed
my mind and I blurted it out just when Boudhankar was about to shoot
Kasab," says Govilkar, who despite taking a bullet in the abdomen, did
not let go of the terrorist.
Kasab's capture has helped pin the blame on terror merchants operating
from India's restive neighbourhood.
The wound inflicted by the bullet a year ago has healed but the 40-
year-old policeman continues to have nightmares.
"I avoid passing by Girgaum area where the shootout occurred because
faces of slain colleagues and seniors --- Tukaram Omble, Hemant
Karkare, Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamte appear before me and I feel
depressed," Govilkar said.
While Omble was killed by Kasab at Girgaum Chowpatty, the other three
police officers were gunned down by Kasab and Abu Ismail near Cama
hospital.
Govilkar, who was recently honoured with the President's medal for
bravery, said: "Omble was treated at the hospital in my presence after
we both took the bullets fired by Kasab. I saw Omble succumb to his
injuries right in front of me. My mind is scarred forever.
Recounting the incident, Govilkar said the encounter lasted barely
about three minutes.
"We saw a Skoda car approaching us. When the driver (Abu Ismail) saw
us, he took a U-turn, crashing into the road divider."
Policemen Hemant Boudhankar and Bhaskar Kadam, armed with pistols,
shot at Ismail, fatally injuring him, while others, armed barely with
batons, moved towards Kasab who sat beside the driver, he said.
"None of us suspected that Kasab had an assault rifle as he had hid
the weapon between his legs. As he got down, we pounced on him. In a
flash, he picked up the gun and began firing. Omble was there in front
and took many bullets. I too was hit in the abdomen," said Govilkar.
Just as the policemen showered baton blows on Kasab, Boudhankar came
from the other side and was about to fire when Govilkar stopped him.
Although the self effacing Govilkar terms it as a team work, his
colleagues at D B Marg police station feel that it was his presence of
mind which ensured that Kasab was made to stand trial for his crime.
He, however, has a word of advice for his countrymen.
"The terrorists attacked us because they were misguided by
conspirators that the minorities in India were suffering. Therefore,
we have to break religious barriers and unite," he said.
chhotemianinshallah
Strong case against Kasab: Nikam
Agencies
Posted: Sunday , Nov 15, 2009 at 1145 hrs
Mumbai:
The 26/11 attack trial is nearing its end with the prosecution
claiming a strong case against Ajmal Kasab.
As the first anniversary of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks nears, all
eyes are set on the special court where the prosecution is gearing up
to wrap up the case against Pakistan gunman Ajmal Kasab and two others
who are charged with killing 166 persons.
With the testimony of 250 witnesses and strong forensic evidence, the
prosecution has prepared a water-tight case against Kasab, Special
Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said.
The keenly-watched trial, which began in April, is expected to be over
this month end with just a few witnesses left to depose before Judge M
L Tahaliyani. Kasab is confined to a specially-built isolated cell in
the high security central prison and is guarded by a strong posse of
Indo-Tibetan Border Security Force round the clock.
Altogether 30 eye witnesses have identified Kasab in the
identification parade and in the court. Forensic experts have also
given their opinion that the DNA of articles found from Kuber boat (in
which terrorists landed in Mumbai) matched with the DNA of Kasab and
five other slain terrorists.
The prosecution has also screened in the court CCTV footages of
terrorists from cameras installed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
(CST), Times of India Building (opposite CST), Hotel Taj and Hotel
Oberoi-Trident.
Besides CCTV footages, other articles such as weapons and RDX seized
from Kasab and slain terrorists have also been placed as evidence. The
prosecution is also relying upon the confession made by Kasab before a
Magistrate wherein he revealed about the conspiracy hatched in
Pakistan to commit terror strikes on November 26 last year.
The Magistrate has told the special court that Kasab had made a
voluntary confession and that he had been given three opportunities to
consider whether he wanted to reveal the information which was within
his knowledge.
The prosecution is also banking on a plea made by Kasab in the court
partly accepting his guilt in the crime. Kasab has accepted in the
court that he was a part of the conspiracy but said he played a
secondary role in the terror attacks as Abu Ismael was his leader. The
gunman has denied that he had fatally shot police officers Hemant
Karkare, Vijay Salaskar, Ashok Kamate and Constable Tukaram Omble.
The prosecution is relying upon evidence tendered by foreign experts,
who said the mobile phones, used by nine terrorists while talking to
their Pakistan handlers during the assault, were imported by a
Pakistan firm from China. The dingy brought by terrorists in hijacked
'Kuber' fishing boat has also been placed as evidence before the
court.
The court has issued non-bailable warrants against 27 absconding
accused, including founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba Hafeez Sayeed and LeT
chief of operations Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi. The warrants have been
forwarded to the Interpol for execution but so far no one has been
arrested.
The accused are facing charges under IPC, Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act, Foreigners Act, Passport (Entry into India) Act,
Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act, Damage to Public Properties Act,
Indian Railway Act and Customs Act.
A total of 166 persons, including foreign nationals from the UK, the
US and Israel, were killed and 304 others injured when terrorists
struck at Hotel Taj, Hotel Oberoi-Trident, Nariman House, CST, Cama
Hospital and Cafe Leopold. The terrorists also planted bombs in two
taxis which exploded. Loss on account of destruction of properties was
estimated to the tune of Rs 41 crores. Besides Kasab, the other two
arrested accused are Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, both alleged
LeT operatives.
Comments (8) |
KASB CASE SHOULD BE ON PRIORITY AND NO KIDGLOVES TO USE
By: B S GANESH BANGALORE | 15-Nov-2009
When a total of 166 persons, including foreign nationals from the UK,
the US and Israel, were killed and 304 others injured when terrorists
struck at Hotel Taj, Hotel Oberoi-Trident, Nariman House, CST, Cama
Hospital and Cafe Leopold. The terrorists also planted bombs in two
taxis which exploded. This has made many innocent families as orphans
also. Loss on account of destruction of properties was estimated to
the tune of Rs 41 crores. Besides Kasab, the other two arrested
accused are Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, both alleged LeT
operatives. This is a fit case for capital punishment and it would be
ridiculous to think Human lives are valuable and precious and protect
them in jails at the cost of the exchequer making innocent hungry.
This is my humble opinion. B S GANESH BANGALORE
But how can he be, there is waiting list for hanging....
By: Amit | 15-Nov-2009
The Home minister of this country had informed us that there is
waiting list of persons to be hanged and his Afjhal Guru's number is
22 in the list and Kasaab will have further down so countrymen please
dont expect them to be so fast on punishing the minority criminals.
Lets talk about sadhvi, Col Purohit, Sanatan sanstha, since they are
from Majority and their waiting list is not too big. Till this cancer
in the form of Congress is there expect nothing from them except
appeasement and dirty tricks.Middle class Hindus are made fools.
The criminal rights in INdia
By: Rakesh | 15-Nov-2009
You views seems correct! After spending huge amount of energy by our
security personal and very long comedy trail by Indian Judiciary(or we
have to call the Indian system of Judiciary something other name) the
court will punish hang upto death. Then this case will go to
president, before going to president it hold by the govt. long
procedure to hand a criminal. But for criminals to kill innocent very
easy task in India... govt seems to protect the right of criminals not
aam aadmi!
kasab
By: Rammi | 15-Nov-2009
Oh great news -Nikam thinks they have strong case. While whole India
new this one year back. I do not know how you'll make news of this
sort
Kasab's Trial
By: C.Swaminathan | 15-Nov-2009
There should be no second thought or second opinion about Kasab's
punishment. On 26th Nov one year is going to complete.That day should
be obseved as The Black Day and Kasab should be H A N G E D.No mercy.
Kasab's Trial.
By: Cswaminathan. | 15-Nov-2009
26th Nov will be the sorrowful black aniversary for Mumbai
attack.Kasab should not be spared. He should be hanged without any
mercy. Then only the Morties who sacrificed their lives will go to
heaven with peace and satisfaction
chhotemianinshallah
I was sold to Lashkar by my father: Mumbai attacker Kasab
16 Nov 2009, 1116 hrs IST, IANS
WASHINGTON: Ajmal Amir Kasab, the sole surviving terrorist of the
group of ten sent by the Pakistan based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba
to attack Mumbai, says his father essentially sold him into the
group.
Kasab, who was part of the pair that killed 50 and wounded more than
100 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the city's main railway station,
makes the suggestion in tapes included in a new documentary, "Terror
in Mumbai" airing on Thursday.
Snatches of cellphone conversations - many never heard before between
the gunmen and their controllers in Pakistan, as well as video footage
of the police with Kasab were aired on Sunday in a preview of the
documentary by narrator Fareed Zakaria in his GPS programme.
One of the tapes of Kasab's interrogation points to how he got
involved with the LeT terror group:
Kasab: He said, "These people make loads of money and so will you.
(Inaudible) We'll have money, we won't be poor any more. Your brothers
and sisters can get married. Look at these guys living the good life.
You can be like them," he said.
Unidentified Male: Your dad said this?
Kasab: Yes. So, I said, "Fine, whatever."
Unidentified Male: What does he do for a living?
Kasab: He used to sell yogurt and potato snacks in the street.
Unidentified Male: How much did they give you? Did they put it in your
account?
Kasab: There is no account. They gave it to my dad.
Unidentified Male: How much did they give him?
Kasab: I don't know. Maybe (ph) a few hundred thousand.
In another tape, Kasab recalls how the terrorist group was trained.
Police: How long were you in training?
Kasab: Three months. There were 24 or 25 in our class.
Police: Where were the people from?
Kasab: They don't tell you. I only knew about one. He said he was from
Lahore. He became my friend.
Police: Didn't they allow you to speak to each other?
Kasab: We were forbidden to speak to each other. It was very strict.
The proper training where they say, "This boy is ready now" - that
only takes three months. That's it.
Police: Did you ever ask, "Won't I feel pity for the people I'm
killing?"
Kasab: I did, but he said you have to do these things if you're going
to be a big man and get rewarded in heaven.
Police: So you came here for jihad? Is that right?
Kasab: (crying) What jihad?
Police: It's no use crying. Tell me the truth. Is that right or no?
Kasab: You wouldn't understand.
Locked in a bathroom at Mumbai's Trident Oberoi hotel, another young
Pakistani terrorist named Fahadullah knew the end was near. He was out
of food, water, energy and ammunition, and could hear the steady
stream of police gunshots getting closer.
He and nine other terrorists were winding down from a gruesome, 36-
hour killing spree through the city, and he was talking on the phone
to a handler far away in Pakistan.
"You mustn't let them arrest you, remember that," the controller
insisted.
"Fahadullah, my brother, can't you just get out there and fight?"
Fahadullah could not. "I am out of grenades," he weakly offered.
"Be brave, brother. Don't panic. For your mission to end successfully,
you must be killed. God is waiting for you in heaven."
chhotemianinshallah
Headley probe: NIA asks Rahul Bhatt not to leave Mumbai
16 Nov 2009, 1657 hrs IST, PTI
MUMBAI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has asked filmmaker
Mahesh Bhatt's son Rahul, who came in contact with terror suspect
David Headley during his stay in Mumbai, not to leave the city
"The NIA team is in Mumbai since Saturday and is gathering details
pertaining to the activities of Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana. The
NIA has recorded the statements of those who were in touch with
Headley during his stay here," a senior police source said.
The source said three other persons, who were also in contact with
Headley, have been asked to stay put in the capital for "some time".
He, however, declined to reveal the identities of the three in view of
the sensitivity of the case.
"Rahul Bhatt and the other three are fully cooperating with the police
and NIA. All of them have been asked not to leave Mumbai for some
time," the source said on condition of anonymity.
The NIA has registered a case against Laskhar-e-Taiba operatives
Headley and Rana after their arrest by the US investigating agency FBI
for allegedly plotting terror attacks in India.
bademiyansubhanallah
More Headley links in city; no clean chit yet for Rahul Bhatt
DNA Monday, November 16, 2009 1:00 IST
New Delhi: Rahul Bhatt, who recently admitted to his association with
David Coleman Headley, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative being
probed by the FBI for plotting terror attacks in India and elsewhere,
has not yet been given a clean chit. He will be further questioned by
the National Investigation Agency (NIA), confirmed Union home
secretary GK Pillai on Sunday, even as two more persons from Mumbai
came under the scanner for their links with Headley.
Mumbai under attackThe duo, a man who collected a suitcase belonging
to Headley and a professional photographer who was closely acquainted
with the American citizen, will prove crucial in taking the case
forward, sources said.
Apparently, when Headley was leaving India after shutting down his
Immigration Law Centre at AC Market, Tardeo, he had left the suitcase
with his secretary, a Parsi woman. A man had subsequently collected
it. "We want to know the contents of the suitcase and the kind of
relations the man had with Headley," a source said.
Home ministry sources also revealed that the NIA and other
investigating agencies were keeping a close tab on three of Rahul's
friends and could interrogate them in the coming days. Two of them are
reportedly connected with Bollywood and their interrogation could
throw more light on Headley's operations in Mumbai, the sources added.
Turn to p10
Adding another twist to the case was a phone call made more than two
weeks ago, between Sheikh Abdul Rehman Saeed, the Pakistan-based LeT
commander who was in touch with Headley and his associate Tahawwur
Hussain Rana, and a Keralite, who shuttles between his state and Saudi
Arabia.
Shameer, the Keralite, received the call on a local mobile number, and
sources believe it was Saeed at the other end. Headley and Rana are
said to have travelled to Kochi, in Kerala; if home ministry sources
are to be believed, Rana had in fact visited Kochi with his wife,
Samraz, and had returned to Mumbai 10 days before the 26/11 attacks.
Sources said the phone call also poses crucial questions regarding
LeT's links to Kerala. Pillai said a team of NIA sleuths will be
visiting Kerala for further investigations.
Meanwhile, Pillai emphasised that the home ministry has "not given a
clean chit to anyone. Investigations are still on".
bademiyansubhanallah
Headley fallout? High alert at N-facilities
17 Nov 2009, 0456 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: Even as investigating agencies are trailing the arrested US-
based Lashkar terror duo's footprints in India, the Centre has on the
basis of fresh intelligence input put nuclear installations across the
country on high alert.
Though the input is specifically meant for Bhabha Atomic Research
Centre (BARC) in Trombay (Mumbai), the alerts have been sent to all
the states having nuclear plants. They have been asked to step up
patrolling and vigil around the facilities as a precautionary
measure.
Besides putting BARC on highest alert, the government has also
directed the Navy, Coast Guard and all other security agencies to take
precautionary measures to protect such installations as most of them
are located on the coast.
"The step is precautionary in nature. The states have been asked to
increase the vigil and patrolling to thwart any sabotage attempt aimed
at these vital facilities," a senior home ministry official said.
"The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) had conducted a security
audit about a month ago and suggested a number of additional measures,
which are being taken care of," the official said.
The government had earlier placed anti-aircraft guns in some of the
atomic facilities, including BARC, besides a multi-layered security in
and around the premises.
There are six major nuclear plants operational in the country, Narora
in Uttar Pardesh, Kaiga in Karnataka, Tarapur in Maharashtra,
Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu, Kakrapar in Gujarat and Kota in Rajasthan,
besides several other research and development centres like BARC.
The government, however, said the atomic facilities were absolutely
secure. "All nuclear installations are very secure. They are
absolutely secure, no question about it. There are multiple layers of
security," minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj
Chavan told a news agency.
...and I am Sid harth
bademiyansubhanallah
Issuance of visas to Rana to be probed
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: The Centre has said it will look “very carefully” into
reports that the Indian Consul-General in Chicago granted visas
without the Home Ministry’s clearance to terror suspect Tahawwur Rana
and his woman accomplice.
The duo is alleged associates of American David Headley, who was
arrested by the FBI last month for links with the Lashkar-e-Taiba.
“All these issues are going to be looked into very carefully from the
point of view of security angle and perhaps in the days to come, you
might see more on this,” External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told
journalists on Tuesday.
According to reports, Pakistani-Canadian Rana and the woman, Samraz
Rana Akhthar, were issued multiple entry visas under the discretion of
the Consul-General in violation of norms that mandate the Home
Ministry’s clearance for any person born in Pakistan. Rana and Akhthar
were born in Pakistan’s Punjab Province.
bademiyansubhanallah
No clear picture on Rana’s stay
Anand Haridas & S. Anandan
His six-hour transit in Kochi perplexes investigators
State police are trying to downplay the incident
NIA official was in Kochi on Monday to probe Rana’s trail
KOCHI: Even as the national investigators are sieving through
available evidence for linking the visit of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, an
associate of the terror suspect David Coleman Headley, to India with
terrorist outfits, the State police are trying to downplay the
incident.
Rana had come to the city as part of a business trip related to his
First World Immigration Services and put out advertisements announcing
his presence in the city on November 16 and 17, 2008. He had given two
Mumbai-based contact numbers. Since the advertisement appeared on
November 17, nearly 10 calls from different parts of the State were
logged to his local number. The police have checked these numbers and
ruled out the possibility of the callers being part of a terrorist
network.
A senior police officer said the chance of Rana directly involving in
recruitment process would be less, as he was more of a financier with
a genuine immigration consultancy. The numbers mentioned in the
advertisement did not receive any calls on November 16. Rana and his
wife, Samraz Akhtar, left on November 17 afternoon.
The Cyber Cell of the city police also checked the Internet log
records of the wi-fi network at Gateway Hotel (formerly Taj
Residency), where the couple stayed. No log-in has been recorded using
the password assigned to the room which the couple used, the police
said.
FBI findings
But it has been confirmed by probes made by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) that Rana’s professional profile was used as a
cover by Headley, a U.S. citizen linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The investigators have still to form a clear picture of the activities
of Rana on November 17. Though the city police officers rule out
possibilities of Rana’s involvement in the Collectorate blast citing
its crudeness and low intensity, there has not been any confident
denial on their part about Rana getting in touch with sleeper cells of
fundamentalist groups in the neighbourhood.
Records available with the investigators showed that Rana and his wife
checked in at the hotel by 6 p.m. on November 16 and checked out by
2.45 p.m. on November 17. They took a private jetliner to Mumbai at 9
p.m. What Rana might have done during the six-hour transit is what
perplexes the investigators, who are probing for leads on the same.
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) official was in Kochi on Monday
on Rana trail. The NIA has already registered a case against Headley
and Rana for plotting terror attacks in India. The officer, of Deputy
Superintendent of Police (Dy.SP) rank, is part of a team formed within
the NIA to unearth details pertaining to the visits made by the two to
different parts of the country. The NIA officer is also learnt to have
tied up with a special intelligence team here to ascertain identity of
Rana’s local contacts on the basis of the calls he made.
bademiyansubhanallah
Business jargon masked words of terror
Soumya Menon / DNA Tuesday, November 17, 2009 10:06 IST
Bangalore: Extracts from conversations between suspected Lakshar-e-
Taiba members Tahawwur Hussain Rana and David Coleman Headley, who are
currently in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
speak volumes on the code words - mostly corporate and business jargon
- that were used to pass on information to each other.
According to senior police officers, the two used corporate jargon
during conversations because they did not figure on the intelligence
agency radar, even when sleuths were looking for clues.
It was only after the FBI started tapping into telephonic
conversations, emails and personal meetings between Rana, David
Coleman Headley, 'Individual B' and 'Individual A' (an LeT member)
that the duo were trapped and their schemes revealed. Serious 'spying'
began soon after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and continued till October
this year.
Interestingly, Rana used to run an immigration services business, for
which Headley - at times - claimed to work. After his arrest, Headley
made it clear that words like 'property' and 'investments' were used
as cover terms for violent actions.
From a copy of the criminal case filed by the FBI against Rana, which
is currently in the possession of DNA, it can be deciphered that in
addition to the 'Mickey Mouse Project', which referred to a plot to
target a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of the Prophet
Mohammed, the co-conspirators referred to targets through words like
'investments', 'projects', 'business' and 'action'. They described
theirs hopes for success through terms like 'rich', 'richer' and
'profit'.
The document stated that in July and August 2009, Headley exchanged a
series of emails with 'LeT member A'. The emails specifically used
businesslike statements (quite literally, at that) such as 'I need to
see you for some new investment plans', the reply for which was 'What
do you want me to do? Where are you interested in making investments?'
The conversation further mentioned 'Rahul', which was reportedly found
to stand for Rahul Bhatt, son of film veteran Mahesh Bhatt.
They also used a lot of business jargon while discussing the death of
Harkat-ul-Jihadi-Islami (HUJI) chief Ilyas Kashmiri, who was killed on
September 14, 2009. The most striking part of the conversation was the
liberal usage of the word 'doctor'. Kashmiri was referred to as
'doctor' while Rana was labelled 'Dr' or 'doc'.
After the initial conversation between Headley and the other members,
which spoke on 'the doctor getting married' (referring to him getting
killed), the FBI found Headley checking for information on Kashmiri's
death through the Google search engine.
During an interrogation, Headley revealed that after Kashmiri's death,
Rana had sent out a cryptic message stating: "There is some sort of an
arrangement that is very accurate...I mean that of these guys... all
their estimates are so accurate....The estimate...whatever assessment
they do for any property is always accurate, so that have a very
discerning eye, a very discerning eye on the market."
Headley had then replied by stating that he "will be coming to
Pakistan soon, but there is nothing to do there. Now, let us quit the
company. When a company goes bankrupt, it starts laying off its
employees." Through this, Headley was referring to Kashmiri's death as
a major loss to the jihadi cause.
The person, referred to as Individual B, then said, "When a
businessman wants to do something, he has to contend with the risk
factor also. Most people don't want to take risks but be praised for
whatever little they have done."
To this, Headley responded: "Then there will be no profit because when
you have high aims, the investment will be as risky as the chance of
profit. At the same time, there will be a great chance of loss. I am
telling you, other companies competing with us are running losses in
terms of profit as well as the market. In these conditions, we will
have to face bankruptcy within six months. By the end of twelve
months, our companies will be done for."
On September 20, 2009, Headley was found telling another associate in
Pakistan that the "business must go on. The main thing is that I
should have a steady income. I don't care if I have to work for
Microsoft or GE or Philips."
Through the names of multi-national companies, the alleged militant
was referring to terror groups such as LeT and HuJI.
bademiyansubhanallah
Rana, Headley had prepared a star hit-list
Soumya Menon / DNA Tuesday, November 17, 2009 10:09 IST
Bangalore: Intercepted phone conversations and e-mail messages
accessed by the US investigation agency, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, have revealed that there was a large cast of famous
figures who were on the hit-list of suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba member
Tahawwur Hussain Rana and David Coleman Headley. Among the people with
whom the two were in communication is someone identified only as
Individual A.
Rahul Bhatt, son of veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, has been asked not
to leave Mumbai without first informing the National Investigation
Agency of his travel plans as his name has been linked to the
suspected plotters of terror strikes. Rahul, Mumbai-based gym
instructor, had reportedly spent time with Headley during his visit to
Mumbai just days before the attack of November 26 last year.
FBI documents reveal that in an email on July 8, 2009, Headley told
Individual A of a 'new investment' and said, "I think when we get a
chance we should revisit our last location again and say hi to Rahul."
Individual A replied, "To see Rahul is a good idea; ... work for you
there too. Matters are good enough to move forward..." There is
suspicion that the 'work' might have referred to the Mumbai attacks.
Many names have cropped up in conversations between the men held by
the FBI. A project codenamed the 'Mickey Mouse Project', a strike on
the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten that carried the 12 controversial
cartoons lampooning Islam and Prophet Mohammed in 2005, was being
planned. The cartoons had raised a storm of protest across the Muslim
world.
The men allegedly planned to kill Flemming Rose, the cultural editor
of the newspaper, and Kurt Westergaard, the cartoonist. Among others
on the hit-list is author Sherry Jones, whose book Jewel of Medina, a
fictionalised account of the life of Aisha, one of the wives of
Prophet Mohammed, also was the subject of controversy.
The document obtained from the FBI states that on October 29, 2008,
Headley posted a message to the Yahoo group, 'abdalians' (from Cadet
College Hasan Abdal, a military school in Pakistan's Punjab, to which
Rana and some other members of the gang belonged).
The message read: "Everything is not a joke. We are not rehearsing a
skit on Saturday Night Live. Making fun of Islam is making fun of
Rasoosallah (messenger of Allah, peace be on him)...call me old-
fashioned, but I feel disposed towards violence towards the offending
parties, be they cartoonists from Denmark or Sherry Jones or Irshad
Manji (a Canadian feminist who seeks to make homosexual orientation
acceptable in Islam)...they never started debates with folks who
slandered our Prophet, they took violent action..."
The FBI reveals that the men had also, in a message sent in December
2008, mentioned the name of Lady Naipaul, who until her marriage to VS
Naipaul, was a Pakistani journalist who wrote columns in the name of
Nadira Alvi. She is also the sister of Amir Faisal Alvi, a retired
Pakistani General who was killed in November 2008. soumya menon
chhotemianinshallah
India gives fresh dossier on Mumbai terror attack to Pakistan
17 Nov 2009, 2214 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday handed over to Pakistan a fresh dossier of
evidence on last year's Mumbai terror attacks containing statements of
key witnesses, including a magistrate and FBI officials, with the hope
that the prosecution in Pakistan would be expedited.
The 7th dossier was handed over by Y K Sinha, Joint Secretary
(Pakistan Division) in the Ministry of External Affairs, to Pakistan's
Deputy High Commissioner Rifat Masood who was called to the South
Block for the same.
The new dossier is believed to consist of statements of witnesses,
including the deposition of a Mumbai magistrate before whom the lone
captured Pakistani gunman Mohammad Ajmal Kasab had given a voluntary
confession of his alleged involvement in the attacks.
In his statement to the magistrate, Kasab had confessed that the
conspiracy for the 26/11 attacks was hatched in Pakistan by terror
group Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives including alleged mastermind Zaki-ur-
Rehman Lakhvi.
Lakhvi has been arrested by Pakistan and is facing prosecution along
with six others.
The dossier is also believed to include deposition of FBI officers who
told the trial court in Mumbai that mobile phones recovered from
terror sites were used by terrorists to communicate with their
handlers in Pakistan during the terror siege.
Deposition of foreign nationals and seizures of some articles
recovered from terror sites such as Hotels Taj and Oberoi and Nariman
House are also believed to be part of the dossier.
Sid Harth
Mumbai attack suspects should be brought to justice in Pak: US
PTI 18 November 2009, 07:32pm IST
NEW DELHI: Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to
Washington, the US on Wednesday pressed Pakistan to act against
perpetrators of Mumbai attacks, including Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz
Saeed, saying it wants to see results.
Describing Lashkar-e-Taiba as a global threat, US Ambassador to India
Timothy J Roemer said Pakistan should recognise the dangers and
dismantle the terror infrastructure existing on its soil.
Situation in Pakistan, the Mumbai attacks and cooperation in counter-
terrorism will be high on the agenda of Singh's meeting with President
Barack Obama in Washington on November 24, amid the US' keenness to
work "hand-in-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder" with India in preventing
terror strikes.
The two leaders will also discuss implementation of the historic civil
nuclear agreement, regarding which a few issues like liabilities,
licensing and reprocessing, remain to be sorted out.
Climate change, education and poverty-alleviation would also be among
the issues of discussion of the Singh-Obama meeting during which the
two sides are expected to unveil a "new relationship based on
strategic global partnership" and chalk out path of cooperation for
meeting global challenges.
"The seven Mumbai suspects should be brought to justice in Pakistan...
We need to see action and results from our partners in Pakistan,"
Roemer told a press conference here, adding even Saeed should be
brought to justice.
Equating 26/11 with 9/11, the US Ambassador said the Mumbai attack was
"tragic and heart-rending" incident, which will be discussed by PM
Manmohan Singh and Obama.
Talking about the already-existing unprecedented cooperation in
counter terrorism between India and the US, Roemer said collaboration
like information sharing is taking place even on hourly basis.
He also highlighted the fact that FBI had testified against "blood-
thirsty" attackers of Mumbai.
Referring to the visit of Home Minister P Chidambaram to the US
recently, he said it was successful and he had "captured the best" the
coordination between the two countries.
Asked whether the US would extradite to India David Coleman Headley,
an LeT operative held by FBI, he said it was a hypothetical question.
On the delay in implementation of Indo-US civil nuclear deal, Roemer
said four-five issues had remained to be resolved when he arrived in
India as Ambassador earlier this year.
"Tremendous progress" has been made on this issue but three issues
were yet to addressed, he said. These issues are -- enactment of a
Liability legislation by India, negotiations on setting up of a
Dedicated Reprocessing Facility in India and licensing aspects.
"We are optimistic that all the three issues will be resolved soon...
We are pushing hard to implement the agreement," he said.
Sid Harth
An actress went out for dinner with Headley?
TNN 18 November 2009, 01:30pm IST
MUMBAI: After Rahul Bhatt, the names of few other film personalities
have cropped up in David Headley case, including an actress who went
out for
Sources said they came in contact with Headley through Rahul Bhatt and
other common friends. Most of them met at Moksh fitness centre at
Breach Candy where Headley used to work out. However crime branch
officials said they have no information about any Bollywood
personality being associated with Headley.
The source indicated that these film personalities will be questioned
along with Rahul Bhatt by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Headley befriended the actors and partied with few of them, sources
said. It could be possible that they were not aware of his terror
links.
The actress in question was paired with some of the leading Bollywood
actors. However, her family members told TOI that the actress was
never introduced to Headley. "Its just a coincidence that they went to
the same gym. My daughter has never heard about Headley," her mother
said.
The other actor known as a serial kisser had also reportedly met
Headley. The actor told TOI all questions about his links with Headley
be directed to NIA. Rahul landed in a controversy after American
investigating agency FBI found that Headley had used his name in his
communication with his Pakistani counterparts. Rahul was a codename
used for Mumbai.
bademiyansubhanallah
Did Rana, Headley visit Ahmedabad for potential recruits?
Roxy Gagdekar / DNA Wednesday, November 18, 2009 11:18 IST
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat police has finally got some lead in the
investigation about US national David Coleman Headley and Tahawwura
Hussain Rana's visit to the city.
The duo, believed to be members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was
arrested by the FBI in the US for terror acts. It has been found that
during his visit to the city, Rana had interviewed people, who were
keen on going abroad, on November 18 and 19, 2008.
The Gujarat police is now busy tracing all the people whom Rana
interviewed and even those who might have managed to get a 'job'
somewhere.
Sources in the police department told DNA that the police is currently
investigating the people who were interviewed by Rana during the
interview held on November 18 and 19, 2008.
"The police are trying to trace the people who were interviewed to
find if any of them were given any specific input by Rana and
Headley," the source said.
The police so far has no clue about whether Rana managed to send
somebody abroad or was able to get the sort of recruit he was looking
for.
Primary investigations have revealed that Rana along with Headley had
also stayed in a Kalupur Hotel near the railway station. The police is
also trying to get information about people who might have helped the
duo and provided logistic support.
Though the police is yet to zero in on any one particular person,
several people have been interrogated in this connection. Rana and
Headley are believed to be in contact with the agents of the sleeper
cells of the Indian Mujahideen in the city.
Detection of Crime Branchmay soon interrogate the accused arrested in
connection with the Ahmedabad serial blasts.
A source close to the development told that the DCB apparently wants
to know if Headley and Rana had contacted any of the arrested or
helped them in the blast. Officials of DCB are yet to confirm the
development. The police are investigating Headley and Rana's link with
the Ahmedabad blasts.
bademiyansubhanallah
Strong Headley links discerned in 26/11
Anil Anand / DNA Wednesday, November 18, 2009 10:31 IST
New Delhi: David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana laid the
groundwork for last year's terror strikes on 26/11 in Mumbai. They
were the point men in the city for the planners and handlers in
Pakistan.
This was established by records of phone calls made by Headley to his
contacts in Pakistan in the run-up to the attacks, said highly-placed
home ministry sources on Tuesday. "Efforts are on to procure the
records and transcripts of the conversations that took place between
them to establish the link," the sources added.
Thus far, the role played by the duo had been more of a question mark.
But the National Investigation Agency confirmed that it has found
vital clues establishing links between Headley, a Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT) operative, and his Canadian accomplice Rana with the larger
module that had planned and executed the November 26 strikes. The
investigations around 26/11 had seemed to hit a roadblock in recent
times, and these revalations could be the missing link in the broader
conspiracy behind the attacks.
While the duo's role in the terror strikes becomes clearer, clouds
have also lifted from over the Bhatt residence. The investigating
agencies have given a clean chit to Rahul Bhatt, son of filmmaker
Mahesh Bhatt, who was being questioned for his self-confessed
association with Headley. "Rahul is only a witness and not a suspect.
But efforts are on to ascertain if he had unwittingly helped Headley,"
the sources in the home ministry said.
Planners of 26/11, the sources said, had been in touch with Headley
and Rana ahead of the strikes as the duo gathered information about
possible targets.
They had reportedly conducted an extensive survey of the areas and
supplied photographs and videos related to the targets to the
terrorists, leaving Mumbai before the attack.
As the investigating agencies plays its role, the ministry of external
affairs has also issued a probe into how Headley was given a visa by
the Indian consulate general in Chicago without getting home ministry
clearance. "The issue is being looked into very carefully from the
security angle and you will soon hear on this issue," external affairs
minister SM Krishna said.
bademiyansubhanallah
Headley hunting in Bollywood!
Prithwish Ganguly / DNA Wednesday, November 18, 2009 19:16 IST
Mumbai: Whether or not Rahul Bhatt had any connection with terror
suspect David Headley, the backlash of the revelations is already
being felt not just by the Bhatt family, but several others as well.
Mumbai under attackRight-wing radicals have stopped the screening of
Bhatt's film Tum Mile, and now trouble could be brewing for Pritish
Nandy (who owns Moksh gym, where Rahul worked as trainer and Headley
is said to have worked out), Emraan Hashmi and even Arti Chhabria.
Blogs and social networking sites are abuzz with the unravelling web
of information that traces a path to the 26/11 terror attacks. Even
writer Shobhaa De has posted her candid views --- she's called the
Bhatts a 'dysfunctional family'.
Needless to say, Mahesh isn't taking anything lying down. "What's
worse is that people like Shobhaa, a thinking individual, can write
that our family is dysfunctional. It clearly sends out a signal that
she too feels that since Rahul knew David, he must have been up to
something. This is worse than any political party's reaction to us as
it shows that even urban, educated people can believe things without
finding out whether accusations are true or not. It is a lynch mob
reaction. Celebrities bring in the media spotlight and this case shows
how news is being trivialised."
On another tangent, Mahesh and Pooja pointed out that while they were
being targeted, no one was questioning Pritish Nandy, who owns the gym
where Headley used to work out and where he met Rahul Bhatt in the
first place. The Bhatts also alleged that Pritish has sacked Rahul's
fitness trainer Vilas soon after the case came to light.
But Nandy defended himself by telling After Hrs, "Moksh is independent
from Pritish Nandy Communications. I've asked the managers there and
they've told me that no one has been removed from their job. So, I
guess the so-called facts are wrong. I feel issues of national
security are being ignored. What we are having, alas, are celebrity
debates in the media."
In the end, both Pritish and Mahesh feel that the media is using the
celeb angle to the Headley case as a TRP grabber -- to the detriment
of a more serious look into the security breach.
Shobhaa De sums it up: "Unfortunately, this is the way media and
intelligence agencies operate all over the world.For instance, had,
Woody Allen's son's name been linked to 9/11, even in an oblique way,
do youthink the international press corps wouldn't have gone to town
with the information? There is the upside to celebrity and a downside.
The David Headley case is an extremely sensitive matter involving
national security and has just begun unraveling. We don't know all the
ramifications and it's best not to prejudge or trivialise the issue by
focusing attention on non-entities." Well, well, now.
bademiyansubhanallah
Pink Panther strikes
R Jagannathan / DNA Thursday, November 19, 2009 1:01 IST
Mumbai: If there is any chance that terrorism will ultimately be
defeated in India, we can safely rule out effective policing and good
intelligence as being the reasons for it. Exhibit A is the
incompetence with which the Headley-Rana investigations are being
handled. It has all the hallmarks of Inspector Jacques Clouseau of
Pink Panther fame. A bumbling, fictional French detective, Clouseau
survives through sheer luck and incompetence even while his enemies
trip.
Mumbai under attackThis has been our story, too. The latest one began
with a case being registered by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation
in Chicago against David Coleman Headley (aka Daood Gilani) and
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who were apparently plotting incendiary stuff
in India. A few strategic leaks later, India' s panthers are all over
the place, looking under dungheaps and turning over anthills in the
hope that something will turn up.
It has. Barely a few days after the starter's gun went off, we have
discovered that Headley has been on a Bharat Darshan, scouting for
things to blow up, cosying up to the Bhatts of the world. His
excursions took him from five-star gyms to five-star hotels to five-
star Osho communes. In short, he operated right under our noses and
our Clouseaus had no clue.
Now, of course, we seem to know everything about him: who he met, what
he intended to do. All previously unsolvable crimes are soon likely to
be reported solved. After sending dossier after dossier to Pakistan
and grumbling about what they did, or didn't do, to Hafiz Saeed, the
Lashkar-e-Taiba's mentor, we have now happily discovered that Headley
and Rana contributed their mite to 26/11. It's a small world.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), barely a few months old,
seems to have learned all the tricks of the trade. The game is to be
seen to do something rather than really delve, probe and find out.
Over the last few days, our intelligence agencies have been leaking
like sieves, generating scoop after scoop for journos, when it should
have been obvious to anybody that such leaks, if genuine, can
compromise investigations.
No professional sleuthing agency goes around bandying all its
conspiracy theories even before its probe is completed, but this is
precisely what we have been witnessing. Little wonder, the FBI did not
share much with the Indian officials who turned up in the US to seek
access to Headley and Rana. The reports are that they were politely
told no, but home minister P Chidambaram put a brave face on it by
claiming that they didn't go there for this purpose.
The embarrassment is one thing, but didn't the officials think about
using the telephone? A routine call to their FBI counterparts would
have told them that there was no need to pack their bags for the US
when they were not to be given access to the terror duo. If this is
the kind of spadework they do before rushing off here and there to
investigate, god help us.
There is only one reason for our failure to get anywhere with our
terror investigations: we are taking short-cuts all the time. Whenever
there is public pressure to deliver results, our politicians expect
out sleuths to come up with answers instantly -- and they do. The
answers are usually dubious, if not downright misleading, but our cops
have learnt the hard way that shoddy work will be forgiven as public
memory is short. But there is a heavy price to be paid for making
politicians appear like they can't deliver.
The police deliver what the politicians want. If there is a public
outcry against a terror act, they will generate arrests and float
conspiracy theories. If the heat gets worse, they sometimes deliver
dead bodies in encounters. What we don't ever seem to get is a
professional investigation, with all the loose ends tied and resulting
in convictions. One is hard put to find any success after the 1993
blasts which ended in lots of convictions almost 15 years after the
event. We might also manage to convict Kasab, thanks to the individual
heroism of a lathi-wielding Omble and the good fortune we had in
capturing Kasab's antics on camera.
Which brings us back to the Pink Panther analogy. The role that luck
plays in our police and criminal investigation system is simply too
large -- as the Kasab capture personifies. Given the pathetic security
we provide our citizens -- whether at the Taj or CST -- the only thing
to be said is that India is too big a country to frighten for longish
periods of time. We are simply too many people having too many diverse
identities to be collectively terrorised by anyone. 9/11 changed
America, 26/11 did nothing to us.
For a few days, 26/11 brought out the candlelight-wallahs, but Mumbai
is about future dreams, not last week's nightmares. Apathy is a kind
of dubious strength for us. Terror is failing in spite of the best
efforts of our Pink Panther investigative agencies.
bademiyansubhanallah
Terror track
Friday, November 13, 2009 21:28 IST
Just as the first anniversary of the November 26 terror attacks
approaches, we have received new information about the planning that
went into those attacks as well a series of terror alerts about
possible strikes in some western Indian states.
Mumbai under attackThe arrest of David Coleman Headley, the US
national of Pakistani origin who is suspected of being a Lashkar-e-
Taiba terrorist and of his colleague Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who is a
Canadian national, has thrown up information about how they travelled
around India, reconnoitering sites, checking facts and laying the
groundwork for the 26/11 attacks.
Unfortunately, this shows the extent to which our intelligence
agencies were unable to pick up the signs before the attack. Headley
lived in Mumbai for almost two years, set up a business, went out
around town and made friends with many people. Details are emerging of
his associations with locals leading to the conclusion that he may
have had something to do with the attacks. At the very least he would
have got a sense of the way the city worked.
Indian investigating agencies have not yet got the opportunity to talk
to him but they are getting inputs from the FBI. What this shows is
that the shadowy terror organisations go about their business with
meticulous planning. Recall the first ever bomb blasts in Mumbai (then
Bombay) in 1993 which too were planned down to every small detail and
involved many people.
More than just looking back at the sins of omission and commission
that led to 26/11 it is important to ask what lessons have been learnt
and what measures have been taken to ensure that nothing like that
ever happens again. Terrorism doesn't come with a warning so it helps
to be prepared. Do we have systems at every stage, from intelligence
to coordination of various agencies and finally, the handling of the
aftermath? A new counter-terrorism outfit Force One has been set up
but is still struggling to find a home. Coastline patrolling by the
Mumbai police is still not at optimum level. And, sadly, many of the
victims have yet to receive compensation.
We have seen how Pakistan has mocked India's dossier on the attacks
and its dilly-dallying on the trial of one of the key accused. In
India the case of the lone terror accused of 26/11 is moving apace.
That is the difference between a true democracy and a sham one. But we
have to do much more. The authorities have to take steps that assure
citizens that their safety is in good hands. The first anniversary of
those bloody days and nights is approaching and should be a good time
to take stock of our preparedness. The picture we see so far is hardly
rosy.
bademiyansubhanallah
MEA bypassed us in granting visa to Headley, Rana: Home
Anil Anand / DNA Thursday, November 19, 2009 0:20 IST
New Delhi: The grant of visa to David Coleman Headley and his Pakistan-
born Canadian associate Tahawwur Hussain Rana is threatening to
snowball into a major controversy between the home and external
affairs ministries. The former is of the view that it was kept out of
the loop while clearing the visa applications.
A home ministry source said a 2004 circular makes it imperative to
consult them before granting visa to people of particular countries or
born there. The country-specific notification lists half a dozen
nations, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.
It is perceived that the Indian counsul general in Chicago used his
discretion to issue visas to Headley, Rana and a woman, Samraz Rana
Akhtar. The last two are Canadian citizens born in Punjab (Pakistan)
and were residing in Chicago. "The counsul general can use his
discretion to clear visas. But, why was the 2004 order overlooked in
these cases," a source asked.
Both Rana and Samraz were issued multiple visas, which enabled them to
extensively tour India on a reconnaissance mission to fix targets for
terrorist acts.
The National Investigating Agency (NIA) and other intelligence wings
are trying to figure out the impact of the trio's visit to Agra,
Ahmedabad, Kochi and Delhi. "We are not interested so much in the role
they played in executing the 26/11 plot. Our prime interest is to
figure out whether they have created a terror network at these places.
We are proceeding in that direction to prevent any terrorist act in
future," the source said.
The FBI informed India about Headley and Rana's terror plans and their
possible future targets. It seemed that they were looking for high-
profile targets like the Taj Mahal, nuclear establishments, vital
institutions such as the NDA and two leading public schools.
'Rules not violated'
A senior diplomat in Chicago has denied that the Indian consul general
in Chicago violated any procedure in issuing a visa to Tahawwur Rana.
"The Consulate General of India, Chicago, issued visas to Tahawwur
Rana and his wife as per the established procedure for issuance of
visas to persons of Pakistani origin. The visas were issued with due
scrutiny of the available documents and following exact guidelines and
without violating any rules/regulations of the Government of India,"
Vishvas Sapkal, the consul in charge of consular services at the
Chicago consulate, told IANS
bademiyansubhanallah
Was Osho centre on the terror map?
Siddhartha D Kashyap / DNA Thursday, November 19, 2009 0:30 IST
Mumbai: The two visits by David Coleman Headley to the Osho Centre in
Koregaon Park has set the alarm bells ringing, with a senior official
admitting that all possible angles are being investigated to find out
why he visited the city.
"We suspect that the Osho Centre might be a possible target because it
attracts a large number of foreign nationals," said an official from
one of the central security agencies investigating Headley's Pune
visit.
Although police officials declined to comment if the Osho resort was a
terror target, security officials from other agencies said an attack
on such a place would create a larger impact. Around 15,000 to 16,000
people visit the centre annually, of which 70% are foreigners, an
intelligence official said.
Another intelligence official said Headley may have entered his name
with the Osho International Meditation Centre to "fox" the
investigators. "Pune, being home to a large number of defence
establishments and infotech companies, we are trying to find out other
possible targets," the official said.
"Efforts are on to trace if Headley has developed any local contacts
in the city," the official said. Employees from Hotel Surya Villa in
Koregaon Park, where Headley stayed, are being questioned.
Amrit Sadhana, a member of the resort's management team and the
spokesperson of the centre said roughly around 20,000 people visit the
place every year and 50% are foreigners. "These people come from
nearly 120 countries," she said.
Headley -- a key LeT operative suspected for his role in the serial
blasts across the country -- was arrested by the FBI recently.
A security source confirmed that officials, including from the
National Investigating Agency (NIA), are already on the job.
(With inputs from Kavita Kané)
bademiyansubhanallah
Osho resort had issued him I-card
Abhay Vaidya / DNA Thursday, November 19, 2009 0:16 IST
Mumbai: As it happened with the Lashkar-e-Toiba operative David
Coleman Headley, every visitor -- Indian or foreign -- who entered
Pune's famous Osho International Meditation Resort (formerly Osho
Commune) left behind a distinct digital footprint that can be recalled
at the click of a mouse.
Mumbai under attackIn keeping with its stringent rules, a plastic
photo identity card with a unique identification number and period of
validity was issued to Headley by the resort.
This card was issued after checking the validity of Headley's visa,
taking down his visa and passport details, and as is characteristic of
the resort, after Headley tested negative for HIV.
Those who are HIV positive are not admitted to this commune-turned-
resort, established in Koregaon Park by the controversial mystic Osho
Rajneesh in the 1970s.
Senior police officials in Pune were unaware of this photo I-card
system and the fact that such an I-card had been issued to Headley.
"The commune did not give us a copy of the photo I-card issued to
Headley. These details are interesting but not critical as Headley is
already in custody in the US and his photograph, passport, and visa
details are already available," deputy commissioner of police (Special
Branch) Ravindra Sengaonkar told DNA.
Although the resort authorities provide the police with a list of
foreigners visiting the commune every month, the fact that a database
with photographs of each visitor is maintained meticulously makes
things easier in the event of police investigations.
Amrit Sadhana, a member of the resort's management team, said Headley
was issued a photo I-card after he took the HIV test and was found
negative. "Copies of these documents and other details were submitted
to the police," she said. The police have, however, said a copy of the
photo I-card was not submitted by the resort.
Sadhana declined to share a copy of the photo I-card issued to Headley
saying the matter was under investigation and could not be released
without the police's consent.
Joint commissioner of police (law and order) Rajendra Sonawane said
the only document that the Osho Resort gave the police was a letter
with details of Headley's visa and passport numbers and the fact that
he visited the resort on July 24, 2008 and March 16, 2009.
bademiyansubhanallah
Kasab alleges food laced with drugs, doctors deny
PTI Wednesday, November 18, 2009 15:28 IST
Mumbai: Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab has complained to the 26/11
terror trial court that food given to him in jail is laced with
tranquilisers, but medical experts have said there is no truth in his
allegations, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said here today.
Mumbai under attackKasab had made a grievance before judge ML
Tahaliyani some days ago that food supplied to him was "drugged" and
even produced a sample of rice in a piece of paper to support his
allegation, Nikam told PTI.
Taking cognisance of his complaint, the court had forwarded the sample
to medical experts for an opinion.
"The experts have opined that the rice sample did not contain any
tranquiliser," Nikam said.
While defence lawyer Abbas Kazmi said the accused had made such a
grievance to the court in his presence, Prosecutor Nikam said, "Kasab
is a liar and had made baseless allegations to derail the trial."
In the last few days, Kasab has been found sitting in the dock with
his head down and the usual smile on his lips is no longer visible.
Nikam said the trial had reached the final stages and Kasab knows that
substantial evidence has been adduced against him. "Hence, he is
making such allegations to gain sympathy of people," said Nikam.
"This is all drama, and he is a great actor," the prosecutor said.
Kasab has not only been given military training by the 26/11
conspirators but also imparted intelligence training on how to mislead
investigators or authorities if he was caught, Nikam said.
All such techniques learnt by him in Pakistan from the conspirators
are now being employed by Kasab to derail the trial, Nikam alleged.
The chemical analysis of the sample produced by Kasab clearly
indicated that he was lying, and exposed his false claims about the
food containing drugs, Nikam said.
Asked how he had brought the sample of rice, Nikam said he must have
taken from the food which is served to him in the cell.
Earlier, Kasab had complained to the court saying the food served to
him was sub-standard and that he wanted to have biryani. However, the
court told him that he would have to take the same food which was
served to other prisoners.
bademiyansubhanallah
NIA team may question actors who met Headley
PTI Wednesday, November 18, 2009 18:01 IST
Mumbai/ Pune: As Indian and US investigators dug deeper into the David
Headley case, some Bollywood stars who had reportedly interacted with
the American terror suspect during his stay here in 2007-2009 are
likely to be questioned.
India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) might record statements of
actors Emraan Hashmi and Aarti Chhabria who reportedly had come in
contact with Headley, sources said.
The NIA move came even as Mumbai-based gym instructor Vilas Varak said
he was instrumental in introducing filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's son Rahul
to Headley and that he had informed police about Headley, a Lashkar-e-
Taiba(LeT) operative.
About his link with Headley, Vilas said, "I never went to meet
Headley...he came to me." He claimed he has now lost his job at
'Moksha' gymnasiumat Napean Sea Road where he was working for eight
years because of the Headley affair.
In Pune, police said Headley had stayed at hotel 'Surya Villa' near
Osho Ashram on March 16 during his visit to the city this year.
The hotel manager was also questioned. It was through Rahul that
Headley established contacts with some Bollywood figures, sources
said, adding NIA has been recording the statements of persons with
whom the terror suspect had interacted during his stay in city. Police
said Rahul is a witness in the case.
When contacted, actor Hashmi stated through a text message, "All
questions regarding the case should be directed to the NIA."
Chhabria's lawyer Hitesh Jain denied his client's links with Headley.
"There is absolutely no connection whatsoever between Chhabria and
Headley. This is a mischievous and malicious rumour alleging links
between the two," Jain said.
Headley along with his Pakistani-Canadian associate Tahawwur Hussain
Rana are currently in FBI custody for allegedly plotting terror
attacks in India. NIA has registered a case against the two.
In Pune, the manager of 'Surya Villa' hotel furnished details of
Headley's stay in Room No 202 along with a copy of the passport given
by him while booking the accommodation. Headley had visited the Osho
Ashram for 'meditation' during his visits to the city.
"We are scrutinising the documents submitted by Headley, a US citizen,
to hotel manager to confirm whether they are genuine," DCP Ravindra
Sengaonkar, told PTI.
Headley who paid two visits to Pune in 2008-2009 had not registered
himself with Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) here on his arrival
as required under the law.
Gym instructor Vilas Varak claimed that Headley met him at 'Moksha'
gymnasium and befriended him during his "body-building" sessions.
Vilas who knew Rahul later introduced Headley to him and three became
very chummy with each other, going out for coffee and spending a lot
of time together, sources said.
"I happened to see news about Headley's terror links on TV and was
shocked. I informed about it to Rahul and we subsequently told Mumbai
police crime branch about our interaction with Headley," the fitness
instructor said.
"Headley was a nice talker and a go-getter who called me his Guru and
a younger brother," he said. Vilas, who has now lost his job at the
gym, said that when he reported for work, the gym's manager told me to
go away and lie low till the matter is sorted out. "I have lost
everything".
However, Pritish Nandy, owner of Moksha gym, said, "As far as I know
and have been informed, no one has been sacked. We don't sack people
unless there is clear evidence of wrongdoing".
bademiyansubhanallah
Mumbai fire fighters: The unsung heroes of 26/11 victory
PTI Wednesday, November 18, 2009 11:05 IST
Mumbai: Bravehearts from Mumbai's fire brigade, who battled not only
fire but gunfire too during the 26/11 attacks to save hundreds of
lives, are yet to receive their due.
Mumbai under attackWith just a few days left for the first anniversary
of the terror assault, one of the most audacious in recent memory,
these firemen are still to receive the gallantry award announced by
the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).
If the images of Hotel Taj with its iconic dome enveloped in fire and
smoke are permanently etched in the nation's collective memory, so are
those of the fire fighters toiling for three long days putting out the
blaze at multiple terror locations and rescuing the hostages.
Rubbing shoulders with the elite NSG commandos were the over 1,200
firemen, all unarmed, risking their lives while fighting the raging
flames triggered by the terrorists holed up at Hotel Taj, the Trident
and Nariman House during the terror siege.
"I am proud of my men who showed exemplary courage during the attacks.
They not only put out the blaze but saved over 400 people from the
jaws of death risking their lives," chief fire officer, Uday Tatkare
said.
"For a rescue operation of such gigantic proportions, Mumbai Fire
Brigade then had only six Ariel Ladder Platforms (ALP) and just two
bullet-proof jackets, but loads of courage," Tatkare said.
On November 26 last year just when the nation was preparing to go to
sleep, the might of one of country's best of security apparatus was
put to test.
Spraying water at the blazing landmark hotels and Nariman House,
sometimes ducking a barrage of gunfire and grenades, these unarmed men
put their best foot forward.
A year later, their department too seems to be following in their
footsteps.
"Last year's terror attack has taught us a lot. We have taken several
steps to improve our battle readiness," said Tatkare.
"Besides procuring latest equipment and undertaking capacity building,
we are conducting seminars and training programmes for the firemen on
a regular basis," he said.
"Co-ordination among various agencies like Police, Railways, BEST,
MCGM and others too has gone up," he added.
In May this year, BMC standing committee cleared a Rs30 crore proposal
for procuring new fire resistant uniforms and equipment for the 2,300
firemen.
bademiyansubhanallah
Never met Rahul, forget Headley, says Kangna Ranaut
Prithwish Ganguly / DNA Thursday, November 19, 2009 0:15 IST
Mumbai: Bollywood actresses Kangna Ranaut and Aarti Chhabria whose
names have cropped up in the Headley controversy have denied having
met the LeT operative.
Headley had befriended Rahul Bhatt, son of film-maker Mahesh Bhatt,
and there are rumours that he had met Emraan Hashmi and Kangna Ranaut
and Aarti Chhabria.
Chhabria has now got herself a lawyer, Hitesh Jain of ALMT Legal. Jain
said contrary to reports that she had dated Headley, she never met the
American. "We have sent a notice to the tabloid," he said. "If they
don't issue a clarification, we will file a defamation case against
them. We have filed a complaint with the crime branch asking them to
take action against those spreading false information. Also, the crime
branch or the NIA has not approached Aarti Chhabria for questioning or
recording her statements. These reports are nothing but lies."
Kangna Ranaut said she never met Rahul Bhatt. So, the proposition of
Rahul introducing Headley to her did not arise, she said in an
official statement on her blog.
"I am deeply disturbed by the irresponsible media reports that have
unnecessarily dragged my name into a controversy to gain TRPs," she
said. "I plan to take strong legal action against the channel that has
started such a baseless story and is trying to damage my credibility,
and cause emotional distress to my family, friends, fans and me."
Emraan Hashmi was not available for comment.
bademiyansubhanallah
Finishing Mumbai trial important task for Pakistan: Blake
Lalit K Jha/ PTI / Washington November 19, 2009, 11:06 IST
Bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice is an
important task to finish for Pakistan, which also needs to look into
the issue of Hafiz Saeed, accused by India of masterminding the terror
strike, besides preventing cross-border infiltration, the US has
said.
US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert
Blake noted that several accused have been nabbed and court cases
begun against them, "but now it's important to finish the task, to
complete those judicial proceedings".
Blake also said Pakistan should not in any way feel "threatened" by
the strengthening of the Indo-US relationship.
"I think another important issue for Pakistan is to look at is the
question of Hafiz Saeed, because Saeed is subject of international
sanctions, UN sanctions, as well as bilateral American sanctions,"
Blake told reporters.
Blake said while Pakistan has deployed troops away from the Indian
border lately, there was still room for progress on this issue, as
also in preventing cross border infiltration.
"There's still some in Pakistan who believe that India is their
primary threat, and not the extreme militant organisations," Blake
told reporters.
On Pakistan's concerns over US' growing cosiness with India, Blake
said: "I don't think Islamabad should in any way feel threatened by
the steps that we're taking with India".
US officials have said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's upcoming state
visit to the US will help the two countries take their relationship to
a new level.
Blake said it is ironic that during Obama administration's early days,
Indians said that the US was focusing exclusively on Pakistan and
Afghanistan to the exclusion of India.
"There was a good reason for that, and partly because Afghanistan and
Pakistan's extremely important, but also because the Indian government
had not yet had its elections, so we were not in a position to know
who the new government would be and then begin to articulate what our
new -- the outlines of what our new partnership would be," he said.
He said: "Now we are in such a position, and Secretary (of State,
Hillary) Clinton, went out in July and conveyed this invitation on
behalf of the President for Manmohan Singh to be the first state
visitor of the Obama administration," Blake said in response to a
question.
On Pakistan, he said preventing cross-border infiltration, "just
making sure that that also is addressed, because as the Secretary's
spoken to many times during the course of her visit to Pakistan and
elsewhere, we see that all of these violent extremist groups are
working together".
Blake said the US hoped Pakistan would continue its initiatives
against the Taliban in its restive regions, to confront violent
extremists that threaten not only Pakistan, "but other countries such
as India and the US".
When asked if he believes India needs to do more to reassure Pakistan
about what is happening on the eastern border, Blake said: "That's
something for India and Pakistan to work out together, and I don't
want to start getting in the middle of telling one country or the
other what they should be doing".
bademiyansubhanallah
Probe into Headley, Rana trail to take 4-6 weeks: Pillai
Press Trust of India / New Delhi November 15, 2009, 16:17 IST
Making it clear that no clean chit has been given to anyone so far in
the Headley-Rana terror case, the government today said the probe to
complete the duo's trail in India will take four to six weeks.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here, Union Home
Secretary G K Pillai said, "Investigations are on, it will take us at
least, I will put it as something between four to six weeks, to
complete the probe. Once that investigation is completed, we will know
the links."
He was replying to a question whether Canadian of Pakistani-origin
Tahawwur Hassan Rana and US citizen David Coleman Headley, arrested by
the FBI last month for allegedly plotting terror strikes in India and
the US, had made any trips to militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir and if
there are any fresh inputs to suggest their role in the 26/11 attacks.
In reply to a specific question on Rana's movements, Pillai said he
had visited Kochi in Kerala and the probe to find out what he did
while in the city is on.
Kerala Director General of Police Jacob Punnoose had said, "A man
named Tahawwur Hussain Rana had stayed in a hotel in Kochi on November
16." He had also stated that the state police had not received any
official communication on the matter from the Central security
agencies.
bademiyansubhanallah
Visas for Pak-born US nationals to be cleared by Delhi
Lalit K Jha/ PTI / Washington November 12, 2009, 11:24 IST
As an immediate fall out of the FBI foiling a LeT plot to use US
nationals to carry out major terror attacks in India, the Indian
Embassy here has tightened visa approval norms for Pakistan-born
American citizens, whose applications would now have to be cleared by
New Delhi.
An instruction in this regard has recently been issued by Union Home
Secretary G K Pillai, according to which all applications for Indian
visa from Pakistani-born US nationals would now be processed and
cleared by New Delhi.
The measure has been taken in view of the busting of the Lashkar-e-
Toiba plot, in which the Pakistan-based terror group was planning to
use Pak-born US national David Coleman Headley to launch terrorist
attacks in India.
Because of the good relationship between India and the United States,
American citizens never have had any problem in receiving the visa.
Besides, the Indian Embassy in Washington, the Indian Consulates in
New York, Houston, Chicago and San Francisco too issue Indian visas.
All the Indian Missions in the US have been directed to adhere to the
new instructions in this regard from New Delhi.
As the new Visa regulations came into force, intense discussion have
begun on forums and on line blogs on what is being described in delays
in issuing of Indian visas to Pak-born US nationals.
"I applied for a tourist visa for India in April earlier this year and
received it within a week. I made a visit to India in September and
applied for another visa upon my return on September 18, 2009," wrote
one Noni Fayyaz, stating that she is a US citizen born in Pakistan, on
a travel forum.
"I went through TRAVISA; it has been a month and I do not have the
visa yet. I have called TRAVISA several times but all the tell me is
that I should wait and that they have not heard anything. Their
website shows the status as "Documents received by consulate," Fayyaz
said.
bademiyansubhanallah
US Court gives FBI 60 days to file indictment against Headley
Lalit K Jha/ PTI / Washington November 11, 2009, 13:25 IST
A Chicago court has given 60 days deadline to FBI to complete its
investigations and file an indictment into the foiled terror plot in
India and Denmark by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist group.
Chief Judge James F Holderman has extended till January 1, 2010, the
date of filing indictment for US national David Coleman Headley,
arrested along with Canadian citizen of Pakistani-origin Tahawwur
Hussain Rana by the FBI on charges of plotting terror attack in India
at the behest of LeT.
"This court finds that the ends of justice served by extension weigh
the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial
because the failure to grant such an extension would deny the
government the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation of
the evidence for presentation to the Grand Jury, taking into account
the exercise of due diligence," Judge Holderman said in his order.
Earlier, the FBI requested the court to give it more time to complete
the investigation and file the indictment arguing that on October 18,
federal agents executed four search warrants at four separate
locations, and among other items of evidence, seized a number of
computers.
The FBI agents are "diligently examining the evidence", the agency
told the court.
Sid Harth
Headley's gym trainer feels like killing himself
Baljeet Parmar / DNA Thursday, November 19, 2009 0:13 IST
Mumbai: Gym instructor Vilas Warak, who for some time trained Lashkar-
e-Toiba operative David Headleyat the Breech Candy facility,now fears
that his marriagescheduled for December 7 is almost doomed. After
coming to know of Headley's true identity, Warak had approached the
city crime branch and voluntarily provided allinformation he had about
the terror suspect. "For the past 10 ten days, I have been repeatedly
questioned by officials from various agencies," he said.
"I am not too well read. I come from a poor family. The job at the gym
was my only source of income. I have lost that too. To make matters
worse I came to know that my in-laws don't fee too good about the
developments."
Warak said his life was ruined for no fault of his. "No one, including
my employers, is helping me out," he said. "I feel like committing
suicide."
Sid Harth
RR's homecoming: Vikram Bhatt cribs to Rahul
Prithwish Ganguly / DNA Thursday, November 19, 2009 3:05 IST
Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt has taken on NCP politician RR Patil, who has
been reinstated as the state's home minister after losing the job in
the wake of the 26/11 attack a year ago. Bhatt has written an open
letter to Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi expressing his
frustration at this move.
Patil had had to quit in late 2008 after coming under heavy fire for
making statements that were widely seen to be insensitive. "Only a few
people died, it could have been worse" and "big cities do face such
small problems" were two of the gems from the home minister of the
state about a terrorist attack in which 173 people were killed and at
least 308 were wounded.
"I am writing to you because you are who I see as the future of this
country, you are, I can see, a person who wants to make a difference,
you are, I can see, someone who gets pained and hurt; you are my
generation..." Bhatt wrote to Gandhi, who is widely seen as the heir
apparent in the Congress.
"We have seen the dossiers go back and forth from India to Pakistan
and back, we have seen the Lashkar chaps arrested and freed... We
understand international politics and we understand that these things
take time, but I am hurt about the reinstatement of RR Patil."
Explaining why he feels hurt, Bhatt wrote, "He [Patil] said something
that hurt us deeply and was asked to step down, and then, even before
a year is gone, he is back again and that means I am supposed to have
a weak memory and I am supposed to forget."
He continued, "It does not matter what I feel and what I have gone
through to see my city scared. What matters is that I have been given
a pat on the back and the tag of being resilient and RR Patil sits
here as the symbol of the impotent rage of a nation. RR Patil is the
government's way of telling us, the citizens, that we and what we feel
does not matter."
"It does not matter what I feel and what I have gone through... What
matters is that I have been given a pat on the back and the tag of
being resilient and RR Patil sits here as the symbol of the impotent
rage of a nation."
--Vikram Bhatt
Sid Harth
Terror talent wanted for riot revenge
Roxy Gagdekar / DNA Thursday, November 19, 2009 14:12 IST
Ahmedabad: The relief camps where the victims of the post-Godhra riots
of 2002 were taken for their safety were the focus of David Headley
and Tahawwur Hussain Rana's recruitment drive for Lashkar-e-Toiba's
terror campaign against India. Sources in the police department said
that the two LeT operatives had reportedly visited some rehabilitation
camps in Danilimda.
However, the police are yet to identify someone from Danilimda or any
other part of the city, who had met Headley or Rana at the relief
camps. The exact weeks or months in which the duo visited the relief
camps are also not known.
DNA had earlier warned that, in the absence of speedy justice, the
relief camps which housed riot victims seething with desire for
revenge, and the neglected Muslim ghettoes of Ahmedabad, could become
fertile ground for terrorism.
The sources said that, during their visit to the city, Headley and
Rana had tried to take advantage of the simmering anger among youths
of the minority community who were 'desperate for revenge'.
The two terrorists were allegedly looking for youths who had not yet
decided on a revenge plan. According to reports, Headley and Rana had
offered the angry youths a lavish lifestyle in Canada even as they
prepared to avenge the the 2002 bloodbath. He gave them the example of
his own life in Canada and is reported to have told the youths that if
they agreed to work with him, they, too, would live comfortably in
Canada. The sources said Headley and Rana had also met some people who
had migrated to Danilimda from other parts of the city. "During his
visit, he preferred to contact youths who had suffered tragic losses
in the riots," a source said. The aim of the interviews that Headley
and Rana organised in the city, ostensibly for jobs in foreign
countries, was also the same -- to recruit youths among riot victims
who were willing to work for the LeT.
However, no officer of the Gujarat police could confirm about these
meetings in the city.
chhotemianinshallah
Rana's bail hearing put off
CHICAGO: The bail hearing of terror suspect Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who
is in FBI custody in Chicago on charges of plotting terror attacks in
India, has been postponed to December 2. The hearing was scheduled at
a court here on Thursday
Rana's detention hearing before Magistrate Judge Nan R. Nolan has been
moved to December 2 at the joint request of the parties.
- PTI
bademiyansubhanallah
Govt blames consul in US for Rana visa
TNN 19 November 2009, 04:11am IST
NEW DELHI: US-based Lashkar terrorist Tahawwur Hussain Rana got his
visa from the Indian consulate in Chicago without having to go through
a
background check. This has raised eyebrows in the home ministry, with
officials pointing out that a check is a mandatory requirement in the
case of people of Pakistani origin like him.
While consulates worldwide are, according to home ministry sources,
required to run a check on the antecedents of visa applications of
people of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Iranian origin, the stipulation
was not enforced in the case of Rana with India's consul general in
Chicago using his discretionary quota.
According to sources, visas of Rana and his wife Samaraz Rana Akhtar,
who accompanied him to India, have 'CG's discretionary quota' stamped
on them.
Consul Vishwas Sapkal at the Indian consulate in Chicago told PTI on
Wednesday that the Ranas were given visas "after a due scrutiny of the
available documents and after following guidelines". He said, "The
consulate general of India, Chicago, issued visas to Rana and his
spouse as per the established procedure for issuance of visas to
persons of Pakistani origin. As per the procedure, no prior clearance
from the ministry of home affairs was required in such cases."
Home ministry sources disputed the contention of the consulate, saying
the mandatory background check had been in place since 2004.
They agreed that the consul general did have a discretionary
jurisdiction, but argued that prevailing security concerns should
place a comprehensive scrutiny ahead of all other considerations.
While the issue has not led to a row, home ministry sources have
expressed reservation over the way the Ranas managed to get visas
under the discretionary quota of the consul general. "Who knows
whether he befriended someone at the consulate general the same way as
David Coleman Headley befriended Rahul Bhatt in Mumbai," a home
ministry functionary remarked.
The dispute comes at a time when there are indications that Sajid Mir,
in charge of Lashkar's overseas operations who was in touch with
Headley and Rana, may not be in Pakistani custody.
As per initial indications, Pakistan, acting at the FBI's insistence,
had detained Mir along with another Lashkar leader, Abdul Rahman
Saeed, in charge of the jehadi outfit's activiies in Bangladesh. But
sources have come around to feel that it is only Saeed who may be
under detention.
Sid Harth
Survivor recounts horror at Taj on 26/11
Press Trust Of India
Mumbai, November 20, 2009
First Published: 15:59 IST(20/11/2009)
Last Updated: 16:01 IST(20/11/2009)
In a week it will be a year since the 26/11 terror attacks convulsed
Mumbai, but for the survivors the blood-curdling moments of their
lives are etched in their minds forever.
31-year-old Bhisham Mansukhani, one such survivor, who came face-to-
face with death, feels he was lucky enough to have escaped the bullets
of the four terrorists who turned Hotel Taj into a war zone for three
days when time seemed to have come to a standstill.
"The memories of that day are still fresh in my mind as if it all
happened yesterday. I am surprised how I escaped to see this day,"
says Mansukhani.
Recounting how the horror unfolded before him during the toughest 12
hours of his life, he said, "I was at the wedding of a friend when
firing began. We took cover under tables and then sought refuge in a
room waiting to be saved."
After no help arrived on the night of November 26, Mansukhani and
others, who were huddled together in a room, mustered courage and
tried to escape.
"One of the terrorists noticed the group and opened fire killing the
man in front of me and forcing us beat a hasty retreat into the
comparative safety of the room from where the NSG commandos ultimately
rescued us," he said.
"I still cannot believe that I escaped death by a whisker. Though we
all move on in life there are things which stay with you, these
memories.... good or bad."
Mansukhani, who was on the roof-top of the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower
that ghastly night of November 26, said he had never even imagined
that he would encounter terrorists one day in his life.
"It appeared like a battlefield along the border with bullets flying
all over and grenades exploding at regular intervals. It was mayhem
all around. These terrorists do not deserve to breathe on this earth,"
Mansukhani, who works as a freelance journalist, says.
Mansukhani has taken lessons from a city-based NGO on how to deal with
disasters.
"I attended one of the seminars organized by an NGO. They train
citizens on how to keep their calm and not panic during disasters like
terror attacks and floods. This has helped me great deal to cope with
the trauma," he said.
The freelancer intends to do a disaster management course in the near
future.
Mansukhani also wants the on-going trial of 26/11 perpetrators Ajmal
Kasab and other conspirators to be completed before the first
anniversary of the attacks.
"The entire world saw how those cowards thirsted for blood," he said.
Sid Harth
After bad publicity, government removes cops from Gateway of India
Indo-Asian News Service
Mumbai, November 20, 2009
First Published: 16:04 IST(20/11/2009)
Last Updated: 16:05 IST(20/11/2009)
Embarrassed after the criticism from various quarters, the Maharashtra
government on Thursday evening shifted a platoon of police - entrusted
with guarding the Hotel Taj Mahal Palace & Tower - from the Gateway of
India where they were living since nearly two months.
The platoon, which comprised 30 State Reserve Police Force (SRPF)
troopers, was compelled to live on the pavements in and around the
Gateway of India in the absence of any proper lodging-boarding
arrangements made for them by the authorities.
"Around 7 p.m., some police vans came and picked them up with all
their belongings and luggage. They have been taken to an undisclosed
location nearby," a police official told IANS Thursday evening.
The jawans were guarding the country's best-known hotel that was one
of the main targets in last year's terror attack. The men lived, ate
and slept there, read newspapers, washed and hung their clothes there
- right opposite the hotel.
The hotel is, meanwhile, busy with preparations to open a few portions
of its heritage building, which was, damaged in last year's terror
attacks.
The troopers had just one police van in which they managed to change
and move around in the city.
Last week's unseasonal rains forced the troopers to put up plastic
sheets to shield themselves from the rainwater.
Ironically, the Gateway of India recently completed a restoration and
beautification work of Rs.20 million and is due to be opened to
tourists soon.
Meanwhile, top police brass, including State Director-General of
Police A.N. Roy, Additional DGP (SRPF) Ajit Parasnis and Home Minister
RR Patil remained unavailable for their comments despite repeated
attempts by IANS. Even SMSs to all remained ignored.
Sid Harth
Mahesh Bhatt writes to PM over son Rahul's 'great betrayal'
PTI 19 November 2009, 06:53pm IST
MUMBAI: Mahesh Bhatt has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh in which the filmaker said he felt a sense of "great betrayal"
over the manner in which his son was handled by investigators despite
sharing information about US terror suspect David Headley.
"In the letter, I have expressed my deep anguish over the manner in
which the investigation was handled after my son Rahul voluntarily
shared information with the police," Bhatt said.
"I have narrated the chain of events I and my family had to go through
after my son did what was expected of him as a responsible Indian
citizen," the film veteran said.
"We woke up to a sense of great betrayal and irreversible damage. The
Prime Minister should intervene and set the right example by
condemning whatever happened. Otherwise such events would discourage
any citizen from participating in the fight against the menace," he
said.
Alleging that the investigating agencies had leaked selective
information to the media, which projected his son "in a wrong way",
Bhatt said taking advantage of the situation right wing forces had
stopped screening of his movie 'Tum Mile' in Gujarat.
Bhatt said he had not asked for any security but reported to Mumbai
police about the level of threat he, his office and his movie faced.
chhotemianinshallah
Lashkar-e-Taiba threat revived after Chicago arrest
20 Nov 2009, 1703 hrs IST, REUTERS
LONDON: The arrest of two men in Chicago on terrorism charges linked
to Lashkar-e-Taiba has revived fears about the Pakistani militant
group's global reach and its ability to plot attacks in India and
around the world.
A major attack in India -- still angry over an assault on Mumbai one
year ago -- could trigger Indian retaliation in Pakistan and draw the
nuclear-armed neighbors into a conflict that would also torpedo U.S.
hopes of stabilizing Afghanistan.
David Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana were arrested last month and
accused of plotting an attack on Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten,
which ran cartoons of the prophet Mohammad in 2005, U.S. authorities
said in court documents.
According to the court documents, they discussed their plans with
members of Lashkar-e-Taiba and al-Qaeda linked Pakistan-based militant
Ilyas Kashmiri. Lashkar also talked to them about possible attacks in
India and suggested these should be given priority over the alleged
plot in Denmark.
Neither Headley, a U.S. citizen who had spent time in Pakistan, nor
Rana, a Canadian citizen born in Pakistan, have yet entered pleas.
Rana's lawyer said he would deny the charges.
Officials have long worried that Lashkar-e-Taiba, blamed for the
attacks on Mumbai, could use its big network of support in the
Pakistani diaspora to hit Western targets.
The Chicago case showed quite how powerful that network could be. And
it suggested the group was still actively planning attacks in India
and raised fears it could use Western nationals who might escape
police attention to strike there.
Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram told the Washington Post police in
India also were investigating whether the two men had links to the
Mumbai attack, which killed at least 166 people.
"Chicago really exemplifies the group's capabilities and the
leadership's priorities," said Washington-based analyst Stephen
Tankel, who is writing a book on the group.
Lashkar "remains committed to an India-first approach, but also poses
a real threat to the west."
INDIAN RETALIATION
Once nurtured by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy
agency to fight India in Kashmir, Lashkar-e-Taiba shares al Qaeda's
concept of global jihad, as underscored by its alleged willingness to
support the planned attack in Denmark.
"Lashkar-e-Taiba is no longer a Pakistani movement with only a Kashmir
political or military agenda. Lashkar-e-Taiba is a member of al
Qaeda," former French investigating magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguiere
told Reuters in an interview last week.
The group's Jamaat ud-Dawa charitable wing wins support and funding
worldwide for its humanitarian work in Pakistan, giving it a powerful
network which police say has been used to plot attacks in countries
from Britain to Australia to Bangladesh.
But it is Lashkar's ability to wreak havoc in India and to raise
tensions with Pakistan that makes it most dangerous.
India broke off formal peace talks with Pakistan after the assault on
Mumbai and is still pressing Pakistan to dismantle Lashkar's
infrastructure and training camps.
Lashkar is officially banned in Pakistan but unofficially tolerated as
the only militant group not believed to have been involved in attacks
inside the country, analysts say.
And with Pakistan fighting the Taliban in South Waziristan and facing
a wave of reprisal attacks in its cities, it is seen as unwilling to
create a new enemy by turning on it right now.
That leaves the risk the group, some of whose members are believed to
have slipped out of the control of the ISI and even of its leadership,
could strike again in India.
Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram said this month India would
retaliate if hit by another attack from Pakistan.
Gurmeet Kanwal, at the Indian Army's Center for Land Warfare Studies,
said this could even include attacks by the Indian Air Force (IAF)
across the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Kashmir.
"If the next big strike can be credibly attributed to Pakistan Army/
ISI planning and support, the IAF and the Indian Army are likely to be
ordered to strike across the LoC at purely military targets and known
terrorist infrastructure because the government will be forced to bow
to public pressure," he said.
Such a move would force the Pakistan Army to rush troops from its
western border with Afghanistan to its eastern border with India, and
run a serious risk of escalation.
Yet the threat of an India attack would probably make Pakistan even
more reluctant to dismantle Lashkar-e-Taiba, whose armed cadres are
seen as a first line of defense in the event of war with its much
bigger neighbor.
TARGETING WESTERNERS IN INDIA
Untangling that Gordian knot is likely to come up during a visit to
Washington next week by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has
personally led efforts to improve relations with Pakistan in the face
of domestic criticism.
But with peace between India and Pakistan a long way off, the
immediate risk is both that Lashkar might stage attacks in India, or
provide its global network to support other Islamist militants,
including al Qaeda, in targeting the west.
"The interesting thing it (the Chicago case) points to is how fluid
these networks are," said Praveen Swami, a Kashmir specialist at
India's The Hindu newspaper.
It could even try to combine the double objective of striking India as
well as Westerners by attacking western targets within India itself.
This happened in Mumbai when the 10 gunmen targeted both Indians as
well as hotels and a cafe popular with foreigners, along with a Jewish
center in their three-day assault.
"This does not mean every attack inside India ... will target Western
interests," said Tankel in an article to be published next week in the
CTC Sentinel, produced by the Combating Terrorism Center at U.S.
military academy West Point.
"But the threat of such attacks must now be included within its wider
targeting options," he said.
chhotemianinshallah
Handwriting on maps points to local angle in 26/11 strike
21 Nov 2009, 0326 hrs IST, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Even as details of terror suspects David Coleman
Headley and Tahawwur Rana’s travels to India to allegedly recruit
sleeper cells and survey potential LeT targets, including those hit
during 26/11, unravel, handwriting experts have confirmed that the
writings on the maps of 26/11 targets seized from Mumbaikar and 26/11
accused, Faheem Ansari, are indeed his own.
In a clear indication of a local angle to the 26/11 conspiracy, a
handwriting expert on Friday informed the trial court in Mumbai that
the specimen signatures of Ansari — an accused in the 26/11 case as
well as in a 2008 attack on the CRPF camp at Rampur, UP — matched
perfectly with the notings on the maps seized from him in raids
following his arrest by the UP police in February 2008.
According to the prosecution, Ansari had drawn maps of the targets —
CST, Taj, etc — and passed them on to Lashkar-e-Taiba masterminds who
plotted the attacks.
Deposing before judge ML Tahaliyani, Dr Kanti Kumar said he had
matched 32 specimen signatures with the maps and found that they
matched. “This indicated that Ansari had drawn the maps,” he told
special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
The expert said that he had used a special equipment fitted with a
microscope to verify the signatures.
Ansari, along with accomplice Sabauddin Ahmed, is accused along with
the lone surviving 26/11 attacker, Ajmal Amir Kasab, in the Mumbai
strikes case. As many as 183 persons were killed in the terror siege
that lasted over three days.
Meanwhile, investigators probing the Headley-Rana case are scanning
hotel and travel records of the two to establish a terror trail that
would lead them to the local terror modules they set up as they criss-
crossed the country on their terror missions.
According to latest details gathered by the investigators, Rana had
travelled widely through western UP, a hub of SIMI activists and
supporters, to recruit men for LeT’s terror missions.
During his stay in Delhi last year, Rana had checked into a hotel in
Karol Bagh along with his companion Samraz Rana and received several
enquiries there in response to the advertisement put out by him
inviting aspirants for US/Canadian visas. However, investigators
believe that the advertisement was only a cover to meet potential
terror recruits.
As for David Coleman Headley, he had reportedly also stayed at
Trident, apart from Taj where he checked in twice in 2007. He used
these stays to get elaborate details of every nook and cranny of the
potential targets, which he also captured on video and still cameras.
The reconnaissance mission was also carried out by Headley at Nariman
House and Leopold Cafe, the other two targets of the 26/11
attackers.
bademiyansubhanallah
Convicted felon in US, Gilani changed name to hide tracks
21 Nov 2009, 0652 hrs IST, Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN
WASHINGTON: Daaod Gilani, suspected of involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai
carnage and one of the two Pakistani expats charged with
transcontinental terror plots, is a convicted felon who served 15-
month prison sentence in US in 1999 before he changed his name to
David Coleman Headley, a camouflage that may have helped him get a
long-term Indian visa.
The discovery of the felony conviction becomes important in the
context of the growing controversy over how he got a long-term Indian
visa from the Indian consulate in Chicago, where the consul-general
Ashok Kumar Attri is under fire for lax oversight. Some Indian
community activists who have been campaigning against Attri for long
have sought his recall.
The External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi and the Indian Embassy in
Washington have said Attri acted within the purview of current rules
and did not break any law, but intelligence officials are bristling at
the loopholes that enabled Gilani/Headley to mask a conviction that
should have raised a red flag.
According to US court records, Gilani, who took his mother’s last name
Headley in 2006, was involved in a drug trafficking case in
Philadelphia in 1997. He appears to have pled guilty and helped
authorities in the case to earn a reduced sentence, because accounts
of the episode, which give his full name as Sayyid Daood Saleem
Gilani, say he aided Drug Enforcement Agency agents monitor an
operation involving smuggling of a huge consignment of heroin and
cocaine.
The fact that Headley-Gilani’s birthplace on his American passport is
listed as Washington DC, effectively masking his Pakistani pedigree,
appears to have fooled Indian authorities in Chicago. But information
being pieced together now shows that he was the son of a Pakistani
diplomat Saleem Gilani, who was posted in the U.S in the late sixties,
and Serrill Headley, a Pennsylvania native who lived in the capital
region those days.
The couple moved back to Pakistan after Daaod was born in the US but
they split up soon after in the early 1970s when Serrill returned to
US to eventually start a bar and restaurant called Khyber Pass in
Philadelphia. In 1977, after at least two attempts, she got custody of
the young Daood Gilani, who was at the Hasan Abdal Cadet College in
Pakistan at that time.
Transported to Philadelphia, Daood apparently suffered from culture
shock. Raised a Muslim, he had trouble adjusting to the idea that his
mother ran a bar, according to a report that that time in the
Philadelphia Inquirer, which traced his background in a story on
Thursday. "He has never been alone with, much less had a date with, a
girl, except the servant girls of his household," the paper quoted a
column from that time from its archives.
Serill Headley turned over the business to her son in 1985 but he
quickly ran it into the ground, according to current owners of the
restaurant. Meantime, he is said to have studied accounting, possibly
at a community college in the Philadelphia region, and operated a
video store, FliksVideo, with his mother.
A 2008 obituary of Serrill Headley in the Philadelphia Inquirer
described her as an ''adventuress who contributed to Philadelphia's
restaurant renaissance when she opened Khyber Pass Pub in the 1970s.''
It said she had purchased a neighbourhood bar on Second Street near
Chestnut (now a trendy area) in which ''she left the regulars sitting
at their stools arguing politics, while she transformed the
surroundings with Pakistani wedding tents.''
Khyber Pass itself merited an Inquirer obituary when it closed in
1988, with the paper describing it as a ''saloon institution for the
last 14 years'' that ''provided a performing venue for all kinds of
Philadelphia bands.'' Its proprietor, Serrill Headley, blamed the
closing on "tax problems and absentee management" caused by a long
illness and an auto accident a year ago that left her with back and
leg injuries, it said.
In Washington DC, there was no recollection in the diplomatic circuit
of Saleem Gilani although archives showed a Director General of
Pakistan Radio by the same name. But investigators are digging back
into the records, also because the name Gilani (also spelt Jilani) has
raised red flags in India, notwithstanding the fact that the Prime
Minister of Pakistan shares the same name.
chhotemianinshallah
Pakistani father-son duo held in Italy over Mumbai attacks
Press Trust Of India
London, November 21, 2009
First Published: 13:53 IST(21/11/2009)
Last Updated: 15:01 IST(21/11/2009)
A Pakistani father-son duo in Italy, who managed a money transfer
agency that was used to finance the Mumbai terror attacks, were
arrested on Saturday in the northern Italian city of Brescia.
The two men were arrested in an early morning raid, police in Brescia
said.
In a statement, police said the suspects managed a money transfer
agency and helped fund the November 26 attacks.
The day before the attacks last year they transferred money to
activate an Internet phone account that was used by the attackers and
their accomplices, Stefano Fonzi, the head of anti-terror police in
Brescia, was quoted as saying by AP.
Italian police began the probe in December last year after being
alerted by FBI that the money had been sent from Italy, Fonzi was
quoted as saying, adding that the funds were transferred under the
identity of another Pakistani who never visited Italy and was not
involved in the alleged crimes.
The two men have been accused of aiding and abetting international
terrorism as well as illegal financial activity.
The Indian government has been informed of the arrests by the Italian
authorities, sources in New Delhi said.
They said Indian agencies are also trying to find out whether the
arrested persons had any links with David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur
Hussain Rana, nabbed by the FBI in the US last month on charges of
plotting a major terror attack in India at LeT's behest.
Sid Harth
26/11: Taj, Oberoi paid Rs 167 cr as terror claims by GIC
PTI 21 November 2009, 07:28pm IST
MUMBAI: General Insurance Corporation (GIC), the designated
administrator of the terror insurance pool, has released Rs 167 crore
to Taj and Oberoi General Insurance Corporation has released Rs 167
crore to Taj and Oberoi hotels in connection with the 26/11 terror
attacks, a top GIC Re official said.
"We have released Rs 167 crore to both hotels (Taj and Oberoi) till
now. The renovation work is on...and we are waiting for the final
report (to settle the final claim)," GIC Re's Chairman and Managing
Director, Yogesh Lohiya, told reporters here on Saturday.
General Insurance or non life insurance companies had formed a terror
insurance pool in 2001 to pay the claims arising out of terrorist
activities.
Of the Rs 167 crore given to the two hotels, GIC Re had released the
first insurance instalment of Rs 25 crore to each of the two hotels in
December last year.
The insurer will release the final claim amount to both the hotels
only after the renovation works at the Taj and the Oberoi gets over,
Lohiya said.
"The final claim figure will be arrived at only after the hotels
finish their renovation work," Lohiya said.
Sid Harth
Bullets did not pierce Karkare's bullet-proof vest: Post mortem report
PTI 21 November 2009, 04:32pm IST
MUMBAI: Setting at rest the controversy that slain Maharashtra Anti-
Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare died because of defective bullet-
proof jacket, post mortem report have revealed that he received five
bullets in and around his neck.
All the five bullets pierced his body in the region which was not
covered by the bullet-proof vest, the post mortem report said.
He received "total five firearms wounds of entry on shoulder blade,
top region between neck and right shoulder, four entry wounds in one
line," the report said.
A Public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court had
alleged that Karkare died because bullets had pierced his bullet-proof
jacket. However, the post mortem reports negate this claim made by the
PIL.
The PIL also pointed out that in accordance with specifications laid
down for bullet-proof vests, the portion of the body from the neck
till waist should be covered. In the present case, the bullet-proof
jacket worn by Karkare had only his chest covered while the neck
portion was open.
Sid Harth
Citizens' movement or candle in the wind?
Anahita Mukherji & Sukhada Tatke, TNN 21 November 2009, 10:12am IST
MUMBAI: After 26/11 the city saw a spontaneous outburst against the
government, with demonstrations and candle-light vigils. The general
feeling was that it was time for people to take matters into their own
hands. Several citizens’ groups sprang up, promising more individual
involvement in public affairs and the public outcry forced heads in
the government to roll. But the dust soon settled; the candles blew
out. Two major elections have gone by and it is now quite clear that
the people’s resolve is illusory.
Why did the mass movement disappear sooner than it took root? Actor
Rahul Bose, who started the Group of Groups (GOG) comprising 51
individual organisations in response to the terror attacks admitted,
“So many groups sprang up that we thought a larger, collective group
would lead to something. We had planned to send, a memorandum to the
government, letters urging the implementation of police reforms and so
on, but didn’t manage anything. Looking back, it’s a marvel we managed
to sustain the group for six months and hammer out a common minimum
programme. Then, we all got busy with our lives. It has been a
collective failure.’’
A few weeks after the attacks, Mumbai saw several protest marches. At
one such march, a motley bunch of South Mumbai residents got together
at Marine Drive, shouting “Chhagan Bhujbal Murdabad’’ soon after
Bhujbal’s reinstatement as home minister. They also shouted slogans
against Union agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar and claimed they were
courting arrest and would march up to Mantralaya protesting against
politicians. But with the arrival of a few police vans the chorus
changed to ‘Mumbai Police Zindabad’. When the protesters were informed
they would not be allowed to shout slogans against politicians, they
began chanting ‘Vande Mataram’. The cops forbade protesters from
marching to Mantralaya, and allowed them to march to the next signal
instead.
According to civic activist Indrani Malkani, one of the founders of
the Malabar Hill Residents Association, there’s little that ordinary
citizens can do to fight terror, besides getting trained to deal with
the situation. “After 26/11, what we saw was an emotional outburst
resulting in little action. Several NGOs have regrouped under a new
name but with little result,’’ said Malkani. For Gerson D’- Cunha of
AGNI, “It would be too much to expect these citizens’ groups to last
very long. Sudden trauma does not bring long-lasting groups into
being.’’
Surendra Srivastav of the Loksatta Movement said the educated middle
class has not noticed the link between political culture and bad
governance. “Everybody wants Shivaji to be reborn but not in his own
house. Mumbai is a commercial city and its citizens spur into action
for a short time,’’ he said. Actor Sushma Reddy who joined GOG said:
“Older groups had differences which couldn’t be surmounted.’’
Psychiatrist Anjali Chhabria explains the short-lived action as a
response to sudden shock and anger. “At that time, it was a collective
emotion spurred by constant television visuals making one feel
helpless,’’ she said. “As time elapsed, everyone resumed their routine
activities, even as the helplessness remained. The stress of day to
day life keeps people busy.’’
Sid Harth
Letter warns of attacks at 14 places
S Ahmed Ali, TNN 21 November 2009, 05:55am IST
MUMBAI: The Railway police received an anonymous letter on Thursday
threatening bomb blasts at 14 important places including Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre, BSE, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and
Mantralaya.
Joint commissioner of police (law and order) Himanshu Roy said,
‘‘After 26/11 we have so far received around 573 threat calls and
emails. We take all threats seriously and alert all security agencies.
Now, with the anniversary of 26/11 close at hand, we are more cautious
than ever.’’places including Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, BSE,
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and Mantralaya.
chhotemianinshallah
Kasab should be hanged from a lamp post: Major Unnikrishnan's father
Aarthi R, TNN 22 November 2009, 12:40am IST
BANGALORE: 26/11/08, 11.30 pm. He last spoke to his father, asking him
to watch the “interesting episode outside hotel Taj shown live on TV.”
A day Major Unnikrishnan with parents.(TOI File Photo)
A day later, he was seen there, lying dead, on the same screen. What
was thought to be a minor one-hour operation for the NSG turned into
India’s worst encounter with terrorism.
To say that a year that passed by has not been easy for Major Sandeep
Unnikrishnan’ parents in Bangalore. They are still shaken by what
happened to their only child and uncertain of what lies ahead. Their
plan for this November 27 (Sandeep’s first death anniversary) is very
clear: ‘‘It will be a day at the new Palm lounge in Mumbai constructed
on the very spot where he lay dead. We will reserve that particular
table and chair. We are not away from him. We want to be with him that
day,” his father K Unnikrishnan told TOI. Excerpts from the
interview:
Your reaction to the entire 26/11 episode:
There’s no point in it. Kasab is an offender. They are still keeping
him alive. One can say Kasab was a machine used by them but he has a
brain. They had all gone for their purpose. He and his colleagues
killed 53 innocent people including pregnant ladies and small
children. He was standing, shooting and laughing. Who is he? And we
are asking Pakistan to do something. He should be hanged on a lamp
post. Hang him high! It’s not revenge but that should be a lesson to
other terrorists. Such people must be butchered. It’s not that they
killed Sandeep or Karkare. Blow the train or building but why kill
innocent people?
Getting over the loss and tussle with Kerala CM:
When I first heard it on TV, all of a sudden, I thought it was end of
the world. Next moment I realised, nothing has changed, except
Sandeep. Later on, I remember everything, including Achudanandan’s
visit. People said I acted that way because I was emotional. But no —
it was on purpose. I never had any problems with him. Just that I
didn’t want anyone to take undue credit.
How was it going to Mumbai, visiting the exact spot?
Surely it was not easy. Yet another sad chapter was meeting the
survivors in his team. Eight out of the 11 have joined back. But,
other three people, one captain lost his eye. Luckily he got married.
But he may lose his other eye also over a period of 5 years. Another
person, who was in Trident hotel, suffered head injury. He still has a
particle in his head.
Sandeep inspired many with his brave act. How does it feel?
I am proud of what he did, but didn’t want to lose him. Everyone wants
a Bhagat Singh or a Bose but in neighbour’s house. I too feel so now.
We don’t want money. I am actually giving it back in parts. Sandeep’s
sixth pay commission arrears is more than enough. Only that is our
right.
chhotemianinshallah
Terror funds came from Italy
DNA Correspondent & Agencies Saturday, November 21, 2009 19:45 IST
Mumbai: The Italian police on Saturday arrested two Pakistani
nationals for their alleged involvement in the November 26, 2008
terror attacks in Mumbai. The police alleged that the arrestedfather
and son duo -- Mohammad Yaqub Janjua, 60, and Aamer Yaqub Janjua, 31
-- was running a money transfer service which was reportedly used by
the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to make phone calls.
Mumbai under attackAccording to the Italian police, the two suspects
ran the money transfer service in the northern Italian city of
Brescia. The duo was arrested in an early morning raid in Brescia.
The arrested suspects are accused of having carried out a money
transfer under a false name to pay fees for a Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP) telephone service. The duo allegedly transferred $229
on November 25, 2008, the day before the attacks in Mumbai. This money
was used to activate the internet phone account that was used by the
terrorists and their handlers to keep in touch during the three-day
terror attack. Three other suspects arrested for "other illegal
activities," may have connections with the Pakistani duo, said Italian
police.
In another development, US investigators have zeroed in on a Pakistani
national who is suspected to be a key link between LeT operatives
David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana.The US also believes
some elements in ISI could be linked to Headley.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai policesaid that it was awaiting word on the
arrests. "We have not yet received any official communication in this
regard," said additional commissioner of police, crime, Deven Bharti.
A Mumbai police official however said that the name of one Javed
Iqbal, an Italian national of Pakistani origin, had cropped up during
the investigation. "Iqbal may have helped in funding this terror
operation. He was detained by the Italian police soon after his name
cropped up in the case, but was later let off. It is believed that
those picked up now in Italy were known to Iqbal," said the officer.
bademiyansubhanallah
Terror threat: We have lost the plot
M J Akbar Sunday November 22, 2009
The ebb from outrage to rage, its decline to umbrage, and then a drift
to amnesia is the narrative of the 12 months since the terrorist
assault on Mumbai, which shook India and startled the world. America's
immediate response to 9/11 was over the top; our phased reaction has
been under-the-table. But a message went out from Washington: you
provoke the US at your peril, no matter what the collateral damage. We
play piped music before one trapped cobra and call it an opera. Then
we fall asleep at our own show.
It is both easy and pointless to blame the government. Every
government keeps a thermometer in its holster and calibrates its
decibel levels according to ground temperature. If it's warm, it will
blow hot, as Delhi did so vigorously between November and January. If
it has cooled, Delhi will cool it as well. It is meaningless to blame
our Opposition. We have an Opposition that has become impotent without
ever turning potent. The politician will only be as resolute as the
citizen, and our sensitivities have been dulled by a culture of
complacence. Even trauma has been reduced to television drama; once
the scenes are played out, our bluster slowly splutters into silence.
It is possible that the military-intelligence-political establishment
of Pakistan understands us far better than we understand them. They
must have dismissed us as a soft state whose breast-beating is easily
calmed by tokenism. On the first anniversary of 26/11, it is not
Pakistan alone that is laughing at our weakness. Washington too has
measured the tensile strength of a nation that finds unique ways to
postpone its threats to the next calamity. Last year, we gloried in
the belief that the US had promoted us to the ascending plateau of a
regional power, en route to the status of world player. This week,
President Barack Obama used a communiqué in Beijing, of all capitals,
to tell us where we stand in his estimation, as one of the nations of
South Asia whose border problems the worldwide partnership of equals,
US and China, would help sort out.
The lean and lissome Obama has learnt to slap with a long hand.
Obama did not have a word to say, incidentally, about Dr A Q Khan's
latest revelations on Chinese help in fuel and technology for
Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, a clear instance of illegal
proliferation. Do not be surprised, however, if India gets a lecture
or two on nuclear proliferation.
War is not the only definition of strength. This fallacy has been
promoted to disguise a policy of inaction. We have been cheated by
this argument since it is obvious that war can have attendant
consequences capable of deadly havoc. But there is a whole array or
diplomatic and economic instruments that can be mobilized, nationally
and internationally. We had the world's sympathy a year ago. We
squandered it with inaction. Pakistan maneuvered its way out of
international condemnation with some brilliantly painless promises.
Islamabad bought the time that Delhi sold.
This week President Zardari presided over a meeting of the PPP's
Central Executive Committee during which, in the words of Najam Sethi,
an eminent Lahore editor, there was "a reassertion of Pakistan's
maximalist position by both the prime minister and foreign minister on
the resolution of the Kashmir dispute". This is probably a pre-emptive
measure. Obama is likely to lean on Dr Manmohan Singh during the
latter's visit to the White House, and push for a compromise on
Kashmir acceptable to Pakistan. He might even wave a lollipop called a
future seat in the Security Council as a distant prize for good
behaviour.
Normalcy with Pakistan is a good idea: put me down as lead advocate of
the band of peace missionaries. But before we seek normalcy, we must
know what it means. Does it mean reward for unrepentant terrorism by
post-Shimla Pact adjustments to the map of Jammu and Kashmir?
It used to be said that we do not have a foreign policy, just a
Pakistan policy. We could have moved ahead; we may not even have a
Pakistan policy now. We seem to indulge in a series of engagements
with different nations, as if the world were an old-fashioned
marketplace in which you could haggle your way through different
shops, purchasing what was available at whatever price, without a
coherent theme linking departure to destination.
Some politicians take recourse to fudge, and sell the notion of India
as a soft power. This is a useful screen when you have turned the
nation soft, instead of making it powerful. If we were in the midst of
the Garden of Eden, this would have been laudable achievement. But we
live in a region where terror haunts the headlines.
Amnesia is an invitation to the next terrorist assault.
bademiyansubhanallah
Let's Talk '26/1'
Anoop Kohli Thursday November 19, 2009
One sometimes wonders why the Indian government hardly ever issues
‘travel advisories’, when this is something some western countries
announce two or three times a year to their citizens. Is it because we
are a daring race, is it because everyone is extremely well informed,
or is it so embarrassing to say "Go wherever you want, as soon as you
want, as much as you want; you may actually be safer and better off
elsewhere"? Being part of the only culture in which a night guard’s
proficiency is judged by the clarity, lung power, and frequency in
saying “jaagte raho”, I have often failed to understand the logic. The
guard is not being paid to keep you awake, he could not be saying so
to keep the thieves watchful. So is this a loud soliloquy of the guard
to keep himself alert?
Nearly a year to the date of the tragic 26/11 attack on a country
which spends one-third of its GDP in defence and security, is among
the six or seven-odd that have launched their own sattelites, and is
quite certain on the statistics from the direction the next blast will
come, has spent all this time making statements 26/30 x 12, sparing
Sundays, warning the citizens, from the highest chairs, that such an
attack can occur again. Kasab, his mentor Sayeed in the neighboring
country, and now Headley (if indeed an alias, why not ‘Headlead’ or
‘Headway’?). Rest assured, the story will continue to add players,
venues, episodes without coming to a rational end. We’ve bought coast
guard vessels, a nuclear submarine, refurbished an old aircraft
carrier, swapped the RAW for NIA, but God forbid if the time comes, we
may still be lacking ‘actionable intelligence’, and finally be ready
to be told, ‘Didn’t we warn you before?’. Well thank you very much for
collecting our taxes, and keeping us paranoid all this while.
There will be mourning, consoling speeches, oaths of human bonding,
and politicians have been voted to be in the forefront. Candles may be
lit on the night of vigil, and there may be other rituals. The only
lesson to be learnt however, is not to let this happen again. For
that, as yet no one has owned up, nor has the system been able to make
a credible scapegoat. It was a day of reckoning that we all walked
through, losing our near and dear ones, without realizing that
incredible India had yet again failed to take note of its failings.
The blame game that started in the aftermath, was a pitiable response
from a sovereign nation. There should have been immediate discussions
eliciting binding guarantees for such acts if the neighboring country
was to blame. If that was not the whole story, we just had to
strengthen our intelligence and defences, without all the lamenting at
the international stage. That sort of political maturity may be
present, but as yet is not demonstrably convincing.
Two months from now, on the 26th day of January, will be the 60th
anniversary of the Republic. Sure enough, Rajpath, the power street of
the capital, will be lined 10 to 15 rows deep with common men, women
and children, patiently waiting with eyes wide, gaping jaws at the
military might, missiles and bombers, convincing themselves of these
essential ingredients of a democracy, and imbibing enough patriotism
to lay their lives for the country, if it be so. Food, electricity,
education, health and employment only come as long a country has
freedom. There will be VIPs, a foreign statesman, administrative
battalions, members of Parliament, ministers who define freedom and
are voted to indulge in its options and have the requisite
qualifications to distribute medals for bravery, so what if half of
the medals are posthumous. Cultural exhibits, so shamelessly called
symbols of the age-beaten phrase ‘unity in diversity’, are now truly
the withering components of ‘diversity in unity’.
The flame of the ‘Immortal Soldier’, and the salute to him, is perhaps
the only sacred, pious, essential, and relevant ritual of the whole
show. That, and the anthem do bring the blur in your eyes for those
who lived, fought, and laid down their lives for you, with the
disturbing guilt, that you probably never deserved it. Yes, ‘thou art
a better man than I, Gunga Din!’
Having marched on this track as an NCC cadet once, feeling so chosen
and proud, one wonders now if all this pomp has any meaning. Isn’t
this vulgar show of symbols of a doubtful military might sending a
scrambled signal to the common man, besides being too expensive? Would
there be another way to dub brotherhood, tolerance, knowledge, peace,
health, economy as the real components of success and achievement. Why
is it that a display of ‘defence’ has been our only ‘defence’ for so
long?. Should we bring into play, 60 years too late, the term called,
‘national character’?
The performance has been dubious, and the assessment bars are
depressing. Take this: 84th on a corruption-measuring scale 1 to 180.
Doesn’t matter which order the list follows. Just managed to hold on
to the fig-leaf.
Think. Your thoughts would certainly be more valuable than mine. Let
us have a week of exercises in democracy. Let Parliament hold a
celebratory session for a day with the treasury and opposition
switching sides. The judiciary can have televised, theme-focused
constitutional discussions. Human rights groups can have televised
debates where questions can be asked, and new agendas be listed. Let
there be an audit presentation of the successes of the new government
bills, and let the people debate and vote. There will be great
excitement on campuses if the ‘officers and gentlemen’ walk into
schools and mingle with the adoring children explaining what
patriotism is all about. Allow a prime discussion on interaction and
care of the minorities. Allow recent issues as the one in Maharashtra
to be given a serious ear by the country. Solutions will come much
sweeter and sudden. Bollywood can never be excluded.
Finally, start with the eternal flame, hatchet and helmet of the ‘Amar
Jawaan’ and the Presidential speech.
The show and flow of armory doesn’t appear that relevant. Besides, the
power street of the country will no longer be littered with banana
peels and groundnut shells the day after!
bademiyansubhanallah
Scared Kasab, Scary Kasab
Bachi Karkaria Wednesday July 22, 2009
Ajmal Amir Kasab fascinates me. Who or what is he? Dangerous fanatic
or exploited innocent? Chillingly sane or psychopathic? Repentant
sinner or manipulative schemer? And, most intriguing of all, how did
this boy from the boondocks become a global nightmare, the metaphor of
a myriad impotencies?
Last Monday, he stunned us with the same element of surprise with
which he and his deathly band had managed to overpower us last
November. On Day 65 of the high-security trial, just as witness No 135
took the stand, Kasab stood up and lobbed a verbal hand grenade at
special judge M.L. Tahiliyani. 'Sir, mera gunah kabool hai,' he said.
Then, over the next four and a half hours, he held the court hostage
to attention as he unspooled a detailed testimony.
Kasab's somersault may have knocked our socks off, but it is of a
piece with everything we have seen about this young man -- or
everything he has chosen to reveal. In this riveting courtroom drama,
he has played to the gallery like a consummate actor ( state or non-
state). His demeanour has been incongruously courteous, even
vulnerable. He has smiled quietly and he has softly wept. He has had
his talkative days, and quiet ones bespeaking the heaviness inside.
The Mumbai Mirror reported that Kasab had told his doctors that he has
been unable to sleep because every time he shuts his eyes, the
terrified faces of the men, women and children he randomly killed
float up to haunt him. So, it is easy to conclude that Kasab confessed
because he's now too scared to carry on 'lying to the court'. It is
less easy to concede that, despite Monday's mea culpa, we cannot stop
being scared of Kasab.
This boyish lad has consistently spun hoops around us. He has strummed
on the emotions of hardened court reporters, bowled googlies at the
special prosecutor. And he has burdened me with the guilt of a
sympathy which flies in the face of my judgment, my decency, my sanity
and, most of all, the friend I lost on that long night of numbed
disbelief.
Now, 'singing' like an anguished koel in the unlikely aamra kunj of
Arthur road jail, he has entangled Pakistan in its own web of deceit.
Monsters have a nasty habit of turning on their creators, as all have
lethally learnt. From being the tightly programmed pawn of his
handlers, Kasab has become an out-of -control AK47. He will use it on
them with the recklessness of the man with nothing left to lose. Or,
worse, with studiedly cold vendetta.
That's their problem. But we haven't got rid of ours either. As the
sole face of 26/11, this one-time urchin has been a daily reminder
of the hollowness of a city's vanities, a country's ineptitude in
securing itself, and indeed the entire region's incontinence over
terrorism
This is what scares and fascinates me most. The metamorphosis of
Kasab from no-good tapori to a terrorist who could carry out this
soul-destroying mission with such military precision. Arguably, the
only mistake he made was to be taken alive. Our streets are full of
frustrated boys like him. Are they all loafing time-bombs?
Radicalization can make you fearless, that we know. But can it also
impart the highly specialized skills essential to such an operation?
If, on the other hand, Kasab could develop these only because he
already had the inherent qualities, think of how this slumdog could
have become a more conventional success story.
This mass potential for harm, this individual mis-channeling of
talent - that's really what should disturb us all..
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Kasturi says:
July 22, 2009 at 09:37 PM IST
Thats the one question nobody seems to be asking - Why? Why did he do
this? What kind of hatred is so deep seated that makes these young
people do these things, to other's and themselves..?! Bachi, why did
your friend die? For what? To what end?
Agree (34)
Disagree (20)
GR says:
July 23, 2009 at 01:03 AM IST
I think Kasab is seeking martyrdom so that he can claim his virgins in
his after life. He knows that there is no way in hell he is getting
out of this. I think the best punishment for him would be life in jail
without paraole. Let him get abused and mistreated in jail, that will
be the best punishment. Death is an easy exit for him from the
realities of life and for what he has done.
Agree (33)
Disagree (15)
Anup says:
July 23, 2009 at 01:09 AM IST
You are comparing him with our 'streets full of frustrated boys'. But
no one do such act.
On the level of humanity, now confessing the crime he will become hero
in Pakistani soil amongst jihadi's (mentioning the fact that he was
trying to spread the message to Laskhar but was stopped in the court.)
And now, he will get sympathy of people like us who care for human
being and value of life forgetting his crime (At least that is what
purpose of your blog, I believe.) well, that is not it Bachi. He is
playing with our emotions. He made our justice system a JOKE as
keeping it on his own terms. Ordering news papers, strolling grounds
and flavored tooth pastes, butter chickens (and what not?) before
confessing (Like he was ready to die as a Soldier/Hutatma setting an
example amongst terrorists/jihadi's)
Well, he was meant to die in the gutters of Mumbai. But now he is
doing that on his own terms. That shall not be it. I am sorry but I
can not relate to this in any human way.
If he will be HANGED AT CST AND MADE STATUE OF HIS BONES,(so that
every terrorist who will ever keep foot on CST station will shiver to
death seeing it and not feel proud of Kasab) I shall be more than
happy and in peace. I believe every Indian would. But we respect our
Justice department and let us not make a joke out of it.
Agree (22)
Disagree (18)
aarya says:
July 23, 2009 at 01:10 AM IST
Do not be scared madam. What can he do now other than rotting in
jail.. When you say you are scared it means the tricks of those
terrorists has started to work. Their main idea is nothing but to fill
our minds with fear....Relax and dream of the Indian government
handing him over to you and then you show him what real fear is...
I am dreaming everyday...I want him alone in my room....
Agree (38)
Disagree (17)
Happy Manjit Singh says:
July 23, 2009 at 01:12 AM IST
We are a young nation. Still learnig to deal with people like Mr.
Kasab. Do not underestimate the will and determination of the Indian
people. We do not forget, nor do we forgive. We are part of a
coalition. Trying to create a world that our children can peacefully
live in. We have much hatred in our hearts. Fear this hatred. You can
kill us, humiliate us, molest our children, rape our girls. But you
can not defeat us.... We will allways be free. There is no place for
people like Mr. Kasab on this planet. We will have more terror
attacks, more killings, more Kasabs. We know that.
Agree (22)
Disagree (18)
Sanjeev says:
July 23, 2009 at 02:01 AM IST
In a few words..he is remorseless, mis-guided terrorist who has
nothing left to live, but to get attention, which unfortunatley
articles such as yours bestow on him.
He thinks after killing countless innocent people, he can smile,
softly weep etc., my..my..I think we are spending too much time on him
IN MEDIA>
He should be tried and convicted appropriately without media jumping
all over him..
Agree (22)
Disagree (19)
Gaurav Goel says:
July 23, 2009 at 03:10 AM IST
Kasab should be used as a propaganda tool to dissuade the next
generation and educate them how simpletons are used as pawns by
radical militant Islamists. Letting him hang, however justified and
legal, will only make him a martyr among those left behind and he will
be misused yet again posthumously. He should get life imprisonment,
and he should be able to write, be interviewed and even make
documentaries, for his perspective is the missing one, the voice of
the suicide terrorist who can be a credible voice like no other for
the key target audience, the Muslim masses.
Agree (18)
Disagree (19)
hucklbury says:
July 23, 2009 at 03:38 AM IST
Psychpaths always invoke sympathy as it i never their fault. It's the
recruiter, trainer, handler....etc etc
Agree (21)
Disagree (16)
Prabhakar says:
July 23, 2009 at 05:55 AM IST
Too much attention, too many blogs and too much in news. I killer is
turned to hero. We Indians live more by emotions than by rules or
logics. Let whatever he said be analysed and necessary actions taken.
We need to know how our system works and how we use the information
available for safe guarding the nation.
Actions speak more than words. We have not seen any actions so far.
Just emotions only.
Agree (17)
Disagree (29)
Rayan1 says:
July 23, 2009 at 06:16 AM IST
I am dam sure KASAB-bhai is an exploited innocent as he belongs from
min0rity community.We will bring out rally all over INDIA in support
of him,if he is given death penalty.WE will ask for presindential
pardon for him if required.He should be given scope to study in IIT/
IIM as he could have bright future in INDIA......LONG LIVE
INDIA....LONG LIVE PEOPLE LIKE BACHI KARAKIA.
Agree (16)
Disagree (17)
mks says:
July 23, 2009 at 07:17 AM IST
Kasab is an uneducated person who does not have a clear thought
process and is not able to reconcile himself to the fact that come
what may he will be punished and punished severely.
It seems that he does not have the confidence in his lawyer that he
will be able to secure him from the impending punishment and is
therefore making his own ill thought moves. That is why we find that
his own lawyer is perplexed and is unable to explain that why he has
given such a statement without taking him into confidence.
Agree (21)
Disagree (15)
Sanjay Mani says:
July 23, 2009 at 07:48 AM IST
It certainly seems like you've hit the core of the issue towards the
end of that article: how was the simple & jobless Kasab transformed to
the eventual cold - blooded killer he turned out to be?
Well...uneducated, lacking any real direction in life & searching for
that elusive conviction which will fuel you, must have all combined to
make him an easy target for the LeT (or whoever) recruiters....Those
are the real culprits: spreading the message of hate & destruction:
those are the real people who should be facing the gallows...Certainly
not saying Kasab should not be hanged: he should be, given the heinous
nature of his crimes, but that will not solve the deeper problem....As
long as there are idle, impressionable young men like Kasab, terrorist
outfits will not have any issues whatsoever finding agents of death to
put their agenda to practice. As one of my Pakistani work colleagues
said to me about the current situation in the SWAT valley: Quote: "
there are hundreds of thousands of people in that area, armed to their
teeth: their sole occupation, the only thing they know to do..is
fight...fight to the end..these people need some direction..some life
objective...hence the bloody situation and the violence ": Unquote.
Agree (23)
Disagree (15)
vikas says:
July 23, 2009 at 09:09 AM IST
Kasturi, i think when brains are washed religiously, all whys & whats
are meaningless.
Agree (21)
Disagree (16)
kgaipal says:
July 23, 2009 at 09:09 AM IST
well written! Our streets are also filled with "loafing time-
bombs" ...
Agree (21)
Disagree (14)
Aditya says:
July 23, 2009 at 09:16 AM IST
When a chap is facing the death penalty, he becomes apt to mouthing
platitudes and feigning innocence. Why not see what happens if you let
him out of jail, and put an AK47 back in his hands?
Disappointed that Ms. Karkaria is lured into even asking such things.
Perhaps Ms. Karkaria should put these philosophical questions to
Sabina Sehgal Saikia. But she can't can she? Because this so called
repentant sinner killed her. And hundreds of others.
Repentance is best left between this Kasab, and his maker.
Agree (21)
Disagree (14)
ATUL CHOPRA says:
July 23, 2009 at 09:51 AM IST
ms bachi karkaria,at least give it a year to pass another 26/11 before
u try to sensitize the indian public.plz go and visit the nsg commando
and mr karkare's house and give UR ERRATIC EXPLANATION.
i am still not ready for pacifist attitude.
Agree (18)
Disagree (14)
Kuldeep says:
July 23, 2009 at 10:14 AM IST
he's just trying to gain sympathy by confessing his crime....he's
trying to attach religious feelings to his crime....he has given his
decision n the court should also play their turn asap....hang him for
the crime he's committed n then look out for the people who may have
exploited him....
Agree (17)
Disagree (17)
saurabh says:
July 23, 2009 at 10:39 AM IST
Very good article. You are spot on in saying that the
streets are full of young men who may turn into kasab if
they fall in wrong hands. This unemployment and poverty
is the real reason for such terrorism. It is carried out
by maoists and naxalites in our own country. Is it a
no surprise that it comes from Pakistan which is facing
more unemployment and poverty today.
Agree (16)
Disagree (18)
Harsh says:
July 23, 2009 at 10:40 AM IST
Kasab is a product of poverty exploited by fundamentalism. There is a
need to understand basically by poor that there is no God for them
otherwise nobody would have been poor. The hard work and sincerity is
the only way for the prosperity but it is most important to protect
ourselves form exploitation and this required true knowledge. Violence
only harms the poor and innocent and best example is Pakistan.
Partition was done in the name of religion which only help to the rich
people to become richer and poor becomes more venerable. As a society,
we have to understand that there is no way other than democracy which
can solve our problems through dialogue and not through gun.
Agree (19)
Disagree (17)
Kotian L says:
July 23, 2009 at 10:43 AM IST
Scary thought Indeed. How can we control so many unemployed,
underprivileged population? Any kind of security arrangements,
intelligence can not protect it. We would have to live with these
risks believing in Darwin’s theory, and nature would go its way.
Population Explosion, Urban Concentration, Democratic Freedom, Can we
really do anything?
Agree (20)
Disagree (14)
Amit Deshpande says:
July 23, 2009 at 11:06 AM IST
Finally we get a media report about Kasab as it should have been. "The
victims of his act haunt him and he is unable to sleep."
Even if there are a thousand frustrated souls which are mis-
channelized due to the limitations that we have to ramp up the system,
one thing we surely must do is not glamorize the role of Kasab and his
likes, as has been going on in the media.
It would be foolhardy to go on talking over how the guest is feeling
lonely or needs perfumes. This will only make a cult out of him akin
to the underworld glamour.
We had a great chance to make an example out of him to deter future
Kasabs from being trigger-happy. Alas, we had made a wrong example out
of him at least until now.
Agree (22)
Disagree (16)
Arnab Deb says:
July 23, 2009 at 12:00 PM IST
No point of asking now. either hang him or disable him and make him
repent further in life. he and other like him should know that if
caught punishment wont be only death but something more fearsome,
because they donot feel what wrong they r doing? so make them fear the
onsequences if caught.
Agree (21)
Disagree (17)
rey says:
July 23, 2009 at 12:16 PM IST
hi
Kasab case should be closed ASAP there nothing more every1 knows where
it began .. punishment most suited so that no body will ever dare do
what these morons did. KASAB KA SABAK.. Options
1. Hang him 180 times publicilly one time each for all the indians who
lost their lifes bring him down and put him back again
2.Leave him hanging for 180 minutes
3.Leave him @ VT station lose..the public will do the rest.
The human rights can say & do what they want .. its time we indians
demand our POUND of FLESH , our lives are not cheap as indian
labour !!
live & let live slogan looks gud in our hitoricals Archives & talk
shows!!
cheers
Agree (23)
Disagree (19)
Raj Mohan Srivastava says:
July 23, 2009 at 01:01 PM IST
This is where we lack as a country and get targetted everytime. The
cost more than 200 civilian and law enforcers (including 3 decorated
officers) is the discussion in media, whether Kasab was an instrument
or a dreaded terrorist.
For GOD's sake, however innocent a man he's, hang him. Our blood is
not so cheap that anyone can enter, murder us and then even dare to
try proving his innocense in our courts.
This is in real terms "Tumhare Ghar mein Ghus ke Tumhen Maarenge".
This intellectual journalism will lead us nowhere.
Remember, First Survive and then preach. Show the world that if we are
attacked, we will not leave the perpetrators rather than crowning
them.
Agree (17)
Disagree (14)
Ram says:
July 23, 2009 at 01:29 PM IST
Nothing really matters or changes for most of the indians as their
prime thing would "MONEY" this things which happened here and there
now and then is just an entertainment for most of 'em. Only few sit
and worry about tomorrow. I worry what would be tomorrow when my son
comes to me and asks what have you done to the world?, why are we like
this.
Agree (16)
Disagree (15)
ravi marella says:
July 23, 2009 at 01:41 PM IST
it's quite simple y he has confessed now..it's because he knew that
people like you sympathize on him once he confesses his crime...how
can you even compare a cold blooded terrorist who killed 100s to some
common unemployed man...harden up a bit...the world is cruel than what
you think...
Agree (14)
Disagree (14)
Deepz Thomaz says:
July 23, 2009 at 02:15 PM IST
Verdict sholuld be from the Familes who lost their loved ones.. Not
from Spectators or news analysts.. A report on the verdict (relatives)
should be handed over to the court and the court makes the Final
Judgment! Its our human nature tht we aim for "eye for an eye"
approach.. I remember what Gladis Staines did when she found out that
her Husband and Son were killed.. She forgave the peoplewho did that
and said she dont have any bitterness for them! Also, Sonia and
Priyanka Ghandi forgave the LTTE guys for wht they did to the Family..
There is something which we dont know tht prompts them to do such
stuffs.. is it easy to forgive someone who did these kind of brutal
stuffs? Well, apparently for some its possible..
I am not saying he should be set free.. No He sholuld be punished! But
before tht the proper response from the families who lost their loved
ones should be takenm into account!..
Deepz
Agree (19)
Disagree (14)
khader says:
July 23, 2009 at 02:21 PM IST
Hanging him is very easy punishment to him, so make him work life long
in our country and use the money he earned to damage done by him to
our Indians.Make him clean the CST hospital,Railway station, streets
of Mumbai and make him construct what he had damaged by him life
long.... make him work life long in our country till he dies.
Agree (17)
Disagree (15)
munaf says:
July 23, 2009 at 02:32 PM IST
Kasab Must be punish according to shariah.His act is against
mankind.He must be tied in Gateway of india and all mubaites throw a
stone and kill him.This should be lesson to Terrorist.
Agree (16)
Disagree (14)
sonia says:
July 23, 2009 at 02:32 PM IST
Dear Bachi,
I really liked your story in today's paper titled 'Scared Kasab, Scary
Kasab', I am of the same opinion as you and feel that the story has
been written really well. I cannot believe that a person is capable of
unleashing such outrage on a country that should really be able to
fight for its own. After countless hours of being glued to the
television set on 26/11, to grieving for the people our country lost.
I have watched every you-tube video trying my best to make sense of
this heinous criminal and due to this I could not agree with your
opinion more; he is indeed scary, and now I am not sure if he is
scared or not, he like you rightly put it does not have much left to
loose.
Agree (16)
Disagree (15)
ADP says:
July 23, 2009 at 03:07 PM IST
Whatever it may be, whatever Kasab has done is not forgivable at any
cost. He should be literally tortured to slow death which would surely
set a trend for new upcoming so-called terrorists. Just sitting at
home and writing blogs is far easier than actually facing these
terrorists in action and even more hilarious are the traumas faced by
families of our brave slain officers. There should be no human rights
for this inhuman group of people called terrorists. That’s all what I
had to say.
Agree (16)
Disagree (17)
ABC says:
July 23, 2009 at 03:26 PM IST
Hanging him is very easy punishment. We should follow punishment which
is more in line with their thinking - take out each body part
gradually and donate to the needy - kidneys, liver, spleen, eyes, bone
marrow, heart, blood, whatever...finally when nothing is left, feed it
to some animal. Sorry for writing such cruel punishment but the way
they are conducting barbaric and henious acts, this is the most apt
punishment. Atleast in his death, he will be of use to the world he
has harmed so much!
Agree (17)
Disagree (16)
yasir says:
July 23, 2009 at 04:03 PM IST
10 mn se 1,kasab kese zinda bach gaya?wo tu marne k lye aae thay na.wo
pagal thay k pocket mn ID card(pakistani) le ker agae.
kisi ne investigation ki k wo Nipal se arrest hoa tha 2 year
ago.fotage tu es technology k era mn koi masla he nahi.
kasab ne un he personalities ka naam lya jo india ki taraf se lye jate
rhe hn.....
Agree (17)
Disagree (15)
Isha Chopra says:
July 23, 2009 at 04:04 PM IST
I agree with Raj Mohan..Why is Indian govt wasting its time and energy
on a disgruntled and disillusioned terrorist like Kasab.. Whatever he
says or reacts to.. jus give a death sentence to him and finish
off..!! why are we hanging around discussing his psyche and beliefs..
He is a terrorist and must be punished..Period.
Agree (18)
Disagree (16)
MOHIT says:
July 23, 2009 at 04:27 PM IST
Kasab came to india to die
He should not be killed
because then he will be able to realise his childhood dream of 72
virgins
Instead he should be physically and mentally tortured in jail for the
rest of his life
He should be waterboarded and subjected to all forms of physical and
mental torture possible
after 30-35 years of torturing use him for human experiments and then
kill him and serve his body to pigs
Agree (16)
Disagree (14)
HonestIndian says:
July 23, 2009 at 04:28 PM IST
I know why Kasab is laughing at us! I know, I know!!
1. Our judicial system, with all proof, still investigating..how not
to give punishment!! How we fight in ourselves wether kasab is either
innocent or a hero!
2. The same old chicken biryani is boring, that constable who is
sleeping infront of his cell, is sleepy and gave keys to him... and
told for god sake, dont run away!
3.I guess,he might be watching those enthralled TV serials like "sAAS
BHI kABHI....' and felt that punishment is better off than these great
channels
4. W(hole) excited so-called media never bothers or cares about the
families who have under trauma...but Kasab is on headlines... LTV,
MTV.. all talks about Kasab, as if nothing happend to Mumbaikers...
5.No-bloody will come from his trainer/recruiters to save him, they
dont hijack any indian planes, as he is not from the top tier...
6. He knows that even if he begs for Hang, becoz of repeated bribes
being asked by our lethargic force, still he does not know this case
will drag people's money for another 10years, just to have a cue card
to talk internationally.
Definitely, he will laugh as we could not solve years back issues like
sikh riots, or babri debris...moreover all goons in india will step
into Elections from UP or bihar and enter in parliament
Last but not least, some body was asking him to change his citizenship
to Indian, he will be soon MLA, MP of our caring constitution...
I hate myself being a forteller... :)))))))))))))))
Agree (16)
Disagree (16)
snowheat says:
July 23, 2009 at 04:32 PM IST
Hang him and forget.
Agree (17)
Disagree (17)
EA3004 says:
July 23, 2009 at 04:35 PM IST
Hmmmmm.... some of the comments above are more inhumane that what the
terrorist did.
Agree (15)
Disagree (14)
ag says:
July 23, 2009 at 04:35 PM IST
According to today's edition of TOI , Kasab is reported to have stated
that he would rather be punished by man while alive than by God after
his death ( or something to that effect)- while it is rather
optimistic of him to believe that God and not the devil would be
waiting for him, he also appears to be driven by a need to seek some
degree of atonement and absolve himself of his sins prior to stepping
into afterlife, if there is one.And yes what a tragic waste of
potential .
Agree (16)
Disagree (15)
sreeram says:
July 23, 2009 at 04:57 PM IST
Kasab is a dreaded terrorist, he cannot be left free. he should be
punished very Cruely , so that no more terrorist will ever try to
enter to India ...Kill him Brutally & telecase in channels all over
the world..Cut all his parts of his body .
Agree (18)
Disagree (15)
pppp says:
July 23, 2009 at 05:04 PM IST
I dont think that the people who perpetrate such acts of inhumanity
are as "fascinating" are the author claims - for someone who just
"followed" the incident on TV - perhaps, but definitely not to those
who have been scarred and will be for the rest of their lives. These
so called "innocent" and mislead individuals to me are not at all
fascinating - these are people who are hardened beyond recognision and
have pretty much lost sight of what they are doing and why - and that
applies to all "terrorists" - mere pawns for those greedy for power.
Because, isn't power what its all about and people like bin laden
using these "innocent" people as mere pawns in their scheme of things.
And I dont sympathise with these "poor pawns" either - afterall, they
are the ones who chose this path. You always have a choice and you can
be misleaded only to the extent that you want to be. The author and
many others who glorify such people are just selling their story.
Agree (15)
Disagree (15)
pppp says:
July 23, 2009 at 06:13 PM IST
Further to my comment above, I can't understand what is the point of
wasting public money on this trial - what is it that our judiciary
wants to establish? Its obvious that he is guilty - ask the thousands
of people who were witness to the crime. If he wasn't arrested he
would have been shot on the spot so there is no question of whether or
not he is guilty. So what is it that our judiciary is trying to
deliberate? Perhaps,it the length and degree of his sentence - but
that cannot be it. Already, we know that he deserves the capital
punishment - but does that make things ok? Him not living does NOT
make anything alright for anyone. So we dont hang him and inflict
torture and life sentence so that he can repent his act for the rest
of his life.. I dont see how that helps. Or we wait for him to escape
somehow or that "his" people find a way to get him out. With all the
millions of "more important" (and i call them so because they have
some potential in terms of deliberation, the final outcome and giving
hope to the people involved) case pending in our courts I would have
thought that such a "open and shut" (pardon me) case wouldnt deserve
so much of our court's time! But again - common sense is missing and
its hard to see what we are after. Clearly, its not upto the judiciary
to decide what to do with Kasab - or atleast not take ten years to
decide that! If they wanted to leave him with the police to aid our
understading of terrorist outfits and their working, that i can
understand. But all the media hype, extended trial etc I do not. And
the one thing that truly fails me is how this man who ruuthlessly
killed so many people has become a celebrity.
Agree (16)
Disagree (16)
Amarta Ghorai says:
July 23, 2009 at 06:54 PM IST
This is a very thoughtful article and very well written to. Kudos to
Bachi. But Bachi dont you think you are giving too much importance to
this disgrace of a man when you say that he fascinates you? Is he
really that important? He has performed a henious crime and our courts
are look into his case and will no doubt give hime the rightful
punishment. By noticing his each and every move , I think we are over
analyzing him. He is nothing. He knew that too and so inorder to
become something he took this path. He took the easy way out. We,
common citizens of this world, always have a choice. We choose what we
want to do and that is what makes us humans so special. He chose the
wrong path and whill suffer the consequences. And we should stop
analysing his every move as if he is someone special.
Agree (17)
Disagree (15)
My Chuds says:
July 23, 2009 at 07:53 PM IST
Why not ensure that he cannot reach heaven. in teh old days crusaders
used to wrap their victims in skins of animals, use the one that is
repsulive to him.
Agree (16)
Disagree (16)
Nauman says:
July 23, 2009 at 08:01 PM IST
There is a whole breed of nations including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri
Lanks, China etc (close to two and a half billion people in total) who
are not happy with India for what it has been doing to its neighbours
during the past 60 odd years. India is acting nice, but then stabbing
in the back when the time comes. So now people are surprised what
happened in Mumbai. It must be condemned but it is in the larger
interest of India to see the reasons behind it & understand why events
like this are happening. India should try to share the resources (like
water) with smaller nations rather than boasting itself as a clerical
Headquarter of the world because clerky is nothing to be proud of.
Agree (16)
Disagree (14)
Guptan Veemboor says:
July 23, 2009 at 09:09 PM IST
If this pass the desk of the moderator and get published I am sure all
the 800 odd millions of Indians, I think that is the population of
India, will cry for my blood with as much fury as they cry for the
blood of Kasab. Still I would to express my feeling. What do we
achieve by hanging Kasab either publicly as some people demand or on
the gallows of Arthur Road prison or Yerwada in the wee hours. Will
the justice would have been done? I doubt it! Vendetta would have been
accomplished not justice. It will be just as if we have smashed the AK
47 or whatever gun he used to kill the innocents. Justice will be done
only when the perpetrators of the crime, who manipulated this young
mind to do such heinous crime is brought to trial and punished
properly. They go scott free while this one who has been trapped in a
world where the poor have not much choice. One of the bloggers has
asked whether all the street urchins are turning to be a killer. If
circumstances are such many more may become. It is much easy to
manipulate a young mind. It is just like making a human being into a
robot. Even if Kasab is hanged it is not going to deter other young
persons from becoming a terrorist. It is the state of Pakistan, its
military, its ISI, those who are at the helm of LeT or its parent
organization and such are the real culprits. Kasab wa the last of that
chain whose hand pulled the trigger or lobbed the grenade and is the
least important one. Catch the others and do the real justice.
My sincere apologies for the parents and kith and kin of all those who
were killed or injured on the fateful 26/11. If I am in their position
I too will feel the same what they are feeling.
Agree (14)
Disagree (18)
pjk22 says:
July 23, 2009 at 10:03 PM IST
Hang him publicly and that too naked. Then have a few commandos shoot
him in various parts of his body and award prizes to the one with the
most accurate aim.
Agree (18)
Disagree (14)
Your Muse says:
July 24, 2009 at 12:46 PM IST
It is important to remember Kasab was only a foot soldier, recruited
to kill. He was sent to die in India, although he was falsely made to
believe he would be able to return when the mission was complete.
Kasab is a poverty stricken Pakistani who took to a life of petty
crime as a quick way out of poverty. From all that has been disclosed
thus far, he did not go in search of Jihadi exploits - not many young
people are eager to go and blow themselves up - but his greed for a
quick buck without really considering or knowing what he was getting
himself into, was the beginning of a journey that was not his to
control. Being brainwashed with hate propaganda, with sermons, and
video tapes of violence against Muslims etc changes the brain
chemistry of young ones like Kasab. Remember the child soldiers of
Africa who were brainwashed to kill ruthlessly? When all is done in
the name of religion, then one has a mix that is impossible to tackle.
It must also be remembered even beneath every ignorant and evil
terrorist is a human being, who was not born evil or violent. That
human being, which is every single human being on this earth, is
created in image and likeness of God. That spark of divinity is not
dead even in someone like Kasab, no matter what he might have done.
Let the law take its course, but do not imagine a poverty stricken
foot soldier who was sent out to kill and die in the process is the
mastermind of terrorism. Killing him, even making a public spectacle
out of it - to satisfy whom? - won't solve the problem India has with
Pakistan. Pakistan must complete tackling its own terrorist menace
relentlessly from within for as long as it takes to wipe out the
terrorist mindset and activities. Terrorism is all about killing
innocents for political reasons abusing the name of religions. When
all terrorists killing in the name of Islam, or any other religion for
that matter, open their eyes and hearts and minds, they will know God
does not permit killing of innocents.
Agree (14)
Disagree (16)
suraj says:
July 24, 2009 at 12:59 PM IST
He should be released and sent back ..... lets hope he is a good
person now....... HOW DOES THIS SOUND FOR PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT
HUMANITY ???
Agree (16)
Disagree (17)
samthemanfrompakistan says:
July 24, 2009 at 07:39 PM IST
india should hang all the terrorist in india like
kasab,advani,modi,balthakyrae etc.
dont u all agree.....this is the truth
Agree (16)
Disagree (14)
Your Muse says:
July 25, 2009 at 03:15 PM IST
Suraj@24 July 09 12:59 PM:
It is sad that your mind cannot imagine that it is possible to treat
Kasab like a human being even while going about the business of meting
out justice. Saddam Hussein of Iraq was a dictator for a quarter of a
century. He terrorized his own people and many hundreds or even
thousands were killed on his orders. Yet he could be hanged only once
for his crime! And he was treated like a human being all along,
although your logic finds no place for it. Saddam Hussein was NOT
hanged in public. Because some Shia were allowed to witness the
hanging, they manged to take pictures with their phone cameras because
no photography was permitted. Saddam Hussein never repented of his
crimes but went to meet his death with a defiance and pride that is
difficult for the rest of us to fathom. None of this prevented the
officials in charge of the legal proceedings or hanging to treat him
like a human being till the end. He was even allowed to carry a Quran
with him as he was led to the gallows.
How we treat a criminal reflects what we are as human beings. When
justice is meted out, there is no need to add humiliation and sadism
to it. Kasab is ready to die for his crimes. Is that not enough?
Should one have to deny him his humanity and in the process deny our
own with macabre thoughts or acts of sadism? Kasab can die only once
for his crimes. As he gets ready to meet his Maker, it is up to us not
to stoop to inhuman levels in the way we treat him. Such a thought is
hard for many to accept, but we stand only to be better human beings
when we do.
Agree (14)
Disagree (12)
prateek bansal says:
August 02, 2009 at 06:50 PM IST
cant put up a gud comment as i had to go through a good dictionary
first and understand the whole article . i think the time i gonna
waste dng tht can be utilized in reading the whole oder part of
newspaper
Agree (9)
Disagree (9)
T.V.Mathews says:
August 13, 2009 at 01:37 PM IST
Why should the media waste so much time and energy on Kasab???As the
American media describes " He is only a gun man".......
Agree (3)
Disagree (4)
vijay daniel says:
September 07, 2009 at 11:24 AM IST
Free Kasab.And Afzal Guru and all the others who planted bombs in all
Indian cities.After all our Indian blood is so cheap. Our lives have
no value.And we shall practise non-violence till the last one of us is
dead.Disgusting!!!
Agree (0)
Disagree (0)
EM says:
November 07, 2009 at 05:09 AM IST
Hanging is what they want. Make them live long and think their actions
over, re-educate them because it is the key. You all know this.
chhotemianinshallah
Moshe's little heart still beats for India
Seema Sirohi20 November 2009, 08:17am IST
Moshe
Moshe's first haircut as part of his 3rd birthday celebrations.
JERUSALEM: Moshe still thinks of Mumbai as home. The little boy
believes his parents live there, and often asks about them. His little
world revolves around school and play, drawing and colouring, climbing
and falling. Terror and bullets don't mean anything to him. Not yet.
Moshe's life appears like that of any normal three-year-old—
comfortable, secure and engulfed by love. But behind the surface lies
a horrific tragedy that could haunt him as he grows older.
Moshe lost both his parents in the Mumbai attacks last year, as
terrorists laid siege to the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish Centre in a
determined attempt to target the community. He had stood crying near
his parents' fallen bodies, as terrorists stalked up and down, killing
four other Jews in the building.
That Moshe is alive is a miracle, largely engineered by his devoted
Indian nanny, Sandra Samuel, who ran to him when she heard his cries,
scooped him up and hid in the kitchen until the nightmare was over.
For hours they sat wedged between the fridge and the wall. Sandra's
bravery became the stuff of legend in the Jewish community from New
York to Canberra, sparking a steady stream of fan mail and eulogies.
She was given special permission from the Israeli government to
accompany Moshe here as the country mourned its dead and adjusted to
the idea that its citizens were marked even in India where
historically Jews have been welcomed rather than persecuted.
Sandra still takes care of Moshe at his maternal grandparents' home in
Afula in northern Israel, a small town near Nazareth. She is Moshe's
Indian connection, a real-life link to his parents Gavriel and Rivka
Holtzberg, who ran the centre in Mumbai as representatives of the
orthodox Chabad movement which seeks to bring alienated and secular
Jews back to the fold. Sandra, a recent widow, had grown attached to
the family over time, often referring to the couple as 'my rabbi' and
'my Rivka'. Just as the couple had treated their Indian nanny as a
family member, she looked after their son as her own, risking her life
to save him.
For the Israelis and the larger Jewish community, Moshe and Mumbai
will always be synonymous, just as Moshe and Sandra will be for
Indians. Mumbaikars want to mark his progress, learn about his
favourite food, his playground tricks, his best friends. They feel a
responsibility, a connection with the little Jewish boy who was
orphaned in the city's collective nightmare. But Moshe's grandparents,
who are fiercely protective, adamantly refused permission to Indian
journalists to meet either Moshe or Sandra. "It's not good for Moshe.
You can't make him crazy," Yehudit Rosenberg, Moshe's grandmother and
a former teacher, said sternly over the phone.
A woman of few and firm words, Yehudit described Moshe as a very, very
happy boy who did what any child his age would do. "He can be bratty
and he can be sweet. He is not too quiet and has connected well to his
many cousins." If Moshe is off limits, could one meet Sandra? "No, no.
Not now. Very, very busy. Call at 4 pm." And so it went for a week.
Yehudit stalled, evaded and insisted that Sandra was very, very
pleased to be in Jerusalem and would stay as long as Moshe needed
her.
However, Sandra told a local TV channel this week that it was time for
her to return home.”My home is India. I belong to India. The kid is
quite attached to his grandparents now and I would like to move on,"
she said. The family keeps her under wraps and allows only well-
calculated media appearances aimed at satisfying local curiosity and
interest. "I felt a kind of responsibility when Moshe lost his
parents, knowing that he was so attached to me. Now he has adjusted to
the new surroundings and his family members just adore him," she said
on Israeli television. It must have been a long year for Sandra who
was transported from a throbbing, cosmopolitan Mumbai and planted in a
quiet, religious Israeli town dominated by orthodox Jews.
In a profound irony of life, according to the Hebrew calendar Moshe's
third birthday and the first anniversary of his parents' brutal murder
fell within a day of each other. He turned three on November 18, on
which at sundown began the observance of the death anniversary.
Celebrations and mourning came arm in arm for the family. "Sadness has
come with happiness," said Yehudit.
A third birthday for an orthodox Jewish boy is very important—he gets
his first haircut and begins his formal Jewish education. The family
was crazily busy with all the preparations, the birthday party, the
various prayers, the memorial dinner for a thousand people. Moshe made
an appearance on Wednesday night along with Sandra at a public dinner
organised by Chabad near Tel Aviv, looking puzzled at the myriad
camera flashes.
The grandparents are trying to find a good balance for Moshe,
according to Rabbi Joshua Runyan, a Chabad spokesman and news editor
of the Chabad.org website. Leaders of the Chabad movement, who just
ended their annual conference in New York, have prepared a Torah
scroll handwritten by Jews from around the world to send back to
Mumbai after the centre is rebuilt.
The martyrdom of Moshe's parents has rallied worldwide support for the
movement. The group's website invites followers to do a mitzvahb or
good deed to honour the memory, and thousands of Jews from different
countries have made pledges, including a woman who decided to have
more babies, while another promised to call lonely souls. More than
200 Jewish babies have already been named after Moshe's parents,
according to Runyan. Moshe may live in Afula, protected from the
public gaze, but he will always have a large family.
chhotemianinshallah
Major lapse by Indian consulate in issuing visa to Rana: Probe
PTI 22 November 2009, 04:10pm IST
NEW DELHI: An inquiry has revealed that the Indian Consulate in
Chicago was guilty of a major security lapse while issuing visas to
Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani- Canadian arrested by the FBI for allegedly
plotting terror strikes in India, and his wife.
The 48-year-old Pakistan-born businessman based in Chicago was issued
a multi-entry visa for a period of one-year and his spouse Samraz Rana
Akhtar was given a five-year multiple-entry visa by the Consulate last
year which enabled them to visit Mumbai and several other places in
India days before the 26/11 terror strikes in the financial capital of
the country. The visas were issued at the discretion of Indian
Consulate General.
An internal inquiry has shown that the residential address provided in
the visa applications by Rana couple does not exist. Moreover, an
immigration service company where Rana claimed to have been employed
told the Indian authorities that he was never employed by them nor did
they have a branch in Mumbai as stated by him, official sources said
today.
This flies in the face of the claim made by the Consulate last week
that it had done "due scrutiny" before issuing visas to Rana and his
wife.
The Consulate did not reply to e-mailed questions from PTI about the
revelations that have been made in the course of internal inquiry.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had publicly stated that the
issuance of the visas to the Rana duo would be inquired into.
Both the visas were issued "under the discretion of the Consul
General" and the Home Ministry had maintained that it was in violation
of rules under which its clearance is required for any person born in
Pakistan. Rana was born in Chichawatni while his wife was born in
Bahawalpur.
Both the places are in Pakistan's Punjab province. The two were
exempted even from registering with the police if their stay did not
exceed 180 days.
Senior Government officials said there was a circular of 2004 under
which the visa applications of people of Pakistan, Iran and Bangladesh
origin should be referred to Union Home Ministry for clearance.
However, the circular gave discretion to ambassadors and consuls
general to give visas to such nationals which the Consular General in
Chicago had utilised, the sources said.
Rana and his wife arrived in Mumbai on November 12 last year after
which they travelled to Kochi in Kerala on November 16.
An associate of a US citizen David Headley, who has also been arrested
on terror charges by the FBI last month, Rana and Samraz had stayed in
a five-star hotel for a night in Kochi during which they were
allegedly looking for recruits for Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba.
Ahead of the Kochi visit, Rana had advertised in a prominent English
daily asking youths willing to immigrate to US and Canada to appear
for interview.
Rana and his school friend Headley were arrested last month by the FBI
on charges of being part of a plan by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT) to carry out terror attacks in India and Denmark.
The NIA was also looking for people who had booked the advertisement
in the newspaper. A team of central security agencies had also visited
Kochi edition of a prominent English daily to take details about the
people or agency which had booked the advertisement on behalf of Rana.
chhotemianinshallah
Headley vowed to 'retaliate against India' in email message: NYT
Ginger Thompson, NYT News Service
22 November 2009, 02:00pm IST
PHILADELPHIA: The trip from a strict Pakistani boarding school to a
bohemian bar in Philadelphia has defined David Headley’s life,
according to those who know the middle-age man at the center of a
global terrorism investigation. ( Watch Video )
Raised by his father in Pakistan as a devout Muslim, Headley arrived
back here at 17 to live with his American mother, a former socialite
who ran a bar called the Khyber Pass.
Today, Headley is an Islamic fundamentalist who once liked to get
high. He has a traditional Pakistani wife, who lives with their
children in Chicago, but also an American girlfriend, a makeup artist
in New York, according to a relative and friends. Depending on the
setting, he alternates between the name he adopted in the United
States, David Headley, and the Urdu one he was given at birth, Daood
Gilani. Even his eyes – one brown, the other green – hint that he has
roots in two places.
Headley, an American citizen, is accused of being the lead operative
in a loose-knit group of militants plotting revenge against a Danish
newspaper that published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The
indictment against him portrays a man who moved easily between
different worlds. The profile that has emerged of him since his
arrest, however, suggests that Headley felt pulled between two
cultures and ultimately gravitated toward an extremist Islamic one.
"Some of us are saying that ‘Terrorism’ is the weapon of the
cowardly," Headley wrote in an email message to his high school
classmates last February. "I will say that you may call it barbaric or
immoral or cruel, but never cowardly."
He added, "Courage is, by and large, exclusive to the Muslim Nation."
Headley’s email messages, including many that defend beheadings and
suicide bombings as heroic, are among the evidence in the government’s
case against him and his accused co-conspirator, Tahawwur Hussain
Rana, who was born in Pakistan, is a citizen of Canada and runs
businesses in Chicago.
The men, who became close friends in a military academy outside
Islamabad, were arrested last month in Chicago. They are charged with
plotting an attack they labelled the Mickey Mouse Project against
Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper whose cartoons had provoked
outrage across the Muslim world.
Since then, the investigation has widened beyond Chicago and
Copenhagen. The authorities have learned more, with cooperation from
Headley, about the two men’s network of contacts with known terrorist
groups, including al-Qaida and Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani militant
group, as well as officials in the Pakistani government and military.
American and Indian investigators are also looking into whether the
two Chicago men, who travelled to Mumbai before the deadly assault
there last November, may have been involved in the plot.
Headley, 49, and Rana, 48, stand out from the young, poor extremists
from fundamentalist Islamic schools who strike targets in or close to
their homelands. Instead, their privileged backgrounds, extensive
travel and bouts of culture shock make them more like Khalid Shaikh
Mohammed, the self-proclaimed architect of the Sept. 11 attacks who
attended college in the United States, and Mohammed Atta, one of the
lead hijackers.
Rana’s father is a former principal of a high school outside Lahore.
One of his brothers is a Pakistani military psychiatrist who has
written several books, and another is a journalist at a Canadian
political newspaper, The Hill Times.
Trained as a physician, Rana immigrated to Canada in 1997 and became a
citizen a few years later. Then he moved his wife and three children
to Chicago, where he opened a travel agency that also provided
immigration services on Devon Avenue, which cuts through the heart of
the city’s Pakistani community. In 2002, he started a Halal
slaughterhouse that butchers goats, sheep and cows according to
Islamic religious laws.
He and his family live in a small brick house on the North Side with a
huge satellite dish on the roof. Neighbours described Rana as a
recluse who rarely spoke to anyone and whose children never played
with others on the street.
"He seemed very committed to his Islamic religion," said William
Rodosky, who once managed Rana’s slaughterhouse in Kinsman, Ill.,
about 65 miles southwest of Chicago. "He said he wanted the business
so he could provide meat to his people and make a little money."
Rodosky echoed the views of several others who knew and did business
with Rana when he said he was "shocked about the terrorism charges."
"As far as I knew he was very nice man, and a very good businessman,"
Rodosky said.
The other indicted conspirator, Headley, did not draw the same
expressions of shock. Those who knew him paint a more troubled image.
"Most people have contradictions in their lives, but they learn to
reconcile them," said William Headley, an uncle who owns a day care
center in Nottingham, Pa. "But Daood could never do that. The left
side does not speak to the right side. And that’s the problem."
Daood Sayed Gilani was born in Washington, where his parents worked at
the Pakistani Embassy. Friends of the family said his father, Sayed
Salim Gilani, a dashing diplomat and an avid musicologist and poet,
charmed his way into the heart of Serrill Headley, who had left
Philadelphia’s Main Line to work as a secretary at the embassy.
In 1960, the couple and their infant son, Daood, left the United
States bound for England aboard the ship America, and from there went
on to Lahore. But the marriage quickly soured, friends said, as Gilani
immersed himself in the traditions of his homeland and his bride
refused to submit to them.
After Headley left Gilani and her son and a daughter, Syedah, in
Pakistan, friends say, the details of her life become lost in a jumble
of fact and fiction. Headley, a red-haired, green-eyed woman, told
friends she married an "Afghan prince" but then had to flee Kabul
after he was murdered.
She arrived back in Philadelphia, friends said, in the early 1970s,
taking different office jobs and dating wealthy suitors until one of
them lent her money to buy an old bar. She turned it into the Khyber
Pass, decorated with billowing Afghan wedding tents and stocked with
exotic beers.
In 1977, Pakistan’s government was overthrown in a military coup, and
Headley, friends said, feared for her children. She travelled to
Pakistan, withdrew Daood from the Hasan Abdal Cadet College and
brought him to live with her, a move recorded by The Philadelphia
Inquirer. (Her daughter, Syedah, stayed behind with her father for
several years.)
"He has never been alone with, much less had a date with a girl,
except the servant girls of his household," the article said,
referring to the teenage Gilani. "But he has just this day found a
cricket team to join. And he has just this day, after watching
American TV, said to his mother in his soft Urdu-English that she is
to him like the Bionic Woman."
According to family friends, the teenager soon rebelled against his
mother’s heavy drinking and multiple sexual relationships by engaging
in the same behavior.
"Those were the days when girls, weed and whatever were readily
available," Jay Wilson, who worked at the Khyber Pass, wrote in an e-
mail message from England. "Daood was not immune to the pleasures of
American adolescence."
Later, said Lorenzo Lacovara, another former worker at the bar, Gilani
began expressing anger at all non-Muslims.
"He would clearly state he had contempt for infidels," Lacovara said
in a telephone interview from New Mexico. "He kept talking about the
return of the 14th century, saying Islam was going to take over the
world."
Headley tried to help her son straighten out his life. In 1985, she
put him in charge of the Khyber Pass, but he proved to be such a poor
manager that they lost the bar a couple of years later, friends of the
family said.
Headley embarked on her third marriage, and her son set off for
Manhattan, where he opened two video rental stores. It is unclear
where he got the money to start the ventures. But court files suggest
that the source may not have been entirely legal.
In 1998, Gilani, then 38, was convicted of conspiring to smuggle
heroin into the country from Pakistan. Court records show that after
his arrest, he provided so much information about his own involvement
with drug trafficking, which stretched back more than a decade, and
about his Pakistani suppliers that he was sentenced to less than two
years in jail and later went to Pakistan to conduct undercover
surveillance operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
In 2006, Gilani changed his name to David Headley, apparently to make
border crossings between the United States and other countries easier,
court documents say. About that time, his uncle said he moved his
family to Chicago because it had a large Muslim community and he
wanted to send his four children to religious schools.
There, the family lived in a small second-floor apartment. Headley
claimed to work for Rana’s immigration agency. The two men attended
the Jame Masjid mosque on Fridays, then stopped at the nearby Zam Zam
restaurant to eat and talk politics. Cricket, neighbours said, was
their passion.
But Headley never seemed to fully fit in. Masood Qadir, who sometimes
watched cricket with him, said he was "different" and kept mostly to
himself.
Email messages show, however, that Headley stayed in regular contact
with classmates from the military high school he attended in Pakistan,
often engaging in impassioned debates about politics and Islam.
Earlier this year, Headley complained in an email message about "NATO
criminal vermin dropping 22,000 lbs bombs on unsuspecting, unarmed
Afghan villagers" or "napalming southeast Asian farmers." Writing
about Pakistan’s chief enemy, he said, "We will retaliate against
India."
And in an email message defending the beheading of a Polish engineer
by the Taliban in Pakistan, he wrote, "The best way for a man to die
is with the sword."
bademiyansubhanallah
'Equipment, better intelligence could have altered 26/11 operation'
Agencies
Posted: Sunday , Nov 22, 2009 at 1121 hrs
New Delhi:
The Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai is seen in flames during the Mumbai
terror attacks.
The 60-hour-long operation that neutralised the Lashkar-e-Taiba
terrorists during the Mumbai attack last year could have been handled
in a different way had there been a "certain type" of equipment and
better intelligence, says the chief of the anti-terror force which
fought them.
The terrorists, who were in "top physical fitness", knew the
topography of the three locations -- Taj, Trident and Nariman House --
so well that he feels the LeT men who undertook the operation could
have themselves done the recce of the targets under assumed names.
J K Dutt, then the chief of National Security Guard (NSG), said the
Mumbai's elite Anti Terrorist Squad, which was then headed by slain
IPS officer Hemant Karkare, was a "young force" and the state police
had failed to realise for long that the gunmen throwing grenades and
firing at innocent people in various parts of the city were not part
of any gang war as they believed and that it was a terror attack.
Dutt, who retired as the force chief in February this year, said in an
interview that till the last moments of the three-day operation the
NSG did not have any concrete intelligence on the number of men holed
up in each of the premises or even initially that the hotels had more
than one building.
"In hindsight, whether this operation could have been faster or could
have been handled in a different way? Yes, I believe so. If we had
certain type of equipment which is now available in the market, it
would definitely had been useful," said Dutt.
Asked if his team was given a proper briefing before it began its
onslaught against the terrorists, Dutt said, there was no clear
indication about the exact number of LeT men that they had to account
for as the figures given at different times varied from 10 to 30.
"It was only in the end, when the shooting stopped, then I said look
how many terrorists am I supposed to account for and I was told by no
less a person than Director of Intelligence Bureau that you have to
account for 10 AK 47s," he said.
He said lack of a proper hotel map was also a hindrance. On the other
hand, he said the terrorists knew the inside of the hotel so well that
they did not enter any room which had just one door for entry or exit.
The terrorists always entered rooms with multiple doors as it was
easier for them to move out when the NSG came in, he said. Dutt said
the terrorists were heavily armed and had enough arms and ammunition
with them to last for two more days.
"These terrorists were heavily trained. They had top physical fitness.
It was clear in their mind what their objective was and what they
wanted to do. And the way they moved around also showed that they were
quiet familiar with the place. How have they become familiar... they
themselves may have done a recce of the place under assumed names...
"The amount of training that went into it, the amount of funding which
must have gone into it. This is not something which would be done by a
very small group. It was planned in a big way. Persons have probably
been handpicked for this operation and then they had come," he said.
Dutt said one lesson that the NSG has learned from the Mumbai
operation is the change in attitude.
"We have now realised that we have to put a lot of things in order.
For example, we had intelligence but among the intelligence agencies
probably that amount of coordination did not exist as was desirable...
now the MAC (Multi Agency Centre) is in position. It only existed on
paper earlier and now it is becoming like a think tank. The manpower
which is required, the training is now at a different level
altogether," he said.
Comments |
Business
By: Sanjiv Patel | Sunday , 22 Nov '09 21:24:22 PM
India is lacking in intelligence, how to tackle with terorist in
situation like 26/11, use money for right pupose-equipments to buy
proper gear to handle any emergency situation. And more tahn any HOW
TO PROCECUTE PROVEN TERRORIST! AGAIN & AGAIN 7 AGAIN! Indians are good
in takin credits and blame others! Even after 26/11 its USA - FBI
discover more terrorist and plans for attacks against India NOT Indian
authority! 26/11 was well planed ahead No Indian had any hint about
it. We need to put politics behind and act prove we can handel any
situation. We can protect India's interest with courage without any
fear from any Muslim country Or Any! We need leader like Indira! One
billion people but we are lacking at all fronts from sport to law and
order, corruption to hard honest work. It is one thing to sing Mera
Bharat Mahan than Do something for Mera Mahan Bharat. Potential is in
our hands. We could do it. Only we could do it not any one else for
us!
stop indian violence
By: prk behn | Sunday , 22 Nov '09 21:19:52 PM
Politicians first of all try to stop Indian violence.violence in the
name of religion,region,caste,creed,corruption,politics,sex etc. Only
then start start talking about nation
Losses could have been reduced if the senior intelligent officers had
acted effectively on RAW and US information
By: m.s.ali | Sunday , 22 Nov '09 21:14:18 PM
ON 18th November 2008 (8 days before the terrorist attack ) American
police alerted that a LeT ship was trying to infiltrate Indian waters.
Specific details were provided and the information was passed on to IB
and the IB passed on the information to naval intelligence on 20th
November, but the Maharashtra police or the Maharashtra govt were in
the dark about this( I gathered the information from Indian Express,
Mumbai 15th and 26th December 2008) and from Hindustan Times 10th Jan
2009, RAW passed on 35 mobile numbers used by the LeT five days before
the terrorist attack to IB. These numbers were not monitored by IB. At
least three of these numbers were used by the terrorists. It was only
after Hemant Karkare was assassinated, the IB acted on these numbers.
(Ref: HT 10th Jan 2009) So was there a conspiracy to kill ATS officers
hatched by alien and Indian terrrorists? Losses could have been
reduced if the senior intelligent officers had acted effectively on
RAW and US information
be prepared for further - than morning for the mistakes.
By: Kumar | Sunday , 22 Nov '09 20:23:15 PM
Let us remember there may be few more Headleys and Ranas who have
visited India and there may few local sleeper cells. Pakis have tried
Plane hijacking, Parliament attack, 26/11 Mumbai. They wont stop
there. It is our work to find out what may be future targets and how
to prepare in advance. Meanwhile we all know that political class has
more than 100 security personals around them while they take the
shelter of having 2 lakh worth bullet prof jackets - while providing
no decent toilet to security forces at Gateway of India. It shall be
the work of media to expose how much money is spent on security of
political class comparing to the places like 26/11 spots. Make the
names of political figures public who spend more on personal security
than those of Jawans and public - so that during next election these
are taken care of.
Ethical Governance
By: http://twitter.com/ethicalgov | Sunday , 22 Nov '09 19:26:26 PM
Building an Ethical Leadership is a necessity for continual
sustainable development. According to social scientists Terrorism,
corruption, bureucratic loopholes, income inequality will be the
common issues that will reign the highly corrupt nations as in
(Bangladesh, Chad, Sierra leone, India), while social development and
Ethical issues will guide the least corrupt nations as in(Iceland,
Norway, Denmark). Ethical Leadership requires habit, and it requires
proper regulations, education and communication. Ethical issues must
gain support in our country, in businesse and society in general, and
there must be proper motivation and recognitions given.
Technology for Integrity and fair assessment of employees.
By: Dinesh Anand | Sunday , 22 Nov '09 16:32:04 PM
Layered Voice Analysis (LVA)- a security-level technology designed for
truth verification and the detection of deceit. LVA analyses can be
performed in real time via telephone or microphone, or off-line on
previously recorded material. This technology uses the widest range of
parameters in its analysis to support both on-line and offline
investigations. The LVA-i in general is a platform for computerized
questionnaires based on Layered Voice Analysis. It can address a range
of applications other than pre-employment screening such as: employees
periodical security checks, customer or employee satisfactions
surveys, credit risk assessment,
A combined Islamic operation.
By: Boby Mehta | Sunday , 22 Nov '09 13:10:30 PM
"they themselves may have done a recce of the place under assumed
names" this is a politically correct statement to protect Congress
vote bank. Without the massive support for Muslims in India, this
operation was not possible.
Bajrangis are terrorists
By: Bravo | Sunday , 22 Nov '09 16:52:34 PM
I suspect some Hindu fundamentalist for the greed of money may have
ready to sell their mothers adn sister behind the local sipport
Bravo's comments
By: sharma | Sunday , 22 Nov '09 18:54:45 PM
The cowardice comments from a person naming himself Bravo! Clearly
shows how much respect such people have for the country. The comments
from bravo are irrelevant and in very poor taste and should be removed
from the site.
Unchecked Hindu Terrorism
By: Mishra | Sunday , 22 Nov '09 20:29:47 PM
Mass scale Hindu terrorism is giving rise to reactionary terrorism in
India.
RRPatil had rejected this point after 26/11
By: Deepak Meshram | Sunday , 22 Nov '09 12:51:30 PM
This was precisely what many experts said a few days after 26/11, but
RRPatil went on refuting this and asked," Would providing better
weapons have deterred the terrorists from attacking?" And the joke is
he is back as Home Minister.
Not eqipment but better Intelligence
By: arun kumar | Sunday , 22 Nov '09 12:48:33 PM
Better intelligence means better personal. Since the days of Indira
Gandhi there has been decline in quality of man power in all
department of Government services. Indira Gandhi destroyed
independence of and sovereignty of all departments and those only
loyal to her were given promotions. This created a big vacuum of
impartial and quality manpower. Later the various policies like
reservation, parochial considerations, and even lowering standards for
joining government services had its toll. Today the situation is out
of 100 only 15 know what to do and 85 are just burden on these 15
persons. Think of Shastri's time when air force fought with GNAT
against Saber jets and Star fighters of Pakistan and how we created
the grave for US Patton tanks. Today%u2019s politics is not people
orients but party and person oriented even media looks after interest
of a particular party instead of reporting in interest of people of
India. NDTV is a live example of sycophancy and stooping below the
belt.
Better Intelligence
By: sharma | Sunday , 22 Nov '09 18:50:52 PM
I agree with Mr.Arun Kumar. The various policiies like reservation,
political influence, psychophancy have lowered the standard of the
govt. machinery and gradually a majority of such people is becoming a
liability on the nation. Unless we have spirited,devoted & competent
people in our forces, intelligence agencies, we dont know how many
26/11 are yet to be faced by the country.
Human and machine intelligence
By: Naveen | Sunday , 22 Nov '09 11:58:45 AM
Develop better human,electronic (internet, waves, land line)
intelligence. Have the best human intelligence network in each and
every police station in India and connect these men with complex
network system. Each police system should be well equipped to defence
the nation not neta's. The information gathered by officers computer/
machines should be deciphered by excellent analyst(mathematics,
language, computer) professionals). Even though the elite human and
machine intelligence system are distributed and underground, these
system should be highly complex for any one hack into. To support the
encryption and decryption, compacting video/graphic information govt
of India should set up highly secure sophisticated laboratory that is
independent of govt. interference. A nations thrives on its citizens
deeds.
its the basic
By: adaamin | Sunday , 22 Nov '09 11:54:52 AM
Equipment, better intelligence could have altered 26/11 operation. It
is the basic requirement without which what is the use of security?
bademiyansubhanallah
26/11 investigation led to brick wall in Pakistan
Praveen Swami
Italian arrests cast fresh doubt on Islamabad probe’s integrity
Evidence has been mounting that Pakistan investigators failed to act
against perpetrators
Indian investigators believe funds trail could lead to head of
Lashkar’s transcontinental operations
MUMBAI: Last November, two rubber dinghies carrying 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba
“fidayeen” armed with assault rifles and explosives nudged up along
the Mumbai shoreline.
One hundred and seventy-three people died, and more than 300 were
injured in the carnage that followed.
In the months that have passed, evidence has been mounting that
Pakistan investigators had failed to act against key perpetrators—and,
worse, may have colluded in effort to help them evade justice.
During his visit to Jammu and Kashmir last month, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh made clear his dissatisfaction with the Pakistani
investigation—the latest in a series of Indian high officials to do
so. “We are not satisfied,” he said, “that goes without saying. We
hope Pakistan will take effective measures to bring to justice all the
perpetrators of 26/11.”
Fresh evidence
Saturday’s arrests in Italy have thrown up fresh evidence that muddies
Pakistan’s claims to be serious about investigating the carnage in
Mumbai.
In February, 2009, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik
alleged that Barcelona resident Javed Iqbal was responsible for
transferring funds to the United States-based voice-over-internet
service used by the Lashkar to guide the assault unit that carried out
the attacks.
“Having ascertained the involvement of Javed Iqbal,” Mr. Malik told
journalists, “we somehow lured him into coming to Pakistan and he was
arrested on his arrival.”
Pakistani investigators were reported to have discovered Mr. Iqbal’s
role in the funds transfers after examining a computer used by a key
Lashkar commander, identified by the code-name Zarar Shah.
But in an exclusive interview to The Hindu, Italian counter-terrorism
police chief Stefano Fonzi asserted that Mr. Iqbal had never in fact
travelled to his country—and was likely a victim of identity theft.
Italy’s crack Divisione Investigazioni Generali e Operazioni Speciali,
[Division of General Investigations and Special Operations] arrested
60-year-old Mohammad Yaqub Janjua and his 31-year-old son Aamer Yaqub
Janjua routing the funds through their Brescia business.
“We discovered,” Mr. Fonzi said, “that the Brescia-based outfit had
made several transfers using the identity of totally innocent,
unsuspecting persons. Thus there were over 300 transfers in the name
of a certain Javed Iqbal, who had never even set foot in Italy,
Mr. Fonzi also said the owners of the funds acted on instructions from
two Pakistan-based individuals he was not at liberty to name. It is
unclear why Pakistan has not held the two suspects.
Missing commanders
India investigators believe that the funds trail could lead to Sajid
Mir—head of the Lashkar’s transcontinental operations, whose name has
figured in investigations of terrorist cells stretching from Australia
and Europe to the United States.
Many Indian investigators believe Mir, who remains at large, could in
fact be Zarar Shah: the commander who guided the Mumbai assault team
through the voice-over-internet connections purchased through Brescia.
Pakistani authorities have identified Sheikhupura resident Abdul Wajid
as “Zarar Shah,” and charged him with organising these transactions.
However, Pakistan has refused to allow the FBI access to Wajid,
raising suspicions that he may in fact be a relatively low-level
operative. It has also so far failed to provide Wajid’s voice samples,
which would allow them to be matched against the audio in the
intercepted phone calls.
Despite an official request, Indian authorities have also been denied
photographs of Wajid, which would allow the Mumbai police to confirm
if he is indeed the individual known as Zarar Shah to jihadists who
met him in the past—among them alleged Indian Mujahideen co-founder
Sadiq Israr Sheikh.
Both Indian and U.S.investigators have also been denied access to two
other key suspects, Lashkar military chief Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi and
his deputy, Mazhar Iqbal.
For the most part, Pakistan’s action against the top leadership of the
Lashkar has been marked by indifference.
Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, head of the Lashkar’s parent religious-political
group, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, has never been prosecuted for leading the
organisation that carried out the attacks.
At large
Muzammil Bhat, the Lashkar’s top military commander, remains at large,
though intercepted phone calls show he remains in touch with Lashkar
units across Pakistan.
In recent weeks, new leads have begun to emerge, with the arrests of
Lashkar operatives Ronald Headley and Tahawwur Rana in Chicago—men
India believes may have carried out pre-attack reconnaissance for the
assault team.
“But without full cooperation from Pakistan,” a senior Indian
intelligence official told The Hindu, “it is profoundly unlikely we’ll
ever know the full picture.”
bademiyansubhanallah
Did FBI sit over Headley chase?
Somendra Sharma / DNA
Monday, November 23, 2009 8:30 IST
Bangalore: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team, which
visited Mumbai immediately after the November 26, 2008, terror
attacks, may have had suspicions about David Coleman Headley's link to
the carnage even at that time.
A senior intelligence official said that reportssuggest that the
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative was on the agency's mind during their
last year's visit to the city. "But the FBI did not reveal anything
about Headley to Indian authorities because it was not sure if he was
linked to 26/11," he said.
Headley and his associate Tahawwur Hussain Rana have been on the FBI's
radar since late last year, as indicated by the official complaints
made by the agency. "The FBI knew that Headley and Rana were linked to
the Lashkar-e-Taiba and had been travelling in and out of India. The
FBI's visit to India would have given them an opportunity to tighten
the noose around the duo," a senior Mumbai police officer said.
However, the FBI has so far not told the Indian investigators whether
they found anything on Headley and Rana during their post-26/11 visit.
In fact, Indian investigators who had gone to the US were not allowed
to meet or question the duo.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has already registered a case
against Headley and Rana for allegedly planning a 26/11-like attack in
India. The Indian agency is also probing whether the duo had direct or
indirect links to 26/11.
bademiyansubhanallah
I don't know who to deal with in Pakistan: Manmohan Singh
IANS 23 November 2009, 09:34am IST
WASHINGTON: With power virtually resting with the army in Pakistan
even in a democratic regime, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wonders
"who to deal with" or negotiate with in Islamabad.
"I think the most important force in Pakistan is the army," he said in
a TV interview on Sunday coinciding with his four-day state visit to
US when asked who he thought was running Pakistan right now?
"And there is democracy. We would like democracy to succeed and
flourish in Pakistan. But we have to recognize that the power today
rests virtually with the army."
Asked if he felt he had a partner in Pakistan right now with whom he
can negotiate, Manmohan Singh said: "Well, I don't know whether we
have a partner right now."
The Prime Minister said when General Pervez Musharraf was the
president of Pakistan, "I used to ask him. And he said, 'Well, I am
the army. I represent the armed forces. I represent the people.' Now I
don't know who to deal with."
Asked if looking at the situation in Pakistan, he was worried about
the collapse of the state and the nuclear weapons moving into the
hands of either some radical element within the army or terrorists,
Manmohan Singh said: "Well, we worry about all these contingencies."
"But we have been assured by the Americans that they are satisfied
that's not going to happen."
Asked if he saw any prospects for productive negotiations on Kashmir
with Pakistan as he was reportedly close to some kind of a deal with
Musharraf, he reiterated that while there can be no redrawing of
borders, greater people-to-people contacts would make borders
irrelevant.
"Well, I have publicly stated that there can be no redrawing of
borders," he said "But our two countries can work together to ensure
that these are borders of peace, that people-to-people contacts grow
in this manner in which people do not, I think, worry whether they are
located on this side of the border or that side.
"If trade is free-trade, people-to-people contacts and our both
countries competing with each other to give a life of - to enable the
people on both sides to lead a life of dignity and self-respect -
those are issues which we can discuss. We can reach agreement."
bademiyansubhanallah
Killing innocents for jehad is not what my Islam teaches me: Kasab's
lawyer
Jyoti Punwani, TNN 22 November 2009, 11:37am IST
MUMBAI: Abbas Kazmi, the lawyer defending India’s most hated
terrorist, Ajmal Kasab, is in an unenviable position. For months, he’s
been fighting a frustrating battle to give his client as good a
defence as possible, given the special circumstances of this case.
Now, with a list of 232 witnesses given to him by the prosecution, he
fears accusations of delaying the trial being flung at him if he cross-
examines them all; however, he has made up his mind.
Kazmi has been virtually ostracised, but says that he believes in the
Constitution which guarantees every accused a fair trial. “We are a
civilised country,’’ he says. “Our criminal law doesn’t believe in
lynch mobs.’’
If professional integrity wasn’t so dear to Kazmi, the last six months
would’ve been a breeze. He could have sat back, declined cross-
examination, and been a defence attorney only in name. The Rs 2,500
being paid to him for every hearing would then have actually meant
something. Instead, he has been fighting a frustrating battle to give
his client as good a defence as possible, given the special
circumstances of this case.
“I’ve been under immense pressure from Day One,’’ says Kazmi. “Work
pressure—hardly any time given to study the 14,000-page chargesheet;
the humiliation of being frisked thrice before I enter the courtroom;
not being allowed to carry either my laptop or my briefcase (The FBI
agents were allowed both), so the bulky
charge sheet remains in my office while I’m in court. My other cases
have almost had to be abandoned.’’
As soon as he accepted the brief, Kazmi was removed from trusteeship
of the Islam Gymkhana. Last week, two strangers at a chemist’s shop
asked him why he had agreed to defend Kasab whom the entire world had
seen committing the crime. Why hadn’t he instead used the opportunity
to pump bullets into Kasab’s head?
“I’ve said it before: I believe in the Constitution. When I watched
the events on TV, I wanted the severest punishment to be given to the
terrorists. I too am a patriot. That’s precisely the reason I believe
we must give Kasab a fair trial. Our Constitution declares that every
accused is innocent until proven guilty. The entire world is watching
us, we are a civilised country. Our criminal law doesn’t believe in
lynch mobs.’’
In court, he has been derisively called “Abu Abbas’’—a reference to
the many Abus who trained Kasab, and been mockingly told that he’d be
given Pakistan’s highest award. But none of this has prevented him
from doggedly doing his duty. Kazmi’s cross-examination has brought
out incredible facts. “One hundred and nine men of the Railway Police
Force, Government Railway Police and Home Guards were at CST, 30 of
them armed, when Kasab and his companion landed. Twenty officers, a
few armed with AK 47s, carbines and some with bullet-proof vests, were
around Cama later. The police commissioner’s office is a twominute
walk away. The Control Room knew what was happening. Yet two young men
with barely six months’ training, who had two AK-47s but no bullet-
proof vests, could do what they wanted from 9.30 to 12.30 that
night!’’
One of Kazmi’s many frustrations is that the layperson knows hardly
anything about what his cross-examination has brought on record. For
instance, a SIM card used by the terrorists was issued to one Suresh
Prashad by the Government of India, Ministry of Urban Development, and
though his electricity bill is on record, the police say he is
untraceable. Another loose end is the silence on Abu Jindal, whom
Kasab has described as an Indian who had trained him.
Apart from the prosecution, Kazmi is the only person to meet Kasab
regularly. What does he think of him? “I have not been able to build
the rapport a defence lawyer needs with his client. I am only allowed
to talk to him in court, when he is in the dock, under the watchful
gaze of his guards and the court staff. I feel he doesn’t trust me; he
has not consulted me on any step he has taken, specially confessing in
court. That’s why I offered to withdraw from the case.’’
Whenever Kazmi has conveyed Kasab’s requests to the court—a newspaper,
some itar—a hue and cry has ensued. To Kazmi, Kasab comes across as a
young man easily swayed, given to mood swings.
As a Muslim, the trial has affected Kazmi deeply. “I have become even
more of a believer in secularism. I would really like to contribute in
this field in whatever way I can. Listening to those handlers sitting
in their safe hideouts, encouraging these boys not to lose courage, I
can only say. ‘Your Islam is not my Islam. Killing innocents in the
name of jehad is not what my Islam teaches me.’’
bademiyansubhanallah
LeT's Google Earth link to 26/11 nailed
Josy Joseph / DNA Monday, November 23, 2009 3:53 IST
New Delhi: A top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader, Syed Abdul Rehman, is
learnt to have bought a Google Earth Pro service in October last year,
weeks before the 26/11 terror strikes on Mumbai.
Mumbai under attackSources in the security establishment feel Rehman
may have played a crucial role in plotting the 26/11 attacks,
especially since Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist
captured alive during the attacks, has admitted to having been made
familiar with the targets in Mumbai using Google Earth.
But Rehman, who handled David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain
Rana, had not figured on the radar of Indian security agencies until
now.Inputs emerging over the past few weeks show that Rehman has been
controlling a network of terrorists in Bangladesh, Nepal, the Gulf
and, possibly, southern India.Though not identified by the FBI by
name, Rehman is the LeT handler 'A' in the criminal complaints filed
by the agency in Chicago against Headley and Rana, the sources said.
Rehman was the key contact between the duo and Ilyas Kashmiri, a
Pakistani army commando-turned-terrorist. Investigators are also
trying to verify the phone numbers in Pakistan that were used by
handlers to talk to terrorists in Mumbai on 26/11 last year.
They are also trying to find out if the VOIP numbers that were used
during the attacks had any connection with the Headley-Rana network.
So far, no credible evidence has emerged in this regard.
Rehman, the sources say, is also the handler for Muthu, a Bangladesh
based LeT leader who is a key operative of the LeT-HuJI network that
has deep links in South India.
The most famous of the network's operatives was Shahid Bilal, a
resident of Hyderabad (India) who was involved in several terror
attacks in South India and was mysteriously killed in Karachi in 2007.
So the picture emerging shows that Rehman was a senior LeT operative
based in Lahore who, using the garb of an immigration agency First
World Consultancy Pvt Ltd, was playing a key role in attacks in India.
He is believed to be handling the movement of terrorists, recce and,
probably, the distribution of payments to various modules. "To me it
looks like Rehman was the one tasked to carry out recce and selection
of targets, and providing details to the terrorists," a senior source
in the security establishment told DNA.
The LeT network: Is Rehman the missing link? Hafiz Saeed: Founder of
LeT
Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi/Yusuf Muzammil: Senior operatives of LeT, named
masterminds of Mumbai attacks. Organised the training of the 10
terrorists, also handled them during the attack
Zarar Shah: Key link between ISI and LeT, probably the communications
chief of LeT
Syed Abdul Rehman: Handles LeT network in Bangladesh, Nepal and south
India; actively involved with LeT operatives in Gulf and the US and
handled Headley and Rana; was probably in charge of recce for the
Mumbai attacks
bademiyansubhanallah
headley pakistan LET FBI rana chicago
Terror charges against Rana false: brother
Yoshita Singh
First Published : 24 Nov 2009 10:49:32 AM IST
CHICAGO: The Canada-based brother of terror suspect Tahawwur Rana has
come out in support of his brother saying the charges against him are
false and described Rana as a 'man of integrity'.
Rana's brother, Abbas Rana has been working as journalist with Ottawa-
based newsweekly Hill Times since 2002 and his statement has appeared
in the paper yesterday in a column by its publisher Jim Creskey titled
'Why The Hill Times supports its reporter, Abbas Rana'.
Creskey wrote the charges have been "devastating" on the Rana family
and that Abbas Rana knew nothing more about the accusations facing his
brother beyond what he has read in the media.
Abbas on his part was quoted as saying he knows his brother is honest
and the charges against him are not true.
"To the best of my knowledge, these charges are false," Abbas Rana
said.
PTI
bademiyansubhanallah
KARKARE
Kavita Karkare meets Sonia Gandhi
IANS
First Published : 24 Nov 2009 01:10:25 AM IST
Last Updated : 24 Nov 2009 01:16:42 AM IST
NEW DELHI: Kavita Karkare, the widow of the Maharashtra Anti-Terror
Squad's late chief Hemant Karkare, who was killed during the 26/11
terror attacks in Mumbai, Monday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi
at her residence here.
According to Congress sources, Kavita raised with Gandhi issues
pertaining to the victims of last year's terror strikes and said
justice would be done only if Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone
Pakistani terrorist captured alive during the attack, was hanged.
The meeting comes two days ahead of the first anniversary of the 26/11
attack which 10 Pakistani terrorists, including Kasab, mounted after
sneaking into Mumbai by sea in November last year. Their killing spree
and the bloody saga ended only when security forces killed all but one
of them.
Karkare died owing to the injuries that he received from bullets two
terrorists hiding behind bushes fired into his chest. The efficacy of
the bulletproof jacket Karkare wore during the shootout has been
debated even though the jacket is yet to be found.
Karkare's wife Kavita had filed a Right to Information (RTI)
application, about the jacket. However, the Maharashtra state
government informed her that the jacket was nowhere to be found as it
had been misplaced in the melee that ensued in the hours when the
wounded Karkare was brought to the JJ Hospital after being shot and
the doctors had removed the jacket from his body.
Kavita last week also questioned the state government about the delay
in reinforcements reaching her husband and two other officers killed
in the 26/11 attacks.
The world is an eye witness to the horrified incident. Let us hope
that the UPA chairperson Ms. Sonia Gandhi would recommend the issue to
the prime minister. Stern action should be taken immediately. The
decision should not be delayed. RK Ogirala
By Ramakrishna Ogirala
11/24/2009 11:28:00 AM
One could not stop but only hang his head down in shame when it is
understood that otherwise generally god fearing Indians, in particular
women are making such wild and rash comments as those made by Ramya
and Vidhya on a man whose life was snatched by cruel hands of
destiny.Do they affirm that people of other faiths living in India are
not Indians simply because they don't follow the faith to which they
belong to. Though a Christian by belief and practice, I strongly feel
that few other faiths are as tolerant as Hinduism. May be the two and
Krishna would realise the freedom that our people enjoy in the country
only when they live outside our country. Why hurling unnecessary
abuses on a poor widow whose husband sacrificed his life while
defending Mumbaikars. How could she be termed anti-Hindu just because
Mrs Karkare rejected Modi's compensation. May be she had a totally
different perception about Modi, who one certainly believes, had made
the announcement out of his concern for the de
By Ramesh Mathew
11/24/2009 11:22:00 AM
God punished karkare for torturing a holy lady
By Vidhya
11/24/2009 9:56:00 AM
Karkare's anti Hindu stance is a well known subject. He subjected the
Swamini to such atrocities and coined the word Hindu Terror. The
charges are still not able to be proved. He died due to his
foolishness and overconfidence. He did not follow the steps during a
Terror Attack. Rather he believed the Islamic Terrorists more (due to
his antiHindu stance) and died due to him. Mrs. Karakare is also with
similar ideology. She rejected Narendra Modi's gesture of compensation
(which Modi announced for the policemen's brave deeds on 26/11) just
because she has vengeance over Modi. She is also Anti-Hindu
By Ramya
11/24/2009 9:55:00 AM
It looks like n.krishna was the father of karkare. samy sundaran
By samy
11/24/2009 8:12:00 AM
Karkare was a RAW OFFICER and was sent by Sonia to create Hindu
terrorism.The fool was a tool in the hands of Sonia. His death was
planned along with his assaignment
By n.krishna
11/24/2009 2:52:00 AM
bademiyansubhanallah
india pakistan manmohan LeT 26/11 mumbai headle
Shun terrorism to talk peace: PM to Pakistan
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. AP File Photo
IANS
First Published : 24 Nov 2009 07:34:55 AM IST
Last Updated : 24 Nov 2009 11:26:52 AM IST
WASHINGTON: On the eve of the first 26/11 anniversary, India has made
it clear that the present situation is not conducive for the
resumption of dialogue with Pakistan in the absence of Islamabad's
action against terror and stressed that public opinion was against any
talks.
Manmohan Singh, however, made a limited conditional offer to resume
the peace dialogue with Pakistan and resolve all issues, including
Jammu and Kashmir, provided it abjures terrorism and comes to the
table with good faith and sincerity.
"My government has invested heavily over the past few years in
normalising relations with Pakistan," he said Monday in an address to
the Council On Foreign Relations (CFR), a leading US think-tank.
He recalled that the two countries had "made considerable progress on
the road to a durable and permanent settlement of all outstanding
issues" before the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks stalled the peace
dialogue. "I have said that we are ready to pick up the threads of the
dialogue, including on issues related to Jammu and Kashmir."
"We seek a South Asia of peace, friendship and prosperity, where its
borders will be energised by the flow of people, goods and ideas."
"For this to happen, Pakistan must make a break with the past, abjure
terrorism and come to the table with good faith and sincerity," the
prime minister said. He expressed his "solemn hope that India and
Pakistan can together move forward to write a new chapter in the
history of the subcontinent".
Noting that the first anniversary of the heinous and barbaric
terrorist attacks on Mumbai was three days away, he said: "The trauma
of that attack continues to haunt us. Terrorism poses an existential
threat to the civilised world and must be defeated."
"We should not harbour any illusions that a selective approach to
terrorism, tackling it in one place while ignoring it in others, will
work," he said.
"The present situation is not conducive to the resumption of dialogue
with Pakistan," Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters here.
Rao underscored India's mounting exasperation over lack of adequate
action by Pakistan against the Mumbai terrorists and the larger anti-
India terror infrastructure.
"For this dialogue to regain momentum, we will need to have progress
by Pakistan to take action against terrorism," Rao said while briefing
reporters about Manmohan Singh's meeting with a group of US
Congressmen and Defence Secretary Robert Gates.
"The weight of public opinion is against it. The mood of the people,
the mood of the parliament is against it," Rao said ahead of the
meeting of the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan on the
sidelines of the Commonwealth summit in Port of Spain, the capital of
Trinidad and Tobago.
Rao also underlined the need by the US to exercise greater vigil and
oversight over billions of dollars given in aid to Pakistan. "We
emphasised the need to have greater accountability," she said.
"Our experience has been an unhappy one. They (US) are conscious of
our concerns," she said while indicating India's greater congruence
with the US over issues relating to India and Pakistan.
chhotemianinshallah
Oberoi 70 per cent ready, to reopen by March 2010
24 Nov 2009, 1527 hrs IST, AGENCIES
A year after rifle-toting terrorists launched a brutal attack on the
Trident tower and its adjacent Oberoi hotel, the management is racing
against time to reopen the entire complex to the public next year. The
Trident was reopened in December last year and the hotel management is
hoping to reopen the Oberoi by March next year, 70 per cent
restoration of which is already completed.
The Trident tower presents a lively picture with security persons at
the main gate having a tough time with the steady stream of guests and
visitors checking in. Bell boys in the lobby tow in the luggage of a
group of Germans, while media persons trundle in armed with cameras
and notepads for press conferences that are more frequent now compared
to last year when gunmen struck on November 26 and took everyone
inside hostage for nearly three days.
The Oberoi family, promoters of East India Hotels Ltd (EIH) that owns
and manages Trident, wants to infuse the same liveliness into The
Oberoi. The BSE-listed EIH has since December last year undertaken
major restoration work at the 23-year-old Oberoi hotel, trying to wipe
away the blood and bullet marks left behind by the gunmen.
"We are racing against time to reopen the entire hotel in the first
quarter of 2010. I would say 70 per cent of the work is complete. All
services and facilities in the hotel will be available for our guests
at the same time," Oberoi Hotels and Resorts Mumbai, Executive Vice
President, Devendra Bharma said.
"The Oberoi was severely damaged and a major restoration project had
to be taken up. Guest needs, design and technology have also changed
since the hotel was built in 1986. We are using this opportunity to
make changes," he said.
The 337-room Oberoi had most of its rooms considerably damaged,
especially those on the higher floors where the gunmen were holed up.
Around 800-1,000 employees, labourers and designers have been working
on its restoration.
"The cost (of complete restoration) is fairly substantial. We have
received Rs 80 crore from New India Assurance so far. Our final claim
of insurance has not yet gone through so I will not be able to give an
indication as to the total money required and money claimed at this
point of time," Bharma said.
The company has beefed up security at all group hotels by spending as
much as Rs 40 lakh on each property. EIH has also appointed a leading
international security consultant to advise it on enhancing security
systems apart from holding Crisis Management Programmes across all
Oberoi Group hotels.
"Security at Trident has been heightened and the Police have been
requested to extend their assistance. Amongst the measures in place
are baggage scanners, doorframe metal detectors, hand held detectors,
regular patrolling of the periphery and within the hotel and camera
surveillance," he said.
Immediately after the attacks last year, the group set up The Oberoi
Care Fund, a special donation fund to give monthly financial aid and
ensure the education of children of 10 of its employees, who were
killed in the terror strike.
The hotel has so far disbursed a compensation of Rs 25 lakh each to
families of the unfortunate staff members apart from continuing their
monthly allowance for the next 10 years. Bharma said this was apart
from the state and national government compensation, the workman's
compensation, employee contribution and insurance cover to the
employees.
"All our staff has remained on our rolls. There have been no voluntary
retirements in any of our hotels since the incidents," he added.
On Thursday, November 26, Trident has arranged a day-long affair where
people can come and light candles to pay homage to guests and staff
who lost their lives. The hotel expects to be fully booked on the
first anniversary of 26/11 as gesture of solidarity by guests.
chhotemianinshallah
26/11 terror case to conclude on 1st anniversary
24 Nov 2009, 1505 hrs IST, AGENCIES
The prosecution is all set to wind up the 26/11 terror attack case in
a special court here on November 26, coinciding with the first
anniversary of the dastardly strikes that left 166 dead. "We have
examined 265 witnesses and about ten more are left...the case would be
wrapped up by November 26, a year after the terror attacks", special
public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said.
The evidence of another 300 witnesses would be adduced by filing their
affidavits in the court, Nikam said.
These witnesses would not be examined personally because they are like
the ones who had carried bodies of victims to hospitals, relatives of
victims who claimed the bodies, people who suffered damage to their
properties and medical officers who treated the victims, the
prosecutor said.
"The trial began on May 8 and in about six months we are ready to wind
up the case", said Nikam.
Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab is facing the trial along with two
Indians, Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed. While Kasab faces charges
of multiple murders, others are charged with conspiracy.
After prosecution closes its case, defence lawyers may exercise their
right to examine their witnesses. Then the accused would give their
statements to the court on what they have to say about the evidence
adduced against them. Finally, the court would give verdict after
hearing arguments.
bademiyansubhanallah
The Pakistani state as a suicide bomber
Venkatesan Vembu
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 0:33 IST
A year ago tomorrow, as no one in India needs reminding, Urban Jihad
set sail from hostile shores, came aground in Mumbai, flickered live
on our TV screens, and purveyed death across the city. Recovering from
the monstrous invasion, a wounded and incensed India that had had
enough of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism seriously contemplated letting
rip against terrorist targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. But
following entreaties to hold back in the interests of not diverting
attention and military resources away from the larger goal of
targeting jihadi forces in Afghanistan, it exercised tremendous
restraint.
A year later, look at where Pakistan stands. It has failed to bring
the Mumbai terrorist masterminds to book, but the karmic law of jihadi
sponsorship has recoiled on it and not a day passes by without a
lethal suicide bombing or terrorist attack in its cities. US drone
aircraft routinely target militants inside Pakistan, and occasionally
claim civilian lives in 'friendly fire' incidents. Pakistani
nationals' complicity in terrorism around the world is being unmasked
with disturbing frequency. Pakistan stands exposed as the nearest
thing to a 'jihadi suicide-bomber state' with a fanatical finger on
the nuclear button.Within Pakistan, even among the moderate
intelligentsia, there is little evidence of an acknowledgement of the
grave risk of implosion that the failed state faces. Much less is
there evidence of an honest attempt at introspection over Pakistani
state complicity, over the decades, in the country's descent into the
hellish world of jihadi terrorism. The tendency instead has been to
bizarrely blame the daily dose of recent terror on the Israeli Mossad,
the Indian RAW and the American CIA -- in fact, just about anyone
other than itself.
Such infinite capacity to look away from the unflattering mirror of
history and delude oneself isn't, of course, the sole preserve of
Pakistani players. US interlocutors stand guilty of it every time they
draw specious connections, as US envoy on Af-Pak affairs Richard
Holbrooke does, between mindless jihadism in Pakistan and the Kashmir
issue. It's evidently a perspective that Barack Obama shares, but it
is fundamentally flawed. India has for years faced down Pakistan-
sponsored terrorism in Kashmir, which the US ignored at its own
(subsequent) peril. To suggest that India should talk Kashmir with an
unrepentantly terror-exporting Pakistan is to yield unconditionally to
the twisted mentality of the suicide bomber.
Obama's newest effort -- to initiate indirect talks with a section of
the Taliban in Afghanistan in an effort to end the stalemate --
amounts to a similar yielding to Pakistan's jihadi blackmail tactics.
Much of the violence against NATO troops in Afghanistan bears the
signature of Pakistani agencies and of the Taliban fighters they
support. US officials aren't unaware of this, and Pakistan's own
experience of negotiating with the 'good Taliban' in the Swat Valley
earlier this year is a shining example of the folly of such a course.
Yet the incredibly naïve search for 'good Taliban' persists.
Every US president goes through a 'learning curve' on the job, at the
end of which the lessons of history are brought home forcefully to
them. Bill Clinton too started off with an interventionist agenda on
Kashmir, but by the time of the Kargil war of 1999, he'd learnt a lot
about Pakistani perfidy. It was widely believed that given Obama's
intellectual calibre and his keen understanding of history, he
wouldn't need to go through this process, but he evidently believes
that, somehow, this time it will be different.
For India, all this is more than a little bothersome, but as was
revealed following the Mumbai attack last year, there is some merit in
exercising restraint rather than rush into war. One of two things will
then happen: wisdom will eventually dawn in the White House or the
'suicide bomber state' will implode further.
chhotemianinshallah
Eerie silence cloaks untouched Nariman House
Viju B, TNN 25 November 2009, 02:59am IST
MUMBAI: A bullet went right through the arc and into the scroll of the
holy Torah that had been read by Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg just hours
before he was killed by the two terrorists Babar Imran and Nasir — who
laid siege to Nariman House from November 26 to 28.
"It was by pure coincidence, a tragic one, that Rabbi Holtzberg had
read this particular scroll that spoke about the death of the sons of
Aharon from the Holy Book,'' recalls Rabbi Avraham Berkowitz, director
of Chabad House, as he opens the bullet-riddled shelf, which once
housed the Torah.
As the afternoon light filters into the second floor of Nariman House,
it reveals the horrific vestiges of the siege. Bullet-ridden walls,
cracked furniture, broken windows, gaping holes from rocket- propelled
grenades on the outer walls, blood-stained patches on broken marble
floors. Nothing has been moved.
Even Baby Moshe's room has been left untouched with his toys and
building blocks left in a disarray on the bed, waiting to be put away.
"We have plans to rebuild the Chabad Centre, but nothing has been
finalised,'' says Berkowitz. According to the charge sheet, the
Nariman House attackers inflicted over Rs 1 crore of damages to
property during the siege. Each floor of the building has a gory story
to tell. Each killing, as Rabbi Abraham Cooper says, "was in the name
of religion, which no modern day community leader can ignore.''
Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, who were among the nine victims who died
in the attack, stayed at the top floor of the five-storey building.
"The fact that they had employed a Christian maid Sandra Samuels and a
Muslim boy Zakir Hussein shows that people from all communities were
welcome here,'' says Orna Sagiv, Israel's Consul General in Mumbai.
According to Berkowitz, over 500 parents in the Jewish community have
named their newborn children Gavriel and Rivka to honour their memory.
That is one the reasons why the Chabad Trust is not selecting a new
rabbi in a hurry. "It is nearly impossible to replace the loss,'' says
Berkowitz. "I am overwhelmed by the support we received from the
government and from the citizens. As Judaism says, we should always
remember the tragedy lest we forget.''
The members of the orthodox Jewish Chabad India Trust have moved out
of Nariman House and are residing in an unknown location due to
security reasons.
chhotemianinshallah
26/11: Finally, Pak court charges mastermind Lakhvi, 6 others
PTI 25 November 2009, 06:06pm IST
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has formally charged seven
suspects, including LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, with planning
and helping execute the Mumbai attacks, an action that came a day
before the first anniversary of the brazen assault.
The court also declared 16 people, including Ajmal Amir Kasab, the
lone surviving terrorist, as "proclaimed offenders". The crew members
of the two boats that ferried the 10 attackers to Mumbai are among
them, sources said.
Anti-terrorism court Judge Malik Muhammad Akram Awan, who is
conducting the trial at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for security
reasons, framed the chargesheet against Lakhvi, Zarar Shah, Abu al-
Qama, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younas
Anjum.
The court also rejected the bail pleas of some of the accused. The
suspects protested as charges against them under the Anti-Terrorism
Act and Pakistan Penal Code were read out, sources said. All seven
pleaded not guilty, their lawyers said.
The chargesheets came after an agonising spell of delays with India
accusing Pakistan of not being serious in bringing to book the
perpetrators of the 26/11 attacks.
Shahbaz Rajput, one of the defence lawyers, told PTI that the accused
had pleaded not guilty as the charges against them were not backed up
by evidence.
Lakhvi and the six other suspects were charged with providing
accommodation and training facilities to the attackers as they
prepared for the assault, the sources said.
chhotemianinshallah
Mumbai readies for 26/11 anniversary amid blame game
PTI 25 November 2009, 02:26pm IST
MUMBAI: Amid the ongoing blame-game in Mumbai's police establishment
over who failed in the line of duty, the bustling metropolis will
observe on Thursday the first anniversary of the 26/11 terror attack
in solemn remembrance of those who lost their lives.
Former Mumbai police commissioner Hasan Gafoor's interview to a news
magazine wherein he said that a section of senior police officers
refused to be on the ground and take on the terrorists, touched off an
avoidable controversy on the eve of the anniversary, prompting chief
minister Ashok Chavan to say, "police are a very disciplined
organisation and this (remarks) does not fit into it."
The report of the government-appointed Ram Pradhan Committee, which
went into the lapses leading to one of the most brazen terror strikes
in recent memory, is yet to be made public though "relevant portions"
were tabled in the Legislature.
There will be a series of events to commemorate the attacks, including
a parade by police and with its new weaponry and communication gadgets
on November 26 morning.
Union home minister P Chidambaram will unveil a martyr's memorial at
the Police Gymkhana in south Mumbai, while a prayer meeting is also
scheduled at the historical Gateway of India.
chhotemianinshallah
Ajmal Kasab Ki Gazab Kahani
Anshul Chaturvedi Tuesday November 24, 2009
Amidst all that is being written, read, and discussed on the
‘anniversary’ – how does that word make sense here continues to
befuddle me - of 26/11, the reason I, humble, ill-informed hack
sitting in an air-conditioned office, am harping on Kasab is primarily
because whatever we did, or did not do, in the 72 hours of chaos that
Mumbai suffered immediately after the shooting began can be explained
in terms of surprise, shock, flat footed reactions, etc, etc. It was
an unprecedented situation and it was perhaps almost expected that we
could do little to check it till a hundred, two hundred, three hundred
people lay dead. We saw prominent displays of both utter panic and of
decisive courage – but at that moment, that close to all the blood and
the bullets and the shrieking TV anchors, it wasn’t easy to tell which
was the norm, and which, the aberration.
But what we have done in the 12 months since then is a more accurate
index. Headley is of course the flavour of the season, giving us all a
sense of ‘something being done’– he’s just replacing one set of names,
which replaced an earlier set, which replaced others, all of whom we
thought were involved, all of whom Pakistan isn’t sure were involved,
so it comes down to who the US thinks is involved…. Not that I think
much of what the US thinks, honestly, after Uncle Obama, he of the
Nobel Peace Prize fame, no less, entrusted to peace-loving China the
diligent moral responsibility of doing its bit to maintain peace
between India and Pakistan. It’s not even funny. Anyways. To come back
to my rant, while Headley is the current headline-grabber, I have
found Ajmal Kasab’s year-long custody and trial to be one long episode
in bizarreness.
Kasab has been handled as if this were a civil case about encroachment
of land. The nuances of law have been the focal point, in an almost
clerically obsessive manner. Rather than bringing out the gravitas of
the massacre, the manner in which Pakistan has responded to issues
about Kasab, as well as the manner in which he has sauntered through
the legal process so far in India, has made a bit of a mockery of it
all.
Earlier this year, zapped at his behavior in the courtroom that forced
the judge to ask him to stop smiling, I had posted a blog here, and
realized that most readers were as infuriated at the soft-pedalling as
I was. Nothing has really changed. In the course of his trial, Kasab
has demanded a Pakistani lawyer, Urdu newspapers, perfume, and sundry
other stuff. I remember reading that when he asked for a Pakistani
lawyer, and the prosecutor said that that wasn’t possible since the
Pakistani government had not responded to the request, Kasab asked the
court to “try once more” - and the court agreed and told the
prosecutor to try again! He has told the court he wants biryani. He
has demanded that he be given time and freedom to take a walk in
prison premises. And it has gone on endlessly. He has, as recently as
last week, alleged that his food is laced with drugs and brought
grains of rice wrapped in paper. Honestly!
News reports tell us that during the initial phase of his questioning,
Kasab told interrogators the crux of what he had been sent to do, in a
very uncomplicated way – “it is about killing, and getting killed, and
becoming famous.” The killing part he has done. The famous part is
pretty settled as well. While we discuss and analyse him, the
gentleman in question has become an international figure. When I type
“Kasab’’ today, Google throws up 27,80,000 entries – not bad for a
supposedly semi-literate boy from a remote Pakistani village, eh? He
has a long Wikipedia entry with 94 references for more reading, no
less. Frankly, even if it sounds jingoistic, there’s just one part of
his original plan of ‘killing, getting killed, becoming famous’ that’s
left, and its been stretched a while already.
Special public prosecutor Ujjawal Nikam, reacting to the latest
episode of this soap opera in which Kasab brought a sample of rice to
the court as ‘evidence’ of food being given to him being laced with
drugs (which was sent for forensic testing and showed no such traces),
recently said “This is all drama, and he is a great actor.”
I don’t know whether he is a great actor, but I agree with the first
part, completely.
Comments(31)
Rated 4.5/5 (75 Votes)
Comments:
Agree (22)
Disagree (5)
Amit Deshpande says:
November 24, 2009 at 08:15 PM IST
Nice to see your article after a long 3 months.
A speedy trial is a must in this case. Instead of making him a
celebrity and reporting which side he has been scratching, the media
should focus on the hardships that he is going through. How he is
defeated in all his purpose and most importantly how he has been used
by his Masters in Pakistan and has been hastily abandoned. Denying
even an acknowledgement of him being ever inside Pakistan, how he is
all alone now. This would help in discouraging future Qasabs. THAT IS,
actually, the need of the hour. That is what justice supposedly is
for, to discourage future occurrences of a crime.
We had an excellent chance to make an example out of Qasab, but sadly
we have made a wrong example out of him until now and continue to keep
it that way.
Agree (15)
Disagree (5)
Indian..!! says:
November 24, 2009 at 09:00 PM IST
I dont understand the thing that why India has to wait for US for
taking any action against terrorism..We all know who is guilty, from
where terrorists are coming.. and the irony is that even after knowing
from anything to everything all we are doing a trail against
Kasab...that too for over a year now..This will surely boost up for
other terrorists that even if they do get caught they can enjoy
luxuriois life in prison and endless trials..Nothing more than
this..Tommorrow they will do something else and will ask for Kasab in
Replacement..Wah India Wah..!!
Agree (11)
Disagree (1)
Abhishek says:
November 24, 2009 at 10:08 PM IST
Just happened to saw Dispacthers Terror in Mumbai, documentry.
I m nt able to understand why the gov is so soft on terrorist, there
is no special law on same.
No wonder if gov send a mercey petition to President like Afzal Guru.
Disappointing.
Agree (12)
Disagree (5)
svr tyu says:
November 24, 2009 at 10:09 PM IST
he is right. we should be ashamed of our country
Agree (15)
Disagree (1)
Akshey says:
November 24, 2009 at 11:31 PM IST
It is hard to say what this is showing the suucessful democracy in
india or how the efficient working of judiciary.Or we are encourging
the freedom of terrorists after their heinous crime. Better ask the
guys who lost their family members.Let us see what will be next wish
from kasab He may ask let me free.
Agree (6)
Disagree (4)
SB says:
November 25, 2009 at 02:13 AM IST
One doesn't have to write a blog to remain relevant on the site!! The
issue of Kasab is relevant but not his so called dramas!! What scribes
don't understand is that there is a Government machinery that has to
handle sensitive issues with a certain method. All critical decisions
won't be taken with the regressive, childish imagination where all bad
men can be killed and that's the end of all problems! Kasab is not the
end..he is the means to the end!
Agree (5)
Disagree (3)
MONI LAKHOTIA says:
November 25, 2009 at 06:03 AM IST
I think we should release Kasab and let him return to Pakistan as a
show of our great culture of humility and forgiveness and Gandhigiri-
what say folks ...
Agree (4)
Disagree (1)
subhra says:
November 25, 2009 at 08:07 AM IST
Of course we are ashamed of being an India. We got a sick govt. Whole
govt machinery is sick. Nobody is even bothered about the officers we
lost in the operation. Sick politicians play sick dirty games. So much
corruption in a country, which is beyond imagination. Everywhere is
corruption. Everybody is so selfish.
Agree (1)
Disagree (13)
pakistan dont get mad,it get even says:
November 25, 2009 at 09:13 AM IST
KASAAB is indias terrorist and millions of peoples
hero.India also has lots of kasaabs sent to afghanistan and
pakistan.lots of them had been killed and lots of them are rotting in
pakistani jails.
IF Indias terrorist activities are not stop in pakistan,their are
thousends of well trained KASAABS waiting to strike in the heart of
india.
"JASA KARO GHAY WAISA BHAROO GHAY"
Agree (8)
munish kaila says:
November 25, 2009 at 09:22 AM IST
I question is when there is cctv footage, isn't that the evidence
enough, the whole world knows and has seen him killing people and the
his confessions about killing, why do we have to listen to him, he has-
not him, we have our Govt has made this a trial a big mockery. he
should've been an example to the would be terrorists DON'T MESS WITH
INDIA, we have perfect chance, but what did we do, now even if he is
sentenced to death we can't kill him. Our Govt has played into their
hands, we are exactly what they want us to do in the name of Democracy
and Justice.
Why no body is thinking about the Human Rights of the Fallen, Maj Iyer
or his family. As Maj Iyer's father said he should be hanged from a
lamp post.
Agree (6)
Disagree (1)
Sunil says:
November 25, 2009 at 09:54 AM IST
Why are we trying to become the laughing stock of the world!!! Why on
earth are we trying to provide justice (read as save) someone who
brought so much injustice to such brave sons of the soil as ATC chief
Hemant Karkare and Major Unnikrishnan. What are we trying to achieve.
If all Indian courts want is a precedent for such a case, please dont
look beyond how know-it-all Uncle Sam treated Saddam Hussein. Why are
we even thinking on the lines of not making an example out of him for
all terrorists? Are we a soft state.. answer for the time being is
YES!!! Shame on us ... !!!!
Agree (1)
Adsi says:
November 25, 2009 at 10:20 AM IST
This is the law of our land, "Innocent until proven guilty"
so no wonder he is being pampered. Even when you have had video
evidence, eye witness forensics etc etc.. Learn to live with
this..Y.M.I
Jai Hind
Agree (3)
Snigdha Majumdar says:
November 25, 2009 at 10:43 AM IST
It is incredible how tolerant we as a nation is. Whenever there is
blood being shed in our country by rogues from neighbouring countries,
the press, the law-makers and law-keepers, the police, the CBI and all
the rest of the stakeholders get engulfed in a load of bureaucratic
mumbo jumbo that we completely miss the point....justice. where is
justice? why do we need proof from Pakistan that Kasab is a
Pakistani?? Isn't he from some remote village of Pakistan? Wasn't he
born and raised there? That he has killed innocent Indians being a
Pakistani is enough to execute him. Why is he being treated as a
seperate entity from Pakistan. Do we consider ourselves as individuals
seperate from our nation. Is this the message that we are giving out
to the world? His own country is not ready to take on his
responsibility and the fact that the whole point of this mission was
to "kill, be killed and become famous" should be reason
enough to give him the third degree. Why are we so tolerant????? Ever
since 9/11 has happened, US treats every Asian with equal disrespect,
thousands of innocent people were tortured to just reach the bottom of
the matter and even now, there's no end to it. We consider ourselves
to be a developing nation striving to become a developed one. Then why
can't we start acting like one, to start with?....Lives were lost.
Families were destroyed....where is the justice? Answers anyone???
Agree (2)
vivek singh says:
November 25, 2009 at 10:57 AM IST
If I can recall correctly, he had already admitted his crime once and
above all there are video footages, 100s of witnesses, I am just
wondering why is the trial still going on. Is it not supposed to have
ended with his admittance and sentence handed over immediately, or is
the case that court has a minimum timeline set (not constitutionally
but covertly in their minds) that a trial can't be finished before it
Agree (4)
naresh sharma says:
November 25, 2009 at 11:38 AM IST
kasab trial will be going on for a long time until people forget who's
kasab.this is the true picture of our criminal justice system.our
justice system is like that liberhan took seventeen year for the event
which took place in less than 12 hours and this event was going on for
72 hours you can well imagine how much years need.
Agree (4)
Harsh says:
November 25, 2009 at 11:57 AM IST
Ajmal Kasab is an effect of fundamentalism where GOD gives license to
the rich and influential of mental, physical and economical
exploitation of poor. Unless and until whole humanity curbs this
fundamentalism, there will be lots of Ajmal ready to die for money.
Agree (7)
Goutam Hegde says:
November 25, 2009 at 12:11 PM IST
Great article.
I have been wondering about one point from the day Kasab had been
caught for his heinous crime of killing innocent people that, why a
terrorist should have a defence lawyer at all??? defend himself
against the crime that he has committed?? do we really need any
defence lawyer despite being caught on camera as a solid proof for
killing people ?? On what point the country expects terrorists to
defend themselves? Really shame on us and the trial still continues
this is what India's gift of peace to all the terrorists and terror
supporting nations.
Agree (1)
Dipanjan says:
November 25, 2009 at 12:11 PM IST
Shame on us ...we are being projected as a soft state. Kasab should be
stoned to death.
rs says:
November 25, 2009 at 02:02 PM IST
We as indian always blame the existing system rather then correcting
it.without know the actual facts and conquencies of anyhting may
results in accuses.In Kasab casehe is not only the cluprit to plan
this henious crime but there are so many people involved to execute
this crime.Well Kasab
is the only who can disclose the hidden thing to reach the actual
cluprit of the case.I gree that he shold be hanged but there are so
many things and clues can be achived during the trial of the case .And
as we have fully faith in our judiciary system and it is not run by on
person but it is system which run with the integartion of various
compenents.
kashi mallya says:
November 25, 2009 at 02:08 PM IST
Once again we can only beat our chests and say-Shame on INCREDIBLE
INDIA!!
amit singh says:
November 25, 2009 at 02:15 PM IST
there is some link between indian intelligence and insurgency in
baloachistan. there is a man (dont know his name) in pakistani prison
involved in bomb blast just like kasab and his family made huge
efforts for his release.he is still alive like kasab .our govt. is
doing the same in afghanistan by acting against pashtuns(taliban) who
are in majority there (47-50). we should stop accusing abd abusing
islam otherwise that day is not far when we will have people like
kasab from algeria , egypt, iran, bosnia, libya , khazakhistan, saudi,
iraq ,uzbekistan, libya,etc etc fighting us because religious
sentiments can be easily exploited. better target pakistan and china
responsible for insurgency in some areas.
Manish Mailk says:
November 25, 2009 at 02:54 PM IST
do we really need that law which is unable to prosecute a man whom the
whole nation of over 120 crores people saw on camera , firing at our
people?
its really a lot more than just being shameful.
Disagree (1)
Manuj Keshari says:
November 25, 2009 at 03:05 PM IST
the more we discuss Kasab and 26/11, the more we simply help the
terrorists become famous, which as noted in the blog also, had always
been one of their aims ... the ultimate aim of any act of terrorism is
to put fear in common man's heart ... and the more we publicize it (by
showing repeated telecasts of the footage or writing blogs on him) the
more the terrorists gain out of it ... so have to agree with the
following TOI blog by Pritish Nandy :: (http://
blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/extraordinaryissue/entry/let-s-stop-
jabbering-about) ... also, i dont find much importance of discussing
such issues coz we all very well know the weaknesses of the govt
machinery, its vote bank politics, etc etc and our blabbering
something here is not gng to change the system ... forget Kasab, what
hv we done to punish Afzal Guru (i seriously dread the possibility as
mentioned in the 3rd comment by Abhishek ... a mercy petition to
president for Kasab) ..
and @ SB: shouldn't the video footage and his confession be enough for
us to decide that he does not, atleast, deserve the VVIP treatment in
our jails (chicken biryani, showing him Big B movies, etc) ...
Sujatha says:
November 25, 2009 at 03:13 PM IST
It would have been better if Kasab had been killed in the encounter
like the others, as he has not revealed anything of importance. It is
obvious he is just a foot soldier. In the last one year, the
government has wasted so much money in keeping him alive. If we want
to show the terrorists we mean business, then put Kasab's case on a
fast track and send him to the gallows. He only deserves death. Kasab
is making a mockery of our judiciary and doubt if even our home grown
terrorists are being taught a lesson with this episode.
Surinder Garg says:
November 25, 2009 at 03:25 PM IST
At the time Kasab was doing the killing, 107 police men and about 20
officers were on duty on Railway Station and Police Control room was
just a few meters away. These guys were killing for more than 2 hours.
Why such inefficient govt servants should not be dismissed.
Everything in the govt is slow unless somebody pays rishwat. Indian
Govt is a white elephant which needs 20 times more money and the
quality of product it delivers in terms of service is always sub
standard.
You can compare the govt to a toilet which is always smelling and
dirty but which is essential part of the house.
Prem Nizar Hameed says:
November 25, 2009 at 03:55 PM IST
The misguided souls who fell sympathy for the terrorists because they
claim to champion causes dear to Muslims must learn from the
experience of these past years that terrorists will never achieve any
goal. History is witness that they suffer humiliating setbacks. That
was inevitable because what they set out to do is create fear. That
rouses public anger, which no force on earth can defeat. So, by all
means, there is no time for petty spites or classification of
terrorism. It is wrong to argue that there is good terrorism and bad
terrorism and that it is OK for one party to indulge in it while it is
immoral for another. There should be no lukewarm attitude toward such
crimes. Every one must condemn in no uncertain terms the heinous
crimes that holders of Muslim names commit in the name of Islam. Evil
will not go away by itself; it has to be driven away by iron fist.
Ajmal Kasab is not a simple thief who has stolen a loaf of bread for
his starving child. He does not deserve any clemency which an ordinary
criminal deserves for a circumstantial mistake. People around the
world have to still get over the shock of his killing spree. So do not
waste our time and money for this mockery. We have substantial public
evidence to punish him.
Agree (2)
simplysuperb says:
November 25, 2009 at 05:04 PM IST
Nicely written. This person must be hanged to death without a thought.
We are only proloinging this case to the extent that the world is
laughing at our judiciary. We need to set an example for others to be
dettered by such crime.
Agree (2)
suzy says:
November 25, 2009 at 05:07 PM IST
Good blog, very truly said...but the unfortunate part is someone needs
to write a blog on one of the premium newspapers website to highlight
such an obvious thing. We all have seen what Kasab did, in fact the
whole world knows it, except our court...ashamed...I was just
thinking, u never know the way some "netas" are trying to
show Mumbai as part of outside India...who knows one day some party
from some corner of India might give a ticket for Kasab for election
and we might see there is a debate going on in the pirlament whether
it should be allowed..foooo..hight of democratic right...and there
would be many blogs and media coverage same like today...
INDIA says:
November 25, 2009 at 05:33 PM IST
Obviously if the same scenario continues we will have more kasabs in
our country and the next city would be our's...
Agree (1)
Kaustubh says:
November 25, 2009 at 06:26 PM IST
What does our system mean by a "Free and fair trial"?? It
ideally means a chance offered to a convict to have his say, and avoid
a judgement error, in case there is a chance of any. Was there really
a "chance of judgement error" in Kasab's case???
I agree with the last statement that "This is all
drama"..just to make the global political echelon believe that we
Indians are fair enough to digest even the worst of terrorism,
thinking it to be a nightmare.
Why were his stupid demands (of perfume, Biryani, etc.) being
entertained, especially after what he had done. Does the court want to
potray Kasab as an "Innocent victim to a larger barbaric
interest" and want to give justice to him?? Oh boy, no one needs
to be explicitly taught that hurting a person, or killing a person is
a crime.
Our judicial system accepting his demands and offering him what he
asks for is an insult to all those who were martyred while saving
Mumbai last year. The whole world has nothing but to mock at this
stupid Indian judicial system :)
And the last thing- Justice delayed is justice denied...
About Author
Anshul Chaturvedi doesn't quite know how to sum up stuff about himself
in a couple of lines, not smartly enough at least, so he isn't trying,
either. Hopefully, you'll figure it out as you go along. He's shy of
being tagged - he doesn't admit to 'belong to' any place or mindset
easily, and hopes he hasn't been typecast at work either - yet! He
attempts to scrutinise high society and the glam world from the
vantage point that his current job as the Delhi Times editor gives
him. Personally, he spends time reading through the likes of
Vivekananda, Iacocca and Covey, watching cricket, and consuming
everything on WW II that he can find. He's a sort of a contrarian
('nonconformist' is overworked, na?). He likes to explore how managers
can be monks. How things that are socially correct can be personally
incorrect. How unlearning is often more relevant than learning. Being
a 'philosopher' isn't his cup of tea, but he pleads guilty to
philosophising on random issues - sometimes. As will his blog!
Sid Harth
MUMBAI, November 25, 2009
Mumbai now has a smart anti-terror force
Meena Menon
The Hindu Force One commandos demonstrate their skills during the
Passing Out Parade of the first batch of 216 in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Photo: Vivek Bendre
With this mock drill, just two days before the first anniversary of
26/11, Mumbai’s brand new anti-terror outfit, Force One, was
introduced to a gathering of media and police officers
The serenity of the sylvan State Reserve Police Force grounds in
Goregaon is shattered by furious gunshots. Commandos clad in midnight
blue and armed with MP5 submachine guns take positions behind a mock
room.
Suddenly a youth with a backpack comes out of one of these “rooms,”
screaming ‘surrender.’ As the commandos close in on him, he takes out
a knife, but is overpowered.
With this mock drill, just two days before the first anniversary of
26/11, Mumbai’s brand new anti-terror outfit, Force One, was
introduced to a gathering of media and police officers, apart from
Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and his deputies on Tuesday.
Stone laid for headquarters
Necessity is the mother of invention, Mr. Chavan said after laying the
foundation stone for the Force One headquarters to be spread over 96
acres.
Of over 3,000 applications received from the State’s policemen, 500
were selected after a rigorous process, says Deputy Inspector-General
S. Jagannathan, Commander of Force One.
After six months’ training, 216 commandos made the grade. Trained on
the lines of the National Security Guard (NSG), they need only three
seconds to draw out a revolver, cock it and fire six bullets.
“The commandos practised day and night till their fingers bled,” he
says.
Force One, trained in the use of sophisticated arms and explosives,
demonstrated its rapid shooting skills. While the NSG has a regional
hub in Mumbai, Force One is expected to be part of the initial
response to a terror strike.
“We are ready to act and defuse a situation created by a terror
strike,” Mr. Jagannathan avers.
Trainers from abroad have helped Force One and the Quick Response Team
(QRT) attain a high level of preparedness.
Force One takes 15 minutes to get ready and respond to a terror
strike. It has an array of AK-47s, MP5 and Glock pistols, apart from
shotguns, underbarrel grenade launchers, breeching equipment and
explosives at its disposal.
The 216 jawans have been trained in Pune, apart from the College of
Military Engineering and the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory
of the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
Post-26/11, the government has pumped in over Rs.126 crore to upgrade
equipment, train personnel and set up Force One, apart from expanding
the QRTs. This year the budget could be about Rs.102 crore.
Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Chandra Iyengar says everything has
changed after 26/11, especially strategic thinking. There is an
understanding that you need a specialised force to tackle terror, she
says.
There are 39 assault teams, one in each division equipped with AK-47s,
9mm carbines and other equipment, which will be the first to respond
to a terror attack.
The QRTs will be the second line of response with their sophisticated
arms. Mumbai alone has about 1,500 trained personnel. Force One will
come in next.
Coastal security has also been upped with 12 police stations along the
shore and the introduction of “Sealegs,” an amphibian vehicle. Eight
boats have already arrived from the Goa Shipyard and 29 have been
ordered, Ms. Iyengar says.
There are 30 private trawlers helping the police, and fishermen have
also been given SIM cards to keep in touch with the police.
About 30,000 identity cards have been issued to fishermen, it is
learnt.
In terms of intelligence, which was said to be a major lapse during
the November 26 strike, there have been systematic attempts to upgrade
it and 345 new recruits have been taken on to bolster the department.
There was much criticism that the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
were not followed and the Ram Pradhan Committee criticised some of the
police and government responses. However, the government has not made
the report public.
Compared to last year, certain things have changed — the government is
no longer scrimping on money for security and there seems to be a
system in place.
Home Minister R.R. Patil announced on Tuesday that the expenses for
security would be part of the State’s development spending.
Can all this guarantee the safety of the average citizen? Police
Commissioner D. Sivanandhan is absolutely confident that it can.
“We have the mental courage, the morale of the force is high and we
have all kinds of new equipment and highly trained personnel.”
From bulletproof jeeps and boats to state-of-the-art weapons, QRTs, an
NSG hub, a refurbished bomb squad, 39 combat vehicles with 586 men,
and amphibians, apart from 500 new beat marshals, an alert citizen
hotline, a coastal security unit — the list is endless.
“The new Standard Operating Procedure has been tested a few times and
the 43,000 officers and men of Mumbai are ready for anything,” the
Commissioner points out. “Our response from now will be well rehearsed
and better calibrated.”
Well, Mumbai certainly hopes so!
Sid Harth
NEW DELHI, November 25, 2009
Government recounts steps after 26/11
Vinay Kumar
On the eve of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the Union government
said on Wednesday that the challenge faced by India today was from
terrorist organisations that were not only equipped with the latest
technologies and have immense access to funds, but were having active
backing of various external agencies.
“The focus of terrorists has also changed. Their targets are spatially
spreading beyond the Kashmir Valley to the hinterland with the dual
purpose of disturbing the communal harmony and destabilising the
economic prosperity of our country,” the Home Ministry said in a
statement.
Stressing that the country was totally committed to a comprehensive
approach to tackle terrorism and put in sustained intensive efforts to
end this menace, it outlined a number of measures taken in the post
26/11 scenario to deal with various facets of terrorism.
The Ministry said that taking cognizance of the fact that “actionable
intelligence” was the key to foil terror attacks, Mr. Chidambaram took
the first step soon after taking over after 26/11 by strengthening the
Intelligence Bureau (IB). He also galvanized and reorganised the Multi-
Agency Centre (MAC) in the IB to enable it to function on 24X7 basis.
The MAC was also obliged to share intelligence with all other
agencies, including agencies of the State governments and Union
Territories. An online, dedicated and secured connectivity between all
the designated members of the MAC, between the MAC and the Subsidiary
Multi-Agency Centres (SMACs) in 30 key locations across the country
was also being established.
The National Security Guards (NSG), whose commandos battled the
terrorists in Mumbai last November, now have four NSG hubs – each with
an operational strength of around 250 personnel – in Hyderabad,
Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. The government had decided to set up two
regional centres of the NSG in Hyderabad and Kolkata, to enable quick
response to terror attacks.
As many as 20 temporary Counter-Insurgency and Anti-Terrorism Schools
were being set up during the 11th Plan period. Four such schools each
would be set up in Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa so
as to provide training to police personnel of these States to tackle
the naxal menace, the statement said.
Following 26/11, coastal security was also reviewed at various levels.
Under the ongoing Coastal Security Scheme, 64 out of 73 coastal police
stations were operationalised. Coastal States and Union Territories
were also given 47 interceptor boats so far. It would go up to 126 by
March 2010.
As many as 79 new battalions of the Central Para-Military Forces were
sanctioned since 2004-05 and a proposal for raising 38 additional
battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force, including two
battalions of women personnel, was recently approved by the Cabinet
Committee on Security. Out of these, 38 battalions, three would be
raised in 2009-10.
The ceiling with regard to the strength of the Central Industrial
Security Force, which guards airports and public sector units, was
enhanced to 1,45,000 from 93,521 in 2005.
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was amended and notified on
December 31 last year to reinforce the legal and punitive provisions
of law to combat terrorism with greater focus and for strengthening of
provisions relating to financing of terrorism, bail, power to call for
information.
A Model Police Act, drafted by an expert committee in 2006, which
provided for well defined duties and responsiveness and sensitivity of
the police towards public and accountability to rule of law was sent
to the States for consideration. Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Gujarat,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu,
Tripura and Uttarakhand either framed New Police Acts or amended the
existing ones.
The National Police Mission was also set up with the aim of equipping
the police to think creatively and help it transform itself from a
reactive to a proactive organisation.
Noting that the number of incidents of violence in Jammu and Kashmir
had gone down considerably, the Home Ministry said that a large number
of infiltration attempts by terrorists from across the border were
foiled by security forces and 212 terrorists killed this year till
October.