Indian Terror Alert

India Maoists 'spread to north-east states'

2011-11-22T21:00:00.001-08:00

By Amitabha Bhattasali BBC News, Calcutta

The Maoists are being squeezed in their traditional central heartland
India's Maoists have spread north-east, gaining a foothold in the strategically located states bordering China and Burma, officials and analysts say.
The Maoists are filling the void created by dwindling ethnic insurgent groups like the Ulfa, an Institute for Conflict Management (ICM) report says.
One key Assam official told the BBC that boys thought to have gone south for jobs had instead joined the rebels.
The Maoists have become squeezed in their traditional central states.
'Extortion letters'
The ICM, an Indian security think-tank, said the Communist Party of India (Maoist) (CPI-M) had made determined moves to replace the dwindling Ulfa, NSCN and PLA insurgent groups.
Deaths related to violence by these groups have been in steep decline and the organisations are being progressively marginalised.

India's Maoist Insurgency

Violent rebellion began in 1967 in West Bengal village of Naxalbari and spread over rural areas of central and eastern India
Led by elusive military commander Kishenji, supported by between 10,000 and 20,000 fighters
More than 6,000 killed since rebellion began
Bloodiest attacks on security forces include 76 killed in April 2010 ambush; 55 killed in 2007 attack on police post

The institute said the Maoist spread raised grave concerns within the security establishment.
Ajit Singh, author of the report, said the Maoists had come under tremendous pressure in their core areas of central and northern India.
They are short of arms and ammunition to fight the large number of security personnel ranged against them. The north-east provides a way to procure Chinese weapons.
Iftiqar Hussein, who administers five sensitive districts of Upper Assam, told the BBC officials had become aware of the Maoist build-up after arresting and interrogating young boys.
"The Maoist guerrillas are getting food and shelter in the area. There were several cases of arms-snatching. Even extortion letters were sent to some rich people," he said.
Intelligence officers say that many of the large number of young boys thought to be leaving to find jobs in southern states had in fact left their villages to join the Maoists.

Mr Hussein agreed, saying: "We have found out such a situation prevailing in an area called Sadia near the Arunachal Pradesh border."
Retired police officer, Subir Dutta, a specialist in Maoist and north-eastern affairs, told the BBC the Maoists had been trying to gain a foothold in the north-east for 20 years and appear to have now succeeded.
Maoist representation there, initially with the Maoist Communist Centre, which merged with the CPI in 2004 to form the CPI-M, had been dominated by ethnic insurgency movements.
But most of these have became marginalised or have begun negotiations with the government.
Ajit Singh said the Maoists had adopted the strategy of supporting mass movements, such as opposition to dams or support for the creation of new administrative districts.
The issues are local in nature but enjoy huge popular support.
Police say they have made a number of arrests of suspected Maoists involved in such movements.
Leaders of such campaigns in Assam insist they have no links to Maoists and say the government is trying crush their movements with the claims

Maoists’ West Bengal bandh today

2011-10-21T21:52:00.001-07:00

Jhargram: Security has been heightened across Junglemahal with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's seven-day deadline to Maoists for laying down arms coming to an end on Saturday and the ultras calling a 24-hour bandh in defiance.

Joint forces intensified patrol with some entering on motorcycles in interior areas in West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts, the forested areas of which are collectively known as ''Junglemahal'', police said.
Maoist posters have appeared at Lodhasuli market, Lalgarh and Belpahari in West Midnapore district calling for isolating the "anti-people" Trinamool Congress, its "boycott" and "defeat".
In some posters, the Maoists decried the recent suspension of some Indian Reserve Battalion personnel for going on hunger-strike in their camps in Junglemahal against prolonged posting in hazardous areas and the alleged apathy of superiors.

The posters also protested the rape of a housewife allegedly by the joint forces.
Trinamool Congress MP Subhendu Adhikary said the posters were a desperate attempt by the Maoists, who were isolated from the people.
PHED minister and Trinamool leader Subrata Mukherjee said in Kolkata that such posters would hinder the development process and restoration of peace in Junglemahal by the state government.

Tripura to step up counter insurgency operations

2011-10-21T21:50:00.001-07:00

Agartala: Counter insurgency operations would be intensified by the Tripura government following a notification by the Centre on link up of two insurgent groups with those outside the state, official sources said on Friday.

The banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) have established links with the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and Meitei extremist outfits of Manipur, they said.

"If there is no immediate curb and control of the NLFT and the ATTF, they will take the opportunity to mobilise their cadres for escalating secessionist, subversive and violent activities and indulge in killings of civilians and target police and security personnel," a gazette notification, dated October three, by the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

The state government extended the terms of the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) for another six months to deal effectively with the insurgent outfits, they said.

A total of 74 persons mostly tribals were kidnapped by the NLFT and ATTF, they said. Last year, 114 people were kidnapped by ultras and 121 in 2009.

Indian Army troops to get hi-tech shelters by 2012

2011-10-14T00:03:00.001-07:00

New Delhi: Several thousand Indian Army soldiers posted in rugged mountain terrain of Jammu and Kashmir along the borders with Pakistan and China will now be able to stay comfortably with the military commanders conferrence here deciding to provide them "plush" hi-tech shelters by 2012.

The move comes following the success of a pilot project with the modern, eco-friendly shelters that the army launched in 2010, according to officers in the army headquarters here Thursday. The army commanders conference, that began here Monday, concludes Friday. The project was launched after Defence Minister A.K. Antony's visit to the forward areas, when such a request was made by soldiers, who had to vacate their posts for six months during winter due to the inhospitable weather.
"The army commanders discussed the necessity to improve habitat in difficult areas. While there have been incremental efforts to improve the infrastructure along border areas, a pilot project was initiated for a quantum jump in improvement of habitat, which becomes the most important factor to boost the morale of all ranks," a defence ministry statement said.
The pilot project, implemented in posts at heights over 14,000 feet, had improved the satisfaction levels of troops deployed in difficult terrain and bad weather conditions in high altitude areas where the temperature dips to minus 50 degrees Celsius in winter.

The project involved construction of plush-looking, insulated shelters at various posts on the borders on "an incremental module" concept using technologies suitable to the terrain and weather conditions. "These hi-tech shelters will not only improve the living conditions of troops manifold, but will also have a direct bearing on the individual capacities to perform their tasks better, since terrain and weather impose severe restrictions on all ranks," the statement said.
The "light-weight, modular, pre-fabricated" shelters require minimum logistical and transportation efforts and are an apt answer to the climatic challenges that officers and soldiers face. In consonance with the armed forces efforts to go green, special emphasis has been laid in designing the shelters on incorporating appropriate active and passive measures for energy conservation. The special design also maximises sun light exposure and minimises heat loss to keep the troops warm under extreme cold temperatures.
In addition, various types of bio-digesters, sewage treatment plants, and composting toilets are being constructed to ensure better sewage disposal in extreme cold climatic conditions.
Source: IANS

RDX-laden car was headed to Delhi for terror strike: Police

2011-10-13T02:50:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI: Delhi police has said that the explosives-laden Tata Indica found at Ambala Cantonment railway station was headed to the national capital for a terror strike.

Five detonators, two timer devices, five kg explosives in two packets and two batteries were seized from the car lying parked outside the railway station.

Delhi Police said the explosives were meant for terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International, which had plans to target the national capital.

The police claimed that the explosives were being supplied by LeT to Babbar Khalsa International.

Bidanda Chengappa: A case for using air power against Maoists

2011-10-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

Bidanda Chengappa
India’s paramilitary forces, which until now had only nine helicopters for anti-Maoist operations, have been sanctioned six more Mi-17 helicopters by the Centre. The expanded fleet strength of helicopters will provide the paramilitary forces much needed agility in their ongoing battle against left-wing extremism, significantly reducing their vulnerability to ambushes while negotiating through jungles on foot or by motorised vehicles.

The nine helicopters presently deployed with the paramilitary forces are from the Indian Air force and the Border Security Force.

These include four Mi-17 choppers of the IAF stationed in Chhattisgarh, two each at Raipur and Jagdalpur, while out of the five ‘Dhruv’ Advanced Light Helicopters of the BSF, three are deployed at Raipur and two at Ranchi in Jharkhand.
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The cabinet committee on Security headed by the prime minister mandates that the IAF and BSF helicopters will be used only for air-mobile transportation and casualty evacuation and not for offensive action. The government in October-November 2009 permitted the IAF to defend itself from Maoist small arms fire and specified conditions for use of weapons in self-defence.

Consequently the IAF fitted sideward-mounted machine guns on its helicopters flying in Maoist-affected areas. The IAF ‘Garud’ commandos flying on-board these helicopters are trained to operate this weaponry. The IAF has drafted ‘Rules of Engagement’ to regulate such action, in order to avoid any ambiguity and damage to helicopters or injury to aircrew.

While helicopters fly the paramilitary or security forces to their target areas to ‘induct’ troops into operations and fly them back after their mission, these whirly birds are exposed for a few minutes to hostile fire while ‘landing’ or ‘taking off. To effectively thwart such hostile attempts to open fire the time-tested solution is to ‘secure’ and ‘sanitise’ the landing zone against such threats.

For instance, Maoists targeted Andhra Pradesh Police Greyhound commandos in 2008 while travelling on a motor-launch in a reservoir near the Andhra-Orissa border with rocket propelled grenades. Such threats need to be neutralised through effective intelligence inputs and avoid cases of rocket propelled grenades or shoulder fired missiles by Maoist groups that can successfully shoot down helicopters.

Officialdom’s rationale that the use of military force, in this case airpower, against one’s own citizens goes against principles of democracy is totally misplaced. Otherwise, how does one explain the use of the army in June 1984 against the late

Bhindranwale-led group of Sikh extremists holed up in the Golden Temple at Amritsar? If the government can choose to use the army to open fire against the Sikh extremists what prevents them from doing so by the Air Force against Maoists? The Union government used airpower in an offensive role as weapon platforms in the northeastern state of Mizoram when the separatist Mizo National Front almost overran the state. This refers to the IAF’s controversial use of fighter aircraft in Mizoram to bomb/strafe insurgent areas in March 1966.

Evidently the government’s decision to use air power to fight left-wing extremism implies a sense of helplessness against an elusive and hard-hitting foe. Now that New Delhi has opted to use helicopters it may as well use these rotary wing aircraft or helicopters, as weapons platforms against the Maoists. The advantages of airpower are primarily swift response, lower casualties, larger area of coverage, ease of access to hostile terrain, total destruction, day and night operations and lastly a psychological advantage against the foe.

The use of airpower against Maoists should prove to be a game changer in terms of a swift response by security forces. To that extent, the helicopter would now primarily be used as a transport platform for anti-Maoist operations and secondarily as a weapon platform only in the event the helicopter crew is compelled to open fire against the Maoists in self-defence.

Considering that the Maoists operate with stealth and surprise against security forces the only way to neutralise them is through ruthless use of airpower.

— The writer is a Visiting Fellow with the Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi

Maoists’ new plan to cripple Indian economy

2011-10-07T02:10:00.000-07:00

Dinesh Sharma

New Delhi: The Centre has warned all Naxal affected states to be alert against a plan by the Maoists to cripple India’s economy.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sent a letter to the Chief Secretaries and DGP's of 11 states warning them of the new strategy of CPI (Maoists) - infiltrate various infrastructure related ministries, departments and projects with cadre and sympathisers.

The letter, dated Oct 3, was sent to West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttarakhand.
Based on analysis of intelligence data collected by central intelligence agencies, the letter said that the CPI (Maoist), as part of the new strategy, is planning to target the surface transport and highways, shipping, railways, civil aviation, telecom and rural development.

While educated sympathisers will be used to take up office work or jobs with such ministries and departments, the uneducated cadre will be pumped into various ongoing infrastructure projects across the country.
This extremely dangerous strategy is being adopted by the CPI (Maoist) as they want to fill critical infrastructure areas with their cadres so that when the need arises they can stall work and cripple the Indian economy.

The MHA has advised all concerned states to conduct extensive verification drives to check background of all employees working with such crucial ministries/departments, besides ensuring that stringent mandatory checks are put in place for new appointments.

Moreover, all states have been asked to prepare a detailed list of suspicious persons to be sent to Multi Agency Centre (MACs) for further perusal.

Alarm bells ring as Maoists set up base in capital

2011-10-06T20:48:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: The arrests of three Maoist operatives from the city points towards the presence of a number of operatives in the city according to senior police officers and intelligence agencies. The cops said they are now investigating the existence of sleeper cells that are very much functional in the Capital. This comes after information that several Naxal leaders from Jharkhand and West Bengal have set up base in the metropolis as it is relatively easier to conceal one's identity in a big city.

"We have intercepted conversations between Naxal sympathizers in Delhi and operatives living in the jungles of Dankaranya. We know that besides gathering funds, some of these foot soldiers are now busy transporting drugs from Orissa and Jharkhand in trucks and express trains. We are now questioning some suspects in order to understand how much of this drug money is used to finance the Maoist cause,'' said a source.

Police sources said that Maoist operatives - hailing from Jharkhand - have been travelling to the borders of eastern UP and have been making frequent calls to Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and West Bengal. Among these, sources claim, information about six suspects is too strong "to be ignored. They have bases in Shakarpur and Punjabi Bagh.'' The fact that the suspects transported arms procured from both sides of the border also needs to be investigated further though the questioning of the two trainers arrested by special cell has thrown up many new leads. "Our team will discuss these aspects in detail once they reach Ranchi,'' said a source.

This is the first time that the police have developed inputs about Maoists once again developing their contacts in the city after the arrest of alleged Maoist ideologue Kobad Ghandy by the Delhi police special cell. "Maoists usually came here to gather funds for the movement and also to treat various medical conditions. They also try to use the intellectual support that they enjoy among a particular section of the middle class in the city to spread awareness about their movement. However of late, cops have found that the ideologues have been mixing with workers especially those who hail from Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand in the Azadpur and Shakarpur areas of north and northwest Delhi. These areas have a floating population and hence it is easy for them to hide themselves and try to spread their ideology,'' said a source.

Maoists have reportedly assigned one of their senior politburo members to liaison with north-east based insurgent outfits such as Peoples Liberation army of Manipur and Kanglaipak Communist Party (KCP) of Manipur. The latter keeps in direct contact with the Maoist party in Bangladesh which has formed NCOMPOSA, another forum to fight together.

Lt Gen Hasnain wins over Kashmiris

2011-10-03T23:39:00.001-07:00

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain

Winning hearts and minds in Kashmir

Lt. General Syed Ata Hasnain, AVSM, SM (BAR), VSM (BAR), is currently the only Muslim officer of his rank in the Indian Army. Since October, 2010, he has served as the General Officer Commanding of XV Corps in Kashmir. Lt Gen Hasnain, who became only second Muslim officer, after Lt Gen M K Zaki, to command 15 Corps in the past 20 years. Lt General Zaki was the last Muslim officer to command the 15 Corps, one of the three Corps in Jammu and Kashmir, since 1990.

India gives list of terror camps to Bangladesh

2011-09-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

Kolkata, Oct 1 : The Border Security Force (BSF) has given a list of terrorist camps operational in Bangladesh to its counterpart, the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), asking them to find and dismantle them, a top BSF officer said Friday.

"We have given the BGB a list of terrorist camps operational in Bangladesh and asked them to find and dismantle them. The terrorist groups which are proactive in the northeastern part of the country include The National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), The All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), The Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) and The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), among others," BSF Director General Raman Srivastava said here.

Srivastava returned to the city Friday after leading a 21-member delegation to Dhaka for the bi-annual conference with the BGB.

He said the BSF hoped to bring down the killing of unarmed Bangladeshi nationals across the border.

"One of the major issues discussed was the killings across the border. We have assured them and hope that we can bring down the figure to zero. After our personnel have been armed with non-lethal weapons, the killings have come down drastically."

Srivastava said the number of people killed by the BSF across border was 55 in 2009 which came down to 32 in 2010. In the current year, seven people have been killed so far.

However, the number of injuries to BSF personnel increased after they were armed with the non-lethal weapons.

"The criminals across the border are now emboldened as now they know the BSF would not kill them, so the injuries have increased. In 2010, 57 personnel were injured while in the current year, the number of injured is already 71. This surely is a matter of concern and we are looking into it," said Srivastava.

Joint patrolling of the border would soon materialise as the formalities have been completed, he added.

The BSF and the BGB man a 4,096 km border, of which 6.1 km has not been demarcated.

Helicopters to be deployed in Naxal affected areas, discloses Chidambaram

2011-09-30T22:40:00.001-07:00

New Delhi, Oct 1 : Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said here today that six MI-17 helicopters would be hired on wet lease for anti naxal operations.

He disclosed this here today while presenting the report card of the Ministry of Home Affairs for September 2011.

Chidambaram said that the Government of India is providing assistance to the Left Wing Extremist affected districts. Appropriate development scheme were discussed with the district collectors and CEOs of the LWE affected districts here on September 13.

Chidambaram disclosed that 57.59 crore was released to the States of Chhattisgarh (` 3.06 crore), Jharkhand (` 48.22 crore) and West Bengal (` 6.31 crore) as reimbursement towards the expenditure incurred by these States on anti-naxal operations under the SRE scheme for the year 2010-11

Home Minister disclosed that 100 crore was released to the LWE-affected States for the scheme of construction and strengthening of fortified police stations. A sum of ` 1.14 crore was sanctioned as assistance to 38 beneficiaries at the rate of ` 3 lakh each under the Central scheme of assistance to the victims of terrorist/communal/naxal violence,.

He said on September 20 ` 34.60 crore was reimbursed to the Government of Jammu & Kashmir under SRE scheme.

The three interlocutors visited Samba, Baramulla, Shopian and Kupwara in J&K during September 15-21 and interacted with a cross-section of the people including leaders, students and opinion makers. I am happy to report that the interlocutors have visited all the districts of J-K and are now preparing their final report," he added.

On north-east, he said: " On September 3 the first Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement was signed with the ULFA. Owing to the persistent efforts of Ministry of Home Affairs, the 4th & 5th phases of repatriation of Brus are under way during September 16-30 and October 11-25, 2011, respectively. A total of approximately 2000 Bru families are likely to be repatriated.

Talking about border management, he said: "India-Bangladesh Border: 12 kms of fencing and 17 kms of road works were completed in September, 2011 under phase II of the project. 13 kms of fencing were replaced in September, 2011 under phase III of the project. Poles for floodlighting were erected on a length of 20 kms and cables were laid on 20 kms stretch in September, 2011.

On coastal security, Chidambaram said: " On September 20 an amount of ` 8.78 crore was released to the coastal States/UTs for construction of Coastal Police Stations and Jetties.

He said in September, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams comprising 1601 personnel and 197 boats were deployed for emergency response and rescue operations in the flood-prone States of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. In addition, 243 NDRF personnel were deployed for various other search, relief and rescue operations in the States of Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

He further said in the aftermath of the earthquake in Sikkim, 10 teams comprising of 420 NDRF personnel with 14 dogs and equipment have been deployed for rescue and relief operations.

74 Bangla terrorists have shares in Indian markets

2011-09-27T22:38:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI, Sept 28 – Close on the heels of the reports of ULFA commander-in-chief, Paresh Barua investing huge sums in the neighbouring country, there are reports of over 74 notorious terror kingpins from Bangladesh currently in hiding here, investing millions of dollars in Indian stock markets.

In the season of allegations and counter-allegations, fresh reports suggest that Bangladeshi criminals and terror kingpins have made huge investments especially in West Bengal. These wanted criminals have allegedly bought properties in metros like Kolkata, besides investing in Kolkata and Mumbai stock exchanges.

Bangladesh media reports quoting intelligence sources for instance alleged that absconding criminal Rafiqul Islam Kajol and his close associates have bought shares of Apollo Tyres, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, Colgate Palmolive, Dabur India, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Maruti-Suzuki, Oriental Bank, Reliance Power and Siemens among others.

The total amount of investment made by this terror syndicate in purchasing shares of companies listed with Bombay Stock Exchange and most of the amounts of investment were transferred to India using the name of an expatriate Indian named Mishra, who currently lives in Hong Kong.

Another terror suspect Mollah Masud has allegedly bought large areas of agricultural and horticultural land in West Bengal.

Absconding Bangladeshi terrorist Prokash Kumar Bishwas, also is hiding in India for over two decades has reportedly invested Rs 64 million in shares of companies registered with Kolkata Stock Exchange, it was alleged.

The report names a number of individuals, all wanted criminals who have made huge investments in properties and business ventures in India.

Reports of Paresh Barua’s investments in business ventures in Bangladesh have led to sharp reactions in the country and the National Security Intelligence (NSI) is reportedly looking into the media reports, which also revived old corporate rivalry among three business conglomerates.

Will India need a new executioner?

2011-09-24T22:41:00.001-07:00

By: Andrew Buncombe
Date: 2011-09-25
Place: Mumbai

With an ease and fluidity that suggested considerable practice, Pawan Kumar picked up a rope and demonstrated how to tie a hangman's noose.

(Top): Activists of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) shout anti-
Indian slogans during a protest against the death sentence of Mohammad
Afzal Guru (below) in Srinagar. Afzal was convicted for his role in the
December 2001 attack on the Indian parliament. pic/AFP photo.
He showed precisely where the loop should be fitted to ensure things went quickly and smoothly. And finally he showed how, with a silent nod from the jailer, either he or his grandfather would ease back the lever controlling the trap-door and dispatch the condemned prisoner to his death.
"There is a lot of process that goes into getting the noose correct so that the person does not suffer," he said. "I know, because of my grandfather. He explained to me the science behind it."
India is in search of an executioner and Mr Kumar may be in the frame. The nation has long been in two minds about the death penalty, reserved only for "the rarest of rare" cases, and has not executed anyone for seven years. There are presently an estimated 350 prisoners on death row, each uncertain of his fate.
But amid growing pressure on the government to show it is being "tough" on security and following the recent rejection of mercy petitions of several death row inmates, there is the potential for half-a-dozen or so executions within a matter of months.
A pressing problem is the shortage of hangmen. When President Pratibha Patil announced in May she was rejecting the appeals of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar and Mahendra Nath Das, the prison authorities in Assam, where Das is held, admitted they retained no hangman and asked other jails across the country to lend them one. At Tihar jail in Delhi, where Bhullar is held, officials have also said they have no executioner and will have to borrow one.
"The last execution here was 22 years ago and for us to keep an executioner on the payroll" makes no sense, said the jail's legal officer, Sunil Gupta.
Mr Kumar is adamant he should be the man to fill the void. His grandfather and later his father were both retained by the authorities at Meerut jail as its official hangman.
Indeed, his grandfather was a celebrated executioner, he said; in 1989 it was he who hanged Satwant Singh, one of the two bodyguards who assassinated prime minister Indira Gandhi five years earlier. Following his father's death this spring, Mr Kumar applied for the position. So far, the 48-year-old has undergone two trial demonstrations.
Seated on a bench at his neat home two hours north-east of Delhi, Mr Kumar, who has seven children, said he had assisted his grandfather on a number of occasions and claimed to have even carried out one hanging by himself when his grandfather was unable to attend.
The first time he helped was the execution in 1992 of two brothers convicted of murder. "I tied the feet of the two men. My grandfather fitted the noose," he said. "After that first execution there was no emotional feeling. I was not frightened because I had wanted to do it since childhood."
Not everyone feels that way. The man who carried out India's most recent execution was Nata Mullick, who also hailed from a family of hangmen and who in 2004 put to death a man convicted of the rape and murder of a schoolgirl. Before he died last year, he said that he was haunted by the faces of the 25 people he had hanged.
After that last execution several people in West Bengal were reportedly strangled to death by accident, after Mr Mullick demonstrated for TV cameras how to tie a noose and triggered a wave of "pretend hangings". Mr Mullick's nephew was to have inherited the position but, having assisted at the 2004 hanging, found himself ill-suited. Now the opportunity has fallen to his son, Mahadeb Mullick, who has said he is unenthusiastic about taking on the role given the way "hangmen are used and discarded".
Others worry about bad karma and its possible impact on a future reincarnation. Some fear social exclusion. Another veteran hangman or "jallad", Amhadullah Khan, 58, from Lucknow, also doubts he will ever again work the gallows' lever. Speaking by phone, Mr Khan said somewhat angrily: "I don't want to speak to the media about the barbaric profession. I don't support capital punishment. I don't remember how many people I have hanged."
The first of a flurry of executions may take place in Tamil Nadu, where three men convicted of plotting the 1991 assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, the son of Indira Gandhi, were scheduled to have been hanged on September 9 until a court ordered a two-month stay. Jail officials have said a member of the prison staff will carry out the executions if they proceed.
Finding a hangman is not the only issue. In Tamil Nadu local politicians have passed a resolution calling for clemency for the men, Murugan, Chinna Santhan and Perarivalan, who have spent years on death row. The move has put considerable pressure on the ruling Congress Party.
There are similar issues surrounding the possible execution of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, who has always denied his role in a deadly 1993 bomb attack for which he was sentenced to death and whose supporters have fought a vociferous campaign for his freedom.
And in Kashmir, officials have warned that if the authorities proceed with the hanging of Afzal Guru, who was convicted of a 2001 attack on the Indian parliament but who maintains his innocence, there will be a serious backlash.
"Kashmir will erupt if he is hanged," the moderate separatist leader, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, told reporters. Yet there is also pressure on the government to show a strong hand on matters of security.
Amid allegations it has not done enough to prevent terror attacks, such as the bomb set off outside the Delhi high court last week killing more than a dozen people, the government seeks to project itself as being firm.
Following the conviction of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving member of the group of militants that attacked Mumbai in 2008, there was talk of a fast-track execution process but nothing has come of it so far.
As it is, the fear of further attacks has created a mood for revenge, admit campaigners against the death penalty.
"There has been increasing criticism from the opposition that the government is soft on terror, often citing the failure to hang those convicted for terrorism.
Unfortunately, a series of recent violent attacks have also led to public outrage and rather bloodthirsty demands for retribution," said Meenakshi Ganguly, of Human Rights Watch.
Pavan Kumar is happy to share the tricks of the trade. While some hangmen are said to have used clarified butter or crushed bananas to help work the noose, Mr Kumar says his family never did, and instead placed the loop inside an empty pitcher to help it retain its shape.
But if he is to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and father and secure the monthly retainer of 3,000 Indian rupees ((pounds sterling)40) it is the officials at Meerut jail he must impress.
Things have not gone entirely smoothly. Mr SK Kesarwani, superintendent of the white-washed prison that was at the centre of the 1857 uprising against British forces by Indian troops, declined a request to visit the prison's gallows where Mr Kumar recently tried to show his prowess by "executing" a 150 pound sack of sand.
But he played a video of Mr Kumar's performance on his mobile phone The footage showed Mr Kumar standing atop of a gallows set over a trap-door and checking the noose before releasing the lever.
The sack of sand thudded to the floor with the rope still slightly loose, indicating that had it been a real execution the prisoner would most likely not have been killed. He had misjudged the length of rope required, said Mr Kesarwarni. "The technicalities are [not correct]."
He himself has something of a reputation for progressive thinking at the prison, where there are two inmates on death row, and said that he was personally opposed to capital punishment.
However, he recognised it was something he had to prepare for. He admitted too, that given the scarcity of candidates for the position of hangman, he would be obliged to persist, at least for now, with Mr Kumar. "We don't have any options," he sighed. "That is why we are willing to give him another trial."

NIA denies reports on Delhi blast leads

2011-09-16T00:49:00.001-07:00

Terming the probe into the Sep 7 Delhi High Court blasts as "delicately poised", the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Thursday denied various news items regarding the case and appealed for an end to "speculative" reports.

In a press statement, NIA Director General S.C. Sinha termed all such reports as "speculative".
He also appealed for "caution" as such media reports are likely to cause "an irreparable damage" to the ongoing investigation.
According to sources, barring the arrest of two class 11 students of Kishtwar, who had reportedly sent the emails claiming responsibility for the terror attack, the NIA denied all other reports appearing in the media related to case.
News reports had also mentioned arrest of a teenager student from Jharkhand's Pakur district from Kolkata for sending two emails, threatening to carry out more attacks, including one on a shopping mall.
According to the reports, the two emails -- both in the name of Chotoo of the Indian Mujahideen --- were traced to the DAV school student's home after New Delhi approached the US for assistance.
However, earlier in the day, Jammu and Kashmir Police and NIA teams arrested two more people from Kishtwar town for their links to an email that claimed terror group Harkat-ul-Jehadi-Islami (HuJI) had triggered last week's Delhi High Court blast, sources said. An official said details of the case will be shared at an appropriate time.

The police sources said that the two -- Amir Abbas Dev and Hilal Asmin alias Hafiz -- were arrested on the basis of disclosure made by two Class 11 students of the town taken into custody Wednesday.
Police sources said that the disclosures made by the two students were being corroborated. "This is a big lead but no conclusions need to be drawn at this moment," an officer associated with the investigations told IANS.
Inspector General of Police, Jammu zone, Dilbag Singh said: "Relevant details of the case shall be shared with the media at appropriate time officially."
He said "speculative publication/telecasts are seriously hampering the investigation of the case and are not in the national interest".
The email claiming responsibility of the Sep 7 Delhi blast to the terrorist outfit originated from Kishtwar, 230 km from Jammu. Seven people were detained soon after the email was sent.
The email warned of more attacks if 2001 parliament attack convict, Afzal Guru, now on death row, was hanged. The blast killed 14 people and injured more than 90.
Source: IANS

U.S. designates Indian Mujahideen as a terrorist outfit

2011-09-15T09:43:00.001-07:00

Washington, Sep 15 : The U.S. on Thursday slapped sanctions on India-based terrorist group Indian Mujahideen (IM) by designating it as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and said it has significant links with Pakistan-based groups like the LeT.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton slapped sanctions on the organisation. The State Department said IM maintains close ties to other U.S.-designated terrorist entities including Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Harkat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HuJI).

“IM’s stated goal is to carry out terrorist actions against non-Muslims in furtherance of its ultimate objective — an Islamic Caliphate across South Asia,” it said.

IM is responsible for dozens of bomb attacks throughout India since 2005, and has caused the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians.

“These designations highlight the threat posed by IM not only to Western interests, but to India, a close U.S. partner. The Indian populace has borne the brunt of IM’s wanton violence and today’s actions illustrate our solidarity with the Indian Government,” stated Daniel Benjamin, the Department of State’s Coordinator for Counter terrorism.

These designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to abandon terrorism.

The State Department said, IM’s primary method of attack is multiple coordinated bombings in crowded areas against economic and civilian targets to maximise terror and casualties.

China dares again, dismantles Indian bunkers

2011-09-14T04:53:00.001-07:00

Leh: Chinese troops are reported to have entered into Indian territory and destroyed some old Army bunkers and tents in Chumar division of Nyoma sector, about 300 kilometres from here.

While some reports suggested that the Chinese troops in helicopters entered one-and-a-half kilometres into Indian airspace, other reports said that the helicopters landed in Chinese territory and then the troops marched into the area to dismantle the bunkers, a move aimed at displaying that the area belonged to them.

The Army denied that any such incident had taken place. But sources in the know said that two Chinese helicopters had entered into air space and landed one-and-half kilometres into the Indian territory at Chumar in Chingthang area of Tehsil Nyoma.

The Chinese troops attempted to dismantle an old army bunker, which was not used by the troops for long, the sources said.
Another version quoted to eyewitnesses, who are often the grazers, said that Chinese helicopters landed near the Line of Actual Control and then marched in to destroy old bunkers of the army and tents of ITBP.

A report in this regard has been sent by the state government officials to their headquarters.

Udhampur-based Northern Command Army Spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said there was no such report of helicopter landing or destruction of bunkers. However, senior Army officials said that Chumar was an area were the LAC was not clearly demarcated and there was always a difference of perception in the area.
Chinese troops had in July 2009 entered nearly 1.5 KM into Indian territory near Mount Gya, recognised as international border by India and China, and painted the boulders and rocks with red spray paint.

The incursions were reported from the area, generally referred in the Chumar sector in east of Leh, and painted "China" in Cantonese with Red spray paint all over the boulders and rocks.

On June 21 in 2009, a Chinese helicopter had entered the Indian airspace and is reported to have air-dropped canned food again at Chumar, which is northeast of Leh in Jammu and Kashmir.

PM for integrated development in Maoist areas

2011-09-13T21:19:00.001-07:00

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday called for "integrated action" in Maoist areas towards "sustainable development for all".

"Development in Naxal areas must be in tune with the need of the local people," the prime minister said, addressing 60 district collectors of Maoist affected areas.
Highlighting "lack of security" as a "big constraint" in pushing development plans, Manmohan Singh said the government must provide security to those dealing with the cash component of the development schemes.
"Post offices and bank branches can be operated from the police stations," said the prime minister.
Stating that the challenge before the Planning Commission and the rural development ministry was to make the best use of the resources available, the prime minister stressed on better "monitoring" systems for the development schemes.
He said the feedback of the local administrators was crucial in the 12th Five Year Plan.
The prime minister said the challenge was how panchayati raj institutions can become a genuine instrument in rural development.

13th again: Terror alert across the country

2011-09-13T01:03:00.001-07:00

New Delhi: A high alert has been sounded across major cities in the country on Tuesday in view of the heightened threat perception of a terror attack.

In an email sent to television channels on September 8, Indian Mujahideen, that was held responsible for the 2008 blast, claimed responsibility for the blast on September 7 and warned of a similar attack on "a shopping complex" on September 13, Tuesday.

Moreover, today is the third anniversary of the 2008 serial blasts in Delhi that killed 25 people and injured a 100.

Not willing to take any chances, over 20,000 police personal have been deployed all across Delhi today and 20 companies of central paramilitary forces have been kept on standby.

Extra security personnel have been deployed at sensitive places including, shopping malls, Metro stations, railway stations, airport and markets.

Police in NCR towns such as Noida and Gurgaon that have a high concentration of malls are also on high alert.

In Mumbai too increased vigil is being maintained. Union Home minister P Chidambaram had, yesterday, held discussions with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and home minister RR Patil over the security scenario in the city as well as in the entire state.
Chidambaram and also held a meeting with the Mumbai Police Commissioner and Maharashtra ATS chief over the situation as well as the progress in the probe into the July 13 serial blasts in the city that had left 21 dead and over 100 injured.

Meanwhile, as per a media report, the Intelligence Bureau has issued a warning of a possible terror strike at the Chatrapti Shivaji International Airport.

Gujarat Police is on tenterhooks over the possibility of a terror strike. The threat level is very high this time around in view of intelligence reports that three terrorists have sneaked into the state and are planning a strike.

As a precautionary measure, all vehicles entering the state are being thoroughly checked, besides deployment of police personal at all sensitive locations.

Increased vigil is also being maintained at other cities like Kolkata, Patna, Hyderabad, Banglore, Chennai, and Kochi among others.

Terror threat to Mumbai airport: Reports

2011-09-12T23:57:00.001-07:00

The security at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji airport has been tightened following an alert sent by central agencies of a possible attack by a small aircraft. Further details are awaited.

The entire nation and especially the NCR cities are on high alert today, the third anniversary of September 13, 2008 when blasts had killed over 20 in the national capital.

Powerful blast outside Delhi high court; 9 killed, at least 30 injured

2011-09-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

Explosion outside Delhi High Court, many injured

NEW DELHI: 9 people were killed and at least 27 others injured in a powerful blast outside Delhi high court gate number 5 on Wednesday morning.
Home ministry official UK Bansal told reporters that "as of now we have leant that four people ... are dead". He said the explosives appeared to have been kept in a briefcase. The blast took place at around 10.15 am.

The injured have been taken to AIIMS, RML and Safdarjung hospitals. The Delhi Police have cordoned off the area, not far from Parliament and the Prime Minister's Office. Fire tenders have been rushed to the spot.

Court business is usually heavy on Wednesday which is listed as a Public Interest Litation day when the visitors come to the court in large numbers.

The blast was the second explosion at the high court this year. On May 25, a small explosion that appeared to be a failed car bomb hit the court parking lot.
More details are awaited.

Chinese warship confronted Indian Navy vessel: Report

2011-09-02T01:02:00.001-07:00

London: A Chinese warship confronted an Indian naval vessel shortly after it left Vietnamese waters in late July in the first such reported encounter between the navies of the two countries in the disputed South China Sea.

The unidentified Chinese warship demanded that the India's INS Airawat, an amphibious assault vessel identify itself and explain its presence in the South China Sea, Britain's Financial Times newspaper reported.
The London-based paper said that the Indian warship was in international waters after completing a scheduled port call in Vietnam.It termed the actions of the Chinese warship as the latest example of Beijing's assertiveness which had irked India and Vietnam.
China claims the South China Sea in its entirety and rejects claims by other nations like Vietnam and Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan over the resource rich region.

The paper said that the Vietnamese foreign ministry has acknowledged that the Indian warship had visited the country from July 19-22 but added that it had no information about the incident. The Financial Times said, that Chinese defence and foreign ministries declined to comment as did India.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently condemned acts of intimidation in the international waters in an apparent reference to mounting tensions in the South China Sea.
A Pentagon report last week had said China was rapidly building up its surface and underwater naval capabilities as it places growing priority on securing shipping lanes and mineral rich areas in South China Sea.
Source: PTI

In a first, BSF deploys marine battalion in Arabian sea

2011-09-01T22:50:00.001-07:00

JAISALMER: In view of threat to security along the shores, the BSF will deploy its newly formed marine battalion in the Arabian sea for the first time. For now, the BSF has been given the responsibility of guarding 82 km, from Medi to Jakhau in Gujarat. It was approved in the cabinet secretary level meeting. Terrorists across the international border adjoining Jammu are constantly trying to enter into India. But BSF,s vigil has kept the trespassers away, BSF director general Raman Shrivastava said.

The DG said that the BSF water wing has been constituted to guard Sundarbani, creek . In regard to deployment of the BSF in the naxalite area, he said that ten BSF reserve battalions have been deployed there and five at Balakar and Kotfu. These battalions were specially trained for jungle warfare for three to five months.

The situation is under control at these areas. The markets are opening up and buses and taxis have started plying, people are coming out of their homes for work and recreation. Development works have been resumed. When asked about the deployment of BSF at the Burma Border instead of Assam Rifles, Shrivastava said the proposal is yet to be passed by the Prime Minister; it has cleared the cabinet secretary and home ministry levels. Terrorists usually try to enter India through LOC adjoining Jammu and Kashmir but up on failing they use the international border.

It has become a launch pad for terrorists. But, BSF has stepped up security there preventing any terrorists from entering in the past year. He added that we have good relations with the Bangladesh Security Forces and our Prime Minister will be soon visiting Bangladesh to resolve issues. He further said that facilities for jawans are increasing. They will get six hours to sleep and weekly offs too. It will not affect operation duty.

Apart from this, modern facilities for jawans like housing are being planned. Shrivastava arrived in Jaisalmer along with his wife in a special BSF plane, he was received by Rajasthan frontier inspector general KL Meena, IDG BR Meghwal, sector north, Jaisalmer. After arriving here, the DG headed to the Tanot border in a helicopter, where 62nd Battalion commandant Kulwant Sharma welcomed him. During his stay there, he offered prayers for peace at the Tanot Mateshwari temple. He met the jawans, motivated them and sought officers' feedback. Later, he inaugurated barracks for jawans at the SSB campus and the administration block at in Dabla. He left for Jodhpur at four in the afternoon.

New strike corps for China border

2011-08-24T02:12:00.001-07:00

New Delhi: In 2009, New Delhi acted decisively in sanctioning two new army divisions, about 35,000 troops, to strengthen Indian defences in Arunachal, which China claims as a part of Tibet. It can now be revealed that New Delhi has also sanctioned a new mountain strike corps, of an additional 40,000 soldiers, to be permanently located in bases in northeast India. The new corps is to retaliate against any major Chinese ingress into India by launching an offensive into Tibet.

For decades after India's humiliation at the hands of China in 1962, New Delhi shrank from a robust defence posture on the Sino-Indian Line of Actual Control (LAC), fearing it might provoke China. In the aftermath of 1962, through the 1960s and 1970s, the Indian Army stayed away from the border, remaining behind a self-imposed 'Limit of Patrolling (LoP)'. In the 1980s, the army returned to the LAC, but remained entirely defensive in outlook. The sanctioning of a strike corps, therefore, signals a dramatic new assertiveness in New Delhi.
Business Standard has been aware of this development since 2009, but has refrained from reporting on it after requests from top Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials. Now, with the outlines of this development emerging in the media, Business Standard no longer feels bound by confidentiality.
The new mountain strike corps will control two divisions, trained and equipped for an attack into Tibet. If China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) captures any Indian territory, by quickly concentrating an attacking force over Tibet's impressive road network, the Indian Army would not be forced into bloody, Kargil-style counterattacks to recapture that territory.

Instead, the new strike corps would launch its own riposte, advancing into Tibet and capturing a vulnerable chunk of Chinese territory, e.g. the Chumbi Valley that projects into Sikkim and Bhutan. Several such objectives would be identified in advance and detailed preparations made for the offensives. The new strike corps will have its own mountain artillery, combat engineers, anti-aircraft guns and radio equipment. It would also be supported by Indian Air Force (IAF) fighters, operating from newly renovated bases in northeastern India. On July 26, the then IAF chief confirmed that Sukhoi-30 fighters had already been posted to air bases at Tezpur and Chhabua.
On June 25, he told NDTV that Jorhat, Guwahati, Mohanbari, Bagdogra and Hashimara were also being developed as air bases. The IAF is also modernising eight ALGs (Advanced Landing Grounds), essential for quickly building up and resupplying a strike corps. These bases would also be crucial for airborne operations, especially heli-lifting forces to key objectives behind the enemy frontlines.
The proposal to raise two additional divisions for the defence of Arunachal Pradesh, as well as a strike corps, dates back to 2007. It began as a decision of the China Study Group, a secretive government body that considers all strategic issues relating to China. Thereafter, the army's Directorate General of Military Operations (DGMO) prepared a cabinet note. The decision to raise the additional divisions was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on May 14, 2009.

This was the last major decision taken by the UPA government before the elections of 2009. It was rushed through because top UPA leaders felt if the UPA were not re-elected, the new government would begin the decision-making process afresh, losing another two years. To manage the expenses, it was decided the two defensive mountain divisions would first be raised during the 11th army plan (2007-2012). Next, the strike corps, including its two mountain divisions, would be raised during the 12th Defence Plan (2012-2017). The cost of raising a new Indian Army mountain division is estimated to be Rs 700 crore.
The 4,057-km LAC consists of three sectors. In the western sector in Ladakh, which India's 14 Corps defends, the PLA already controls most of the area that China claims. The central sector, at the UP-Tibet border, which India's 6 Mountain Division defends, is relatively insignificant. The most contentious is the eastern sector, which includes Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, where China claims 90,000 sq km of territory that India occupies. It is here, driven by fear of Chinese aggression, that India is strengthening its capabilities by raising new formations.
A mountain strike corps will provide India with strategic capabilities that were badly missed when Mao Zedong marched the PLA into Tibet in 1950. While considering its responses, the Indian government asked the army chief of that time, General (later Field Marshal) K M Cariappa, what resources he had to intervene on behalf of Tibet. Cariapparspare just one battalion (800 soldiers). And, so, New Delhi watched as Tibet was subjugated and the China border advanced all the way to the Himalayas.
Source: Business Standard

Army planning to set up mountain strike corps

2011-08-22T20:50:00.001-07:00

New Delhi, Aug 23 : Army is planning to set up a mountain strike corps and is talking to various states including in the northeast against the backdrop of a Chinese build up of military infrastructure on its side of boundary."We are in talks with the governments of states including Assam, West Bengal and Bihar for setting up the Mountain Corps headquarters, which would require at least 4,000 to 5,000 acres of land," senior army sources said here.Around 10-12 locations in these states have been identified by the army to set up the formation, they said.The Mountain Strike Corps is being planned by the army after it established two new Mountain Infantry Divisions for the northeastern region.The two new divisions, with 1,260 officers and 35,011 soldiers, have their headquarters in Zakama in Nagaland and Missamari in Assam.The army is also looking to deploy ultra-light howitzers and light tanks along the Line of Actual Control in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.The IAF, on its part, has already based Sukhoi-30MKI fighters at airbases like Tezpur and Chabua. Eastern sector advanced landing grounds (ALGs) like Pasighat, Mechuka, Walong, Tuting, Ziro and Vijaynagar as well as several helipads in Arunachal Pradesh are also now being upgraded, much like western sector ALGs like Daulat Beg Oldi, Fukche and Nyama in eastern Ladakh.All these developments come against the backdrop of a major build-up of military infrastructure by China all along the border, which includes five fully-operational airbases, an extensive rail network and over 58,000-km of roads in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).

35 army persons killed in different ops this year

2011-08-02T20:02:00.001-07:00

New Delhi: As many as 35 army personnel have been killed in different operations in various parts of the country this year till now.

"During the current year, 30 armed forces personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir, four in Sikkim and one in Assam," Defence Minister A K Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Armed forces have been deployed for counter terrorism and counter insurgency operations, border guarding duties in these states.

He said the next of kin of the deceased have been provided with compensation as per different schemes of the government in this regard.

In reply to another query, the minister said the Government has sanctioned hiring of 648 chartered flights for airlifting armed forces personnel from areas cut-off from rest of the country due to natural or man-made calamities.

These include 260 flights on Delhi-Leh-Delhi route, 208 for Delhi-Srinagar route and 104 for airlifting troops from Thoise to Delhi.

Security breach at Delhi airport

2011-08-02T07:02:00.001-07:00

By: Mohit Sharma

Date: 2011-08-02

Place: Delhi

MiD DAY has a video clip that shows passengers of a GoAir flight roaming on the taxiway, a highly restricted area, when no shuttle arrived to ferry them several minutes after the plane had landed on Thursday evening
Security breach at Delhi airport (Video)

It appears to be a walk in the park. A video clip available with MiD DAY shows a bunch of passengers strolling on the taxiway at Delhi airport after a Srinagar-Delhi flight landed here on Thursday evening. The video footage clearly shows how about 25 people reached the taxiway after they didn't find the shuttle to take them to the airport. The aircraft was parked in bay no. 21.

Easy street! In this videograb, a group of passengers are seen
straying onto the taxiway while trying to walk to the airport building.

The commuters are boarding a shuttle after it finally arrived. Pics/Mid Day

Touchdown
The GoAir flight (G8-457) landed at Delhi at about 5 in the evening. The plane was to leave for Mumbai next as a new flight. When the passengers couldn't find a shuttle even after several minutes from aircraft evacuation, a group of commuters started walking towards the taxiway to reach the airport building. However, when one of the officials saw them - by then the people had already reached the taxiway - they rushed to the spot and took them back behind the no-entry line. The video was shot by an airport official, who wishes to remain anonymous.

Danger!
Sources at the airport said that it is not a usual practise and is absolutely prohibited as walking on the taxiway is very risky. "An aircraft is huge and if its engine is on the ejected gases can throw you several metres if you come in too close. Everyone should take precautions in preventing such a thing and passengers should not be allowed beyond a certain point (a line which is marked, called the 'yellow line')," sources said.

"At some airports where there is not much air traffic or resources, some airlines practise this (walk the passengers up to the airport from the runway), but at Delhi airport this certainly should not have happened," sources said.

The video shows that it was only after around a group of passengers reached the taxiway, a white jeep - which belongs to GMR and is called 'follow-me' - ostensibly taking rounds to keep a tab on the activities at the runway and ensure that no violations are happening, came and asked them to go back. Had they not spotted them the passengers might have gone on towards the main airport entrance from the runway.

Out of sight
Besides, sources said that even in terms of security it was not something that should have happened as anyone can become a security threat if he/she goes away from airline officials' sight.When contacted, GoAir officials said that they have forwarded the case to senior officials and they are awaiting response from them.
Aviation expert, N Shashank, who was previously working with airlines and is now into aviation Consulting & Support, said: "As per security norms no passenger can enter taxiway.

Only ground security staff works there, and that too when they are connected through wireless. It is bizarre if some passenger had entered the taxiway as he/she may get injured and this can even lead to security breach. Airport is one place which is under high surveillance and proper protocol is followed. If a group of passengers have been recorded on camera walking on the taxiway then the matter should be inquired into."

Do you know?
A taxiway is a path on an airport connecting runways with ramps, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have hard surfaces such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller airports sometimes use gravel or grass.

Centre issues warning to VIPs over 'gift-wrapped' explosives

2011-07-20T02:24:00.001-07:00

Indian intelligence has issued an alert to VIPs across the country over packaged bombs.
The alert asks our babus to not accept 'gifts' or couriers for fear of explosives being packed inside.
"The advisory was sent to the states following an intelligence input suggesting that terror modules were exploring the possibility of sending explosive material 'gift wrapped' to prominent persons, including some politicians," an official was quoted as saying.
Officials have also been in touch with the security detail of important VIPs asking them to screen packages thoroughly.

SPOs: Compounding Confusion

2011-07-18T22:37:00.001-07:00

Raising armies of vigilantes, equipped by the State, cannot contain the Maoist menace and will invite greater atrocities against large populations.

The dangers of fashioning alternate policing institutions are palpable: they represent initiatives outside of and, more often than not, uncontrolled by the state, and carry the risks of compounding, rather than resolving the problems of lawlessness and disorder.
SAIR, August 29, 2005

(The) most extraordinary aspect of recklessness that has contributed to rising violence in Chhattisgarh has been the misguided and misconceived Salva Judum campaign... Salva Judum has exposed large numbers of innocent tribals to unacceptable risks… it has taken on the character more of political adventurism than of a serious effort to neutralise the Maoist terror… and constitutes a complete and immature abdication of responsibilities on the part of the state.
Ajai Sahni, March 2, 2006

The 'much-talking judge' does irreparable harm both to the dignity of the court and to the cause of justice.
K.P.S. Gill, "Which is to be Master? Some Observations on the Politics of Justice", 1999

The Salva Judum, which commenced in June 2005, substantially as a spontaneous expression of tribal anger against Maoist excesses and diktats, was quickly transformed into a state-backed movement of armed retaliation. Salva Judum enormously escalated violence in Chhattisgarh, fed Maoist recruitment, polarized society, and discredited state institutions. Nevertheless, within the perverse political culture that had entrenched itself in this State, a number of prominent individuals in the political and Police leaderships became personally invested, initially, in its continuance long after its failure had been inexorably demonstrated, and subsequently, after its manifest collapse, in its transformation into new avatars and its continued justification.

The Supreme Court’s order of July 5, 2011, has brought this unfortunate chapter of state opportunism and abdication of responsibility to an end. Unfortunately, the Court’s order is also marred in significant measure by incoherence, the inability to think things through, to reconcile reality with aspiration, and to make sharp and necessary distinctions between components of a complex issue. It is undermined, further, by the susceptibilities of the ‘much talking judge’, going well beyond the issue at hand to hold forth on matters of ideology and policy on surprisingly superficial grounds. The result is that a matter that could and should have been finally and indisputably settled, will now be subjected to a new round of appeals, and, pending a further and conclusive settlement, result in continued uncertainty and a diversionary campaign by vested interests to salvage and reinvent the more controversial elements of the Salva Judum.

Salva Judum had pitted tribal against tribal, and exposed large numbers of the most vulnerable of India’s citizens to unwarranted risk and distress, even as the state’s regular Forces abdicated their responsibility to enforce order in widening areas of an administrative and security vacuum, where the Maoists had established their disruptive dominance. Hastily armed by the state and flung into direct conflict with the Maoists, with little backing, or even proximate presence of regular Forces, Salva Judum cadres and their wider support base of families and village communities, faced overwhelming retaliatory violence by the Maoists. Instead of sending in regular Forces to protect the hapless tribals, the state sought to exploit Maoist atrocities in its propaganda campaigns and, eventually, when the bloodshed – including at least some cases of excesses by Salva Judum cadres – went beyond a point, simply dragged a large population of over 65,000 tribals out of their villages and into appallingly provisioned ‘relief camps’.

Under rising public pressure and with the intervention of the judiciary, the state sought to reinvent the Salva Judum by appointing a proportion of the armed cadres as Special Police Officers (SPOs), and organizing them into units, unofficially referred to as Koya Commandos, purportedly under regular Police command, sending them out to hunt and kill alleged ‘Maoists’, again, in areas where the regular SFs had little presence or capability.

This was utterly unconscionable, both because it put these poor and ignorant tribals at extraordinary risk, and because it allowed state backed armed groups to operate in areas and in circumstances where there was little accountability. Some excesses inevitably resulted, even as fatalities among SPOs rose disproportionately.

Chhattisgarh has repeatedly put forward the argument that armed SPOs have been used in many other theatres of insurgency – prominently including Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and Tripura. This is, at best, disingenuous. SPOs in these States were used as auxiliary Forces, ordinarily for static duties – such as village defence or the manning of nakas (checkpoints) – crucially, in areas of clear SF dominance. SPOs were an auxiliary or secondary resource, by definition inferior to the regular Forces, and restricted to secondary tasks, in order to free the better trained and equipped regulars for the more demanding work of counter-insurgency (CI). Some SPOs were also sent out with regular Forces for CI duties, essentially to bulk up regular units, but always as a small component of such units, which were under clear command of, and dominated by, regular Forces.

Chhattisgarh, however, stood this model on its head, using Salva Judum irregulars and SPOs as an advance guard, a spearhead, to fight the Maoists, even as better trained and equipped regular Forces were held back, or allowed to abdicate their responsibility. With over 15,000 Chhattisgarh Police personnel and officers already trained at the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Kanker, even today, the total strength of State Police personnel deployed for offensive CI operations in Chhattisgarh is under 3,000. There has been a clear defalcation of duties here, and a disproportionate shifting of the burden of CI operations onto the ill-equipped and poorly trained SPOs and irregulars. The Supreme Court is right to have brought this scandalous arrangement to an end.

Regrettably, in its extensive order, the Court has tended to collapse all issues relating to the Salva Judum and the recruitment and use of SPOs into a single incoherent mass, to produce a result that throws the baby out with the bathwater. It has, moreover, adopted one among polarized positions that feed, rather than help resolve, conflict. Sweeping considerations of ideology, rather than of law, fact, or objective conditions prevalent, inform much of the Court’s arguments. A flawed, partisan, socio-economic theory, devoid of any reference to resources or capacities and capabilities of delivery, is read into the Constitution, and becomes the basis for much of the Court’s Utopian rampage into matters of policy that lie squarely in the realm of the Executive.

“The problem rests”, the Court observes, “in the amoral political economy that the State endorses, and the resultant politics that it necessarily spawns.” And again, “On the one hand the State subsidises the private sector, giving it tax break after tax break, while simultaneously citing lack of revenues as the primary reason for not fulfilling its obligations to provide adequate cover to the poor through social welfare measures.” The State, the Court insists, pursues “socio-economic policies that cause vast disaffection amongst the poor, creating conditions of violent politics…”

The support for these sweeping observations comes, not from an analysis of the real situation on the ground, or the record of the State’s allocations for ‘tax breaks’ or for poverty alleviation and public welfare; it comes, rather, from selective citations extracted from just a few notoriously ideologically loaded writings, from false and exaggerated literary analogies with “the resource rich darkness” of Africa, the “resource curse”, and “the macabre states of mind and justifications advanced by men, who secure and wield force without reason, sans humanity, and any sense of balance.” These, and not any Constitutional considerations, then become the basis for comprehensive prescriptions of how the State is required to respond to insurgencies and political violence – issues of policy and practice that lie essentially within the purview of an accountable and elected Executive, rather than of judicial determination.

But India is not Joseph Conrad’s Africa. For all our “resource curses” and the unquestionably “macabre states of mind” of much of our political and administrative leadership, there have been dramatic improvements over decades and across vast areas, on most of the indices of human development in the country – though some of these indices remain distressing. And while mechanisms for delivery have been far from efficient, the Court does not even acknowledge the constantly increasing billions of rupees that are invested annually in a wide range of developmental and poverty alleviation programmes across the country. Nor does it recognize the role of disruptive political violence in undermining welfare and developmental goals; or the rampaging and unsustainable growth of population. The Court, nevertheless, insists that our models of economic growth and planning must be ‘sustainable’, but fails to provide – or even outline – any credible alternatives. It does, however, uncritically endorse, on dubious authority, the ‘root causes’ thesis as a justification for Maoist and anti-state violence.

Despite the weight of its politically correct pretences, interestingly, the Court’s order displays an extraordinary contempt for persons without the advantages of a middle class education and background. SPOs, with schooling up to the 5th class or less, are thus deemed incapable of understanding the imperatives of the law, the significance of human rights, of being trained to function professionally, or to act with restraint and decency. Moreover, given their educational qualification, the Court argues that these “youngsters” lack the capacities to understand the risks and liabilities of taking up appointment as SPOs, and consequently, cannot be deemed to have “decided to join as SPOs of their own free will and volition.” Motivated by personal histories of loss and experiences of Maoist atrocity, they are impelled by hatred and a desire for revenge. On the other hand, the ‘regular’ policeman or paramilitary trooper, the Court appears to suggest, variously with his 8th class or Intermediate schooling, easily masters the Constitution and law, is deeply seeped in the culture of human rights, and goes into the jungle to confront the Maoists with the milk of human kindness flowing through his veins, and with a “cool and dispassionate head”.

These are certainly new theories of free will and responsibility, and fly in the face of much of reality, where the uneducated and under-privileged display far greater evidence of humanity and social responsibility than those who are drawn from the highest echelons of society. Certainly, in cases of accident or individual distress in a public place, it is people from such disadvantaged backgrounds, rather than professors or corporate leaders or Supreme Court judges, who reach out and respond most spontaneously. Moreover, higher education has little correlation with a genuine respect for human rights and decency – as opposed to a formal understanding of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights. Some of the highest ranks in the Police, administrative and political leadership – with all their educational qualifications – have demonstrated little respect for human values in the pursuit of their selfish ends. Indeed, the Court’s unconstrained railing against the ‘exploitative system’ that has been established in India is a forceful (if one sided) argument against the country’s elites. On the other hand, the poor and uneducated often display exemplary social consciousness and responsibility.

The Court’s observations are just arrant prejudice. They crucially ignore the reality that outside Forces, unfamiliar with local cultures and conditions, irrespective of their education and training, have inclined to be more indiscriminate, and often brutal, in their use of Force, than locals. In long-isolated tribal areas, moreover, the local is indispensible – and is seldom highly schooled (the distinction between schooling and education is profound). It is sheer delusion to believe that formally qualified tribals will abruptly appear to back up regular Forces with their local knowledge; or that outside Forces will quickly acquire such knowledge for effective and discriminating CI operations. In restricting the use of SPOs to traffic regulation and disaster relief, the Court acts both arbitrarily, in contravention of existing State and national legislation, and unrealistically, ignoring operational realities and imperatives.

The Court also raises the bogey of a violent backlash when the SPOs are disarmed, and this is something that local Police officers have quickly picked up on. This, again, is ill-informed and misleading. SPOs have been armed and disarmed in other situations as well, without any of the catastrophic consequences that the Court considers likely.

In its sweeping ideological digressions, the Court has neglected the real issues of command and control, the patterns of productive deployment, and the utility of SPOs in the various theatres of successful employment. Rather than focus on the specific aberration in Chhattisgarh, both in the Salva Judum and in the use (or misuse) of SPOs, the Court has chosen to mass every possible argument – both valid and specious – to reject every dimension of the use of auxiliary Forces in situations of disorder. The SPOs have played a crucial role in CI in various theatres, and it is important to understand the specific duties, patterns of deployment and systems of command and control within which they have successfully operated, before an order to virtually dismantle the entire system is implemented.

(The writer Ajai Sahni is Editor, SAIR; Executive Director, Institute for Conflict Management & SATP)

Analysis: How to wipe out Islamic terror

2011-07-17T06:11:00.000-07:00

Subramanian Swamy

The terrorist blast in Mumbai on July 13, 2011, requires decisive soul-searching by the Hindus of India. Hindus cannot accept to be killed in this halal fashion, continuously bleeding every day till the nation finally collapses. Terrorism I define here as the illegal use of force to overawe the civilian population to make it do or not do an act against its will and well-being.

Islamic terrorism is India’s number one problem of national security. About this there will be no doubt after 2012. By that year, I expect a Taliban takeover in Pakistan and the Americans to flee Afghanistan. Then, Islam will confront Hinduism to “complete unfinished business”. Already the successor to Osama bin Laden as al-Qaeda leader has declared that India is the priority target for that terrorist organisation and not the USA.

Fanatic Muslims consider Hindu-dominated India “an unfinished chapter of Islamic conquests”. All other countries conquered by Islam 100% converted to Islam within two decades of the Islamic invasion. Undivided India in 1947 was 75% Hindu even after 800 years of brutal Islamic rule. That is jarring for the fanatics.
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In one sense, I do not blame the Muslim fanatics for targeting Hindus. I blame Hindus who have taken their individuality permitted in Sanatan Dharma to the extreme. Millions of Hindus can assemble without state patronage for the Kumbh Mela, completely self-organised, but they all leave for home oblivious of the targeting of Hindus in Kashmir, Mau, Melvisharam and Malappuram and do not lift their little finger to help organise Hindus. If half the Hindus voted together, rising above caste and language, a genuine Hindu party would have a two-thirds majority in Parliament and the assemblies.

The first lesson to be learnt from the recent history of Islamic terrorism against India and for tackling terrorism in India is that the Hindu is the target and that Muslims of India are being programmed by a slow reactive process to become radical and thus slide into suicide against Hindus. It is to undermine the Hindu psyche and create the fear of civil war that terror attacks are organised.

Hindus must collectively respond as Hindus against the terrorist and not feel individually isolated or, worse, be complacent because he or she is not personally affected. If one Hindu dies merely because he or she was a Hindu, then a bit of every Hindu also dies. This is an essential mental attitude, a necessary part of a virat (committed) Hindu.

We need a collective mindset as Hindus to stand against the Islamic terrorist. The Muslims of India can join us if they genuinely feel for the Hindu. That they do I will not believe unless they acknowledge with pride that though they may be Muslims, their ancestors were Hindus. If any Muslim acknowledges his or her Hindu legacy, then we Hindus can accept him or her as a part of the Brihad Hindu Samaj (greater Hindu society) which is Hindustan. India that is Bharat that is Hindustan is a nation of Hindus and others whose ancestors were Hindus. Others, who refuse to acknowledge this, or those foreigners who become Indian citizens by registration, can remain in India but should not have voting rights (which means they cannot be elected representatives).

Any policy to combat terrorism must begin with requiring each and every Hindu becoming a virat Hindu. For this, one must have a Hindu mindset that recognises that there is vyaktigat charitra (personal character) and rashtriya charitra (national character). For example, Manmohan Singh has high personal character, but by being a rubber stamp of a semi-literate Sonia Gandhi and waffling on all national issues, he has proved that he has no rashtriya charitra.

The second lesson for combating terrorism is that we must never capitulate or concede any demand, as we did in 1989 (freeing five terrorists in exchange for Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s daughter Rubaiya) and in 1999, freeing three terrorists after the hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC-814.

The third lesson is that whatever and however small the terrorist incident, the nation must retaliate massively. For example, when the Ayodhya temple was sought to be attacked, we should have retaliated by re-building the Ram temple at the site.

According to bleeding heart liberals, terrorists are born or bred because of illiteracy, poverty, oppression, and discrimination. They argue that instead of eliminating them, the root cause of these four disabilities in society should be removed. This is rubbish. Osama bin laden was a billionaire. In the failed Times Square episode, failed terrorist Shahzad was from a highly placed family in Pakistan and had an MBA from a reputed US university.

It is also a ridiculous idea that terrorists cannot be deterred because they are irrational and willing to die. Terrorist masterminds have political goals and a method in their madness. An effective strategy to deter terrorism is to defeat those political goals and to rubbish them by counter-terrorist action.Thus, I advocate the following strategy to negate the political goals of Islamic terrorism in India.

Goal 1: Overawe India on Kashmir.
Strategy: Remove Article 370 and resettle ex-servicemen in the valley. Create Panun Kashmir for the Hindu Pandit community. Look for or create an opportunity to take over PoK. If Pakistan continues to back terrorists, assist the Baluchis and Sindhis to get their independence.

Goal 2: Blast temples, kill Hindu devotees.
Strategy: Remove the masjid in Kashi Vishwanath temple and the 300 masjids at other temple sites.

Goal 3: Turn India into Darul Islam.
Strategy: Implement the uniform civil code, make learning of Sanskrit and singing of Vande Mataram mandatory, and declare India a Hindu Rashtra in which non-Hindus can vote only if they proudly acknowledge that their ancestors were Hindus. Rename India Hindustan as a nation of Hindus and those whose ancestors were Hindus.

Goal 4: Change India’s demography by illegal immigration, conversion, and refusal to adopt family planning.
Strategy: Enact a national law prohibiting conversion from Hinduism to any other religion. Re-conversion will not be banned. Declare that caste is not based on birth but on code or discipline. Welcome non-Hindus to re-convert to the caste of their choice provided they adhere to the code of discipline. Annex land from Bangladesh in proportion to the illegal migrants from that country staying in India. At present, the northern third from Sylhet to Khulna can be annexed to re-settle illegal migrants.

Goal 5: Denigrate Hinduism through vulgar writings and preaching in mosques, madrassas, and churches to create loss of self-respect amongst Hindus and make them fit for capitulation.
Strategy: Propagate the development of a Hindu mindset.

India can solve its terrorist problem within five years by such a deterrent strategy, but for that we have to learn the four lessons outlined above, and have a Hindu mindset to take bold, risky, and hard decisions to defend the nation. If the Jews could be transformed from lambs walking meekly to the gas chambers to fiery lions in just 10 years, it should not be difficult for Hindus in much better circumstances (after all we are 83% of India), to do so in five years.

Guru Gobind Singh showed us how just five fearless persons under spiritual guidance can transform a society. Even if half the Hindu voters are persuaded to collectively vote as Hindus, and for a party sincerely committed to a Hindu agenda, then we can forge an instrument for change. And that is the bottom line in the strategy to deter terrorism in a democratic Hindustan at this moment of truth.

The writer is president of the Janata Party, a former Union minister, and a professor of economics.

NH4NO3: Code, explosive

2011-07-17T01:03:00.001-07:00

Mumbai:

Ammonium nitrate was used in the 13/7 Mumbai blasts and previously in terror strikes across the country, even as home ministry officials say they will implement a plan to curb its easy availability over the counter
Even though investigators have unearthed a sinister pattern -- the rampant use of ammonium nitrate as an ingredient in high intensity explosives -- in the terror attacks in Mumbai following July 13; in 2003 (the blast in a BEST bus in Ghatkopar, followed by the Mulund and Vile Parle railway blasts); 2006 (7/11 serial train blasts); the Jaipur blasts in 2008 and the German Bakery blast in Pune in 2010, there has been no curb on the sale of the chemical, that is easily available over the counter in shops selling chemicals for industrial use.

This has now emerged as a worrying factor for law enforcement agencies and forensic experts, despite the State Forensics Laboratories and other law enforcing agencies across the state of Maharashtra intimating the state and central home ministries about ammonium nitrate being the common ingredient in all these incidents.
Dr Rukmini Krishnamurthy, former director, State Forensics Laboratory, had sent numerous reminders to bring the issue to the ministry's notice.
She said, "Ammonium nitrate, which is easily available in chemical shops, is used as a fertiliser and an oxidising agent in laboratories. However, when mixed with a hydrocarbon (fuel), it makes a potent explosive mixture."
The matter is of grave concern since ammonium nitrate is easily available in stores that stock industrial fertilisers, and costs a mere Rs 50 per kg.
Speaking to Sunday MiD DAY from New Delhi, Union Home Secretary R K Singh agreed that a system to check the over-the-counter sale of the chemical needed to be implemented at the earliest. "There has to be a check on its sale across the country. I will have to go through the earlier references made by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on this, and only then will I be able to speak further," he said.
State Home Minister Satej Patil added, "It is definitely a matter of concern. We will work out a plan of action as soon as possible."
Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Umeshchandra Sarangi said, "We will look into all the aspects before offering a solution to restrict the sale of the chemical."
Meanwhile, a senior ATS official said, "The modalities are being examined to understand if such a check can be maintained on the sale, purchase and storage of ammonium nitrate."
Earlier, the state had imposed a ban on the easy sale of Acetic Anhydride, a chemical used to convert opium to brown sugar, added Krishnmurthy. "The restricted supply of the chemical reduced the availability of brown sugar, and a similar process is needed for ammonium nitrate," she said.

Terror threat to Bhakra Nangal dam: sources

2011-07-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has intercepted a terror threat to India's largest dam- the Bhakra Nangal dam which is situated in Himachal Pradesh.
Sources in the IB told CNN-IBN that the Lashkar e Taiba and the Jamaat ud Daawa are planning to attack the dam.
The report says the Pakistan-based terror groups are planning out strikes during the monsoon - when the water level in the dam is at its highest - to cause maximum damage.
The report also says that the terror groups are training militants to scale the walls of the dam and to swim under water.
This report has been sent to the Himachal Pradesh government and the IB has advised the state government to tighten security around the structure.
There were three blasts in Mumbai on Wednesday killing 19 and injuring many. Thought no terror outfit as claimed responsibility yet, all leads are pointing at the Indian Mujahideen.

Airlines fear fidayeen attack

2011-07-12T01:52:00.000-07:00

India on high alert; airlines fear fidayeen attack

Dinesh Sharma
New Delhi: India on Thursday issued a high alert directing the airports throughout the country to tighten the security, according to Zeenews sources.
The cautious step was taken after the US warned all international carriers flying directly into its territory about terrorists surgically implanting bombs inside their bodies to carry out attacks.

As per the latest intelligence input gathered by the United States, which is a major target of the terrorists across the world, especially those based in Pakistan and Afghanistan, terrorists are resorting to a much sophisticated method of concealing the bombs within the body to stage suicide attacks on passenger jets and airlines. It should be noted that in spite of the advance in global aviation security technology, the scanning machines are not able to trace the bomb that could be surgically embedded inside the human body.
"This is new intelligence about a possible technique that could be used, however there is nothing to indicate an imminent threat," a senior US security official had said.
Tough measures to maintain strict vigil are expected to be in place at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi and the Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, which have flights having last-point-of-departure to the US. The passengers at these two Indian airports might have to go through a tighter security drill as a result of the latest terror alert.
The heightened communications and activities by the US, it is learnt, are in response to a potential threat, but there is no specific information about an imminent threat coming from a particular area.
"Such a threat is likely to come from overseas rather than domestically, but precautionary steps are being taken internationally and in the US," the official said.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), recently briefed air carriers and foreign partners to provide greater insights into recent intelligence indicating the continued interest of terrorists to target aviation, its spokesman Kawika Riley, said.
"Due to the significant advances in global aviation security in recent years, terrorist groups have repeatedly and publicly indicated interest in pursuing ways to further conceal explosives," he said.
"As a precaution, passengers flying from international locations to US destinations may notice additional security measures in place," the spokesman said.
"These measures are designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same activity at every international airport," Riley said.
Measures may include interaction with passengers, in addition to the use of other screening methods such as pat-downs and the use of enhanced tools and technologies, the spokesman added.
"We will continue to monitor information pertaining to threats against the United States and its interests, and as always, encourage the public and our partners in law enforcement and the private sector to remain vigilant in promptly reporting any suspicious activities," Riley said.

Bodies of slain C'garh cops ferried in garbage truck

2011-06-28T07:02:00.001-07:00

Dantewada: The coffins of three Chhattisgarh policemen killed in a Maoist landmine blast Sunday night in Dantewada were transported in a municipality garbage collection vehicle for the guard of honour ceremony, the state's police chief admitted Tuesday.

"No ambulance was available at the time... it was the only municipality vehicle available," Director General of Police (DGP) Vishwa Ranjan told IANS. He said the mini-truck was washed and cleaned before the coffins were placed on it.
The bodies of Laxman Bhagat, Aslan Ekka and Bhushan Mandwai were brought to district headquarters Dantewada town from the blast site in Kirandul, some 40 km away, Monday. The bodies were then dispatched to the policemen's respective native villages.
Dantewada's Superintendent of Police Ankit Garg admitted that it was a municipality vehicle, but hesitated to elaborate. When asked whether it was a garbage vehicle, he said after a long silence: "I don't know what kind of vehicle it was, but it was a municipality vehicle."
Dantewada-based journalist Vinod Singh said several ambulances are available in Kirandul and its nearby town Bacheli. The two towns, which have several hospitals, markets and residential colonies for employees of state-run mining company NMDC, are separated by a 10-km hilly road.
"No one made any effort to bring an ambulance. A constable who was asked to dispatch the bodies for the guard of honour, phoned the Kirandul Nagar Palika to send a vehicle," Singh told IANS.
The three policemen were killed just four km away from Kirandul police station, more than 420 km south of state capital Raipur. They were part of a seven-member police team which was travelling in a Bolero jeep that ran over a landmine planted by Maoists.
Another policeman succumbed to injuries later. Chhattisgarh's sprawling 40,000 square km Bastar region, comprising five districts, has been a Maoist hotbed since the late 1980s.
Source: IANS

Four Chhattisgarh Armed Force personnel killed in Naxal attack

2011-06-09T04:46:00.000-07:00

Police Commandos undertaking operational training at the Counter Terrorism - PTI
Naxals on Thursday opened indiscriminate fire near the camp of Chhattisgarh Armed Force in Naraynpur district, killing four jawans and leaving another injured.
Some jawans of the force were involved in their regular chores near the camp of the 16th battalion of the Force in Bharaghati village when the Naxals started firing at them killing four jawans and leaving another injured, Ram Niwas (ADG) Naxal operations said.
After hearing the gunshots, jawans in the camp retaliated after which the Naxals fled from the spot.
The Naxals also decamped with two weapons of the jawans, the senior officer said.
Senior officials have left for the spot.

Bomb scare outside Delhi college

2011-05-30T06:43:00.001-07:00

New Delhi: A bag containing some powder, wires and batteries was found outside an exclusive girls college in south Delhi Monday triggering a bomb scare, but after its examination the police said it was a "mischief and prank".

The Delhi Police control room received a call around 12.20 p.m. about the bag lying at a bus stop outside the Gargi College gate, an officer said.
"The bag contained powder from which firecrackers are made but it could not have exploded. It appears to be some sort of mischief and prank by somebody," said Joint Commissioner of Police Amulya Patnaik.
A police officer said the bag contained some wires and batteries, but these were not connected. There was no circuit that could have triggered an explosion.
But the bag did trigger a scare in the area. The bomb disposal squad, a dog squad and Delhi Police teams were rushed to the spot.
According to an eye witness, "It was a small bag and police came here and took it away."
The latest incident came five days after a crude bomb went off outside in the parking bay of the Delhi High Court complex. No one was injured in the low-intensity explosion.

Chhattisgarh Maoist ambush: Nine policemen confirmed dead

2011-05-24T04:12:00.000-07:00

Raipur: The bodies of nine police personnel, who were missing since Monday afternoon after Maoists ambushed their vehicle near the Chhattisgarh-Orissa border, were recovered Tuesday morning, police said. One policeman is still missing.

"We have recovered nine bodies. Search operations are still on," Director General of Police Vishwaranjan said.
The 10 police personnel, including an additional superintendent of police, were missing after Maoists ambushed their vehicle in a thickly forested area along the Chhattisgarh-Orissa border.
The guerrilla attack has stunned the police department as it is the first Maoist ambush in Raipur district, along the state's border with Orissa. The Maoist violence was till now confined mainly to Chhattisgarh's southern tip of Bastar region.
Additional Director General of Police Giridhari Nayak said that Maoists ambushed the 10-member police search squad, led by Additional Superintendent of Police Rajesh Pawar, when they were returning in a tractor to Gariaband in Raipur district from the Orissa border.
"The police team had gone to the Orissa border in a Bolero vehicle after they received information that two Maoists had surrendered, but the vehicle developed some technical snag and the police team hired a tractor," he said.
Source: IANS

Why Headley hated India and joined LeT

2011-05-24T04:10:00.001-07:00

Tells US court that he joined LeT to avenge Pak's 1971 dismemberment; confirms ISI role in Mumbai attack

In this courtroom sketch, David Coleman Headley is shown in federal court Monday, May 23, 2011, in Chicago. Headley, the government's main witness, is cooperating with prosecutors after pleading guilty to taking photos and videos of targets in Mumbai before the rampage that killed 160 people including six Americans over three days. Chicago businessman Tahawwur Rana is accused of providing cover for Headley by allowing him to use his Chicago-based immigration services business as a cover when he traveled to India. (AP Photo/Tom Gianni)
Chicago: A key plotter of the Mumbai terror attack, Pakistani American David Coleman Headley, has told a court that he joined Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group as he hated India for "dismembering" Pakistan in 1971.
Implicating Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for providing support to LeT in carrying out the 2008 terror attack, Headley told a Chicago Federal court Monday: "They coordinated with each other."
"ISI provided assistance to Lashkar through military and financial assistance and moral support," said Headley, who has pleaded guilty to taking part in planning the rampage to escape the death penalty, at the trial of his one time friend, Pakistan-born Canadian Tahawwur Rana.
Prosecution's star witness Headley testified that in 2004, after meeting with top LeT leaders, he proposed that it sue the US government to challenge its designation as a terrorist organisation.
But top leaders in the group told Headley, son of a Pakistani father and an American mother, who changed his given name of Daood Gilani in 2006 to scout targets for the attack without arousing suspicion, that they would need to consult with the ISI if they were to try to sue the US.

In this courtroom sketch, Chicago businessman Tahawwur Rana is shown in federal court as the prosecutor makes an opening argument Monday, May 23, 2011, in Chicago. Rana, 50, is accused in the 2008 Mumbai rampage that left more than 160 people dead, and for planning an attack that was never carried out on a Danish newspaper. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, including material support to terrorism. (AP Photo/Tom Gianni)
Headley discussed how he attended several training camps with the group and how he was trained with weapons and in Koranic studies when he returned to Pakistan from the US after the Sep 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Eventually in 2004, Headley attended a leadership course with about 200 LeT terrorists, he said, adding that he had wanted to fight against Indian troops in Kashmir.
But LeT leaders told him they wanted to use him in other operations because he had been born in the US and may not raise suspicion.
In December 2005, he discussed with his Lashkar handler, Sajid Mir, plans to go into India. Headley was introduced to a retired Pakistani military officer named Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed a.k.a. "Pasha".
The following year, Pasha and Headley tried to meet with a drug smuggler Headley knew to possibly smuggle weapons into India for an attack, he told the jury.
But they were arrested in northern Pakistan by Pakistani authorities. Headley admitted he had been training with LeT and was introduced to an ISI official named Major Ali.
Headley testified that he told Major Ali about his plans to go to India and plans to change his name and get a US passport.

Major Ali was "very pleased" and then wanted to introduce him to another ISI officer known as Major Iqbal, Headley said.
Acknowledging his work for the ISI, Headley told the coort: "During my trip to Chicago, I told [Rana] about my meetings with Sajid and others in Lashkar.
"I also told him about my meetings with Major Iqbal, and told him how I had been asked to perform espionage work for ISI. I even told him some of the espionage stories that Major Iqbal had told me."
Headley's testimony may take several days, with the trial itself expected to last four to five weeks.
Federal prosecutors Monday argued that Rana supported and even laughed about plotting terror with his co-conspirator.
"You will hear the defendant in his own voice laughing as they discussed targets of attack," Assistant US Attorney Sarah Streicker said. "The plots we are going to describe are atrocious, the attacks terrible."
Rana's attorneys argued that Headley was not a credible witness. "David Headley is a master manipulator," said Defense attorney Charles Swift. "He made a fool out of Mr. Rana."
Source: IANS

On "India's Most Wanted" list to Pak, but lives in Thane

2011-05-17T05:09:00.001-07:00

Wazhul Khan, who was arrested last year for his alleged role in the 2003 Mulund train blasts here, has been living in Thane’s Waghle Estate with his mother, wife and children, after he was let out on bail.

Mulund railway station blast accused Wazhul Kamar Khan (face covered) at anti terrorist squad office in Mumbai. File photo

In an acute embarrassment to India, Wazhul Kamar Khan, whose name figures in the '50 most wanted' fugitives' list submitted to Pakistan, has been found staying in neighbouring Thane district.
Khan, who was arrested last year for his alleged role in the 2003 Mulund train blasts here, has been living in Thane's Waghle Estate with his mother, wife and children, after he was let out on bail, police sources said.
Asked about Khan's presence in Maharashtra, State Home Minister R.R. Patil said he is looking into the issue.
"I have sought information in the matter," Mr. Patil said, when asked about the police being left red-faced after reports that the apparent goof-up by the Crime Branch and ATS here led to Wazhul's inclusion in the 'most wanted' list.
Khan is also an accused in the 2003 Vile-Parle and Ghatkopar blasts besides the 2002 Mumbai Central station blasts, they said.
The Vile Parle, Mulund and Ghatpokar cases have been clubbed together and the trial is yet to begin, the sources said.
On March 13, 2003, 11 people were killed and over 80 injured when a bomb exploded in a ladies coach at the Mulund Railway Station here.
In January the same year, an explosion took place near the suburban railway station in Vile Parle in which one person was killed and over 25 injured.
Later in July 2003, a bomb exploded in a public transport bus in Ghatkopar, claiming four lives and leaving several others injured. In December 2002, an explosion near McDonalds in Mumbai Central station had left 25 people injured.
Khan is accused of having transported bombs to these sites to execute the blasts.
India had on Wednesday come out with the list of 50 'most wanted fugitives' hiding in Pakistan. They include underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, 26/11 mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and dreaded terrorist Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.
The list has Saeed on top, followed by Major Iqbal, a suspected serving Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officer, who also figures in the FBI indictment in a Chicago court in connection with the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

India's list of 50 most wanted terrorists in Pakistan

2011-05-11T08:30:00.001-07:00

New Delhi: India has handed over to Pakistan a fresh list of its most wanted 50 fugitives allegedly hiding in that country which includes runaway don Dawood Ibrahim and some 20 members of his underworld group.

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Haafiz Saeed tops the list, which officials said was handed over to Pakistani Interior Secretary Qamar Zaman Choudhary during his talks with Home Secretary G.K. Pillai in Delhi March 28.
It also includes LeT leaders who India says were the handlers of the 10 Pakistani terrorists who slaughtered 166 people in Mumbai during the Nov 26-29, 2008 terror attack. They are Sajid Mir, Abu Qahfa, Mazhar Iqbal and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
The list also includes suspected army officials like Major Iqbal and Major Sameer Ali who were allegedly involved in the 2008 attack.
Rehman Pasha, one of the fugitives in the list, is believed to have been the handler of the Indian Mujahideen terror group through the LeT's Karachi Project.
Predictably, Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, who was released after the 1999 hijack of an Indian Airlines aircraft to Kandahar, also figures in the list.
Source: IANS

Why India needs to do a Israel

2011-05-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

By Anu KurianIsrael and India have always been in the shadow of terror. While the Jewish heartland has improvised its counter-terrorism techniques, India is still grappling with the basics.

A Black September Palestinian terrorist at the Munich Olympics, 1972.

TIME: 4:30AM
LOCATION: MUNICH, GERMANY
During the early hours of September 5, 1972, a group of terrorists took 11 Israeli athletes hostage. As dawn broke, all the hostages were killed and so were five terrorists. Three were captured alive but were let off in exchange for a German Lufthansa passenger jet that was hijacked in October that year.
TIME: 9PM
LOCATION: MUMBAI, INDIA
On November 26, 2008, Pakistani terrorists sneaked into Mumbai and attacked in a series of co-ordinated shooting and bombings across the city. The fight between the terrorists and security forces went on for three days, resulting in the death of 164 people and wounding more than 300. The lone surviving terrorist, Ajmal Kasab, has been sentenced to death, but has been allowed to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.
Israel was no stranger to terror, and same was the case with Mumbai. But, how the countries responded to terror was what has been seared in the consciousness of the world.
Before I get into that, it is essential that we take a short trip down the history lane. This is because you can discern from history itself how the two countries responded to terror.

German police try to move in on Black September Palestinian terrorist at the Munich Olympics, 1972
1972 Munich Massacre
On the dawn of September 5, 1972, the 'Happy Olympics' turned into a bloody site. Members of Black September (a terrorist organisation) entered the games village tracksuit-clad and were carrying duffel bags containing AKM assault rifles, Tokarev pistols and grenades. They climbed a two-metre chain link fence with the help of unsuspecting athletes. Once they were inside, they used a stolen key to gain access to the room where Israeli coaches were put up.
The terrorists shot and killed at least three Israelis. Some of the athletes and coaches managed to flee when they heard the cries of the ones who were caught. In all, the terrorists had managed to take nine Israelis hostage. Black September, part of a fidayeen group from Palestine, claimed that Yasar Arafat's Fatah had secretly endorsed the operation, something that has been denied till now.
The terrorists demanded the release and safe passage to Egypt of 234 Palestinians and non-Arabs jailed in Israel, along with two German radicals. Israel's reaction was immediate and absolute: No negotiation. However, the Germans had other plans. They ordered the German police, with no formal or specialized training in hostage crisis situations, to rescue the Israelis. They were even willing to offer unlimited money to the Palestinians.
The Israelis wanted to send in their own special forces unit, which was rejected by the Germans. Even as the hostage crisis played out, the games went on!! Incredible as it may seem, it was nearly 12 hours after the murder of the first Israeli that the IOC suspended the Games. The terrorists could see each and every move of the police team, thanks to the umpteen camera crews that were broadcasting their moves on live TV.
The rescue attempt was botched from the word go. Initially, the plan was to lure the terrorists to Fürstenfeldbruck, a NATO airbase. A Boeing 727 was positioned on the tarmac, where 5-6 German police officers were inside dressed as a cabin crew.
Snipers were stationed around the airport to spring a surprise assault on the terrorists. But, for some strange reason, the officers in Boeing abandoned their plan and failed to communicate it to the snipers. The results were for all the world to see. In the ensuing gunfire, all the Israeli hostages were shot dead. Some of the terrorists too died, while some were captured alive.
When Munich took place, Israel was outraged. Not to be the one sitting around twiddling their thumbs, they vowed to get every man who was involved in the bloody massacre. Prime Minister Golda Meir and the Israeli Defence Committee authorised Mossad, the country's premier secret service agency, to hunt down every one of the terrorists.

The remains of a Lebanese TMA DC-4 cargo plane after being destroyed by Israeli commandos at Beirut Airport, December 1968.
Even though the then Mossad chief Zvi Zamir was present during the hostage crisis, his expertise was not used at all. Three days after the massacre, an angry Israel retaliated. Israeli planes bombed ten PLO bases in Syria and Lebanon, killing 200 PLO fighters. That was just the beginning of Israel's wrath. Thus, began Operation Wrath of God, also called Operation Bayonet.
They created a target list of suspected Black September operatives and a wave of assassinations began across Europe. It is rumoured that Operation Bayonet went on for 20 long years! During the covert operation, they killed dozens of Palestinians and Arabs throughout Europe, launched a military assault inside Lebanon targeting high-profile Palestinian leaders.
In what was called Operation Spring of Youth, three top ranking PLO officials were killed in a surprise attack. More than a 100 were reported to have died during the operation.
Details have been sketchy about the covert operation. Black September retaliated, targeting Israeli government offices around the world. Israel was criticised widely, for its tactics, targets and overall effectiveness. But, it didn't stop them for going ahead the killing the perpetrators of the Munich massacre.
Coming back to Mumbai. Since the memory of 26/11 is too fresh in our minds, I'll skip the main details. What we do know as of now is that Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist caught during the Mumbai attack, has been in Arthur Road Jail and probably has more security than our prime minister.
The new modern India is keen to prove a point to the world, which is looking upon her to be the next superpower. However, our response during the 26/11 attack
leaves much to be desired.
Even though Mumbai was no stranger to terror, the Indian trait of being complacent and ill-prepared at all times came to the fore. When the news broke out, the government did do the right thing by sending in the fearsome Black Cat commandos. Unfortunately, the Black Cats reached Mumbai only nine hours after the breakout of fighting among the terrorists and the Mumbai police!!
As the NSG camp was located at Manesar, they travelled to Delhi by road and then boarded a flight to Mumbai. All this because the base/city did not have an airstrip! Imagine, the country's premier commandos (probably our equivalent of the Navy SEALs) did not have a helicopter or a plane to get to the scene of action.

The Taj under attack in Mumbai during 26/11.
Not only that, on 26/11, they had to wait for a crucial one hour at the Palam air force station as no plane was available and an aircraft had to be requisitioned from Chandigarh. The NSG at present does not have a dedicated aircraft! Contrast this with what happened at Abbotabad and you get the picture.
Then, not only were they not briefed about the number of guests and terrorists in the hotel, they had no idea about how to organise a counter-offensive operation against the terrorists as they did not have the hotel blueprints. This led to a loss of time for the NSG as they had to check each floor and each room.
As was reported, the terrorists had hit mutiple targets at the same time: The Taj Hotel, The Oberoi and the Trident, Chabad House, CST station and Metro Cinema. The terrorists managed to take advantage of the chaos and held out for three days. It was only after the 60-hour battle that the government realised how the NSG was operating wtih woefully outdated technology. This elite commando force is now in the process of procuring night-sight equipment for its SIG (SWAT) assault rifles, laser listening devices and light support weapons. To put in perspective, these weapons are already being used by the SWAT team in the US.
Counter-terrorism is not just having hi-tech weapons or conducting covert operations, something we definitely are not good at. It is also about the political will to hunt down the terrorists, irrespective of which party comes to power at the Centre. It is also about the will to never negotiate with terrorists. We cannot afford to have another Kandahar.

The Kandahar episode was not only the result of India's diplomatic failure, but also an intelligence failure. The Indian Airlines Plane with 174 passengers and a 11-member crew on a flight from Kathmandu to Delhi was hijacked on December 24, 1999 while it was flying over Lucknow. The crisis ended on December 31 when the Indian government decided to free dreaded terrorists Maulana Masood Azhar, Sheikh Omar and Mushtaq Zargar in exchange for 158 people.
The aircraft had touched down at Amritsar, Lahore and Dubai before proceeding to Kandahar. The Indian government could have ordered a counter-offensive when the flight was at any of these airports. And to think that Dubai was a US base, which India could have used to its advantage. The plane had stopped at Amritsar for refuelling. Punjab police were planning to immobilise the aircraft and probably storm the aircraft, but the crucial go-ahead from Delhi never came through.
Contrast this with what happened in Entebbe in 1976. On June 27, 1976, four militants seized an Air France plane flying from Israel to Paris with 250 people onboard. The hijackers diverted the plane to Entebbe, Uganda, where is landed on June 28. They demanded the release of 53 militants held in jails in Israel and elsewhere. In fact, Uganda's President Idi Amin supported the hijackers and supplied them with extra troops and weapons. On July 1, they did release some of the hostages, but about 100 of them still remained on the plane. Three days later, Israeli commandos sprung a surprise attack. About 200 elite troops stormed the airport building and after a 35-minute battle freed the hostages, killed all the seven hijackers and 20 Ugandan soldiers.
We need to take more than a leaf out of Israel's history. We can't fight terror with weapons alone. We also need to back that up by taking some really hard decisions when the D-Day comes.
Source: India Syndicate

Purulia was RAW-MI5 operation to overthrow Basu: Bleach, Davy

2011-04-29T01:17:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI: The 1995 Purulia arms drop returned to haunt Congress with those involved in the operation saying New Delhi conspired with British intelligence to target the Jyoti Basu regime in West Bengal.

Peter Bleach, a British citizen who served a sentence for his role in the arms drop, and fugitive prime accused Kim Davy, a Danish national, on Thursday made the accusations in an exclusive interview to Times Now.

The allegations brought the Congress in the Opposition's line of fire. CPM said it was "further confirmation of the fact that there was a conspiracy to use violence to destabilise the Left Front".

The BJP said it impinged on India's security. The Congress retaliated saying the BJP should explain how its government released Bleach through a Presidential pardon in 2004.

British arms trader Peter Bleach and the five-member crew of a Latvian aircraft were sentenced to life imprisonment for an arms drop over West Bengal's Purulia in 1995.

The arms dropped were parachuted out of a transport plane and were believed to be for Anand Margis. The convicted were later repatriated after the Latvian and British governments pleaded with New Delhi. Davy, who was named as the kingpin in the episode had remained a fugitive all this while.

Senior government officials dubbed Davy's claims as a possible attempt to stall his impending extradition to India. The Danish "authorities had cleared his extradition last year, but Davy filed an appeal against the order. "His appeal is set to be decided in the coming days...which is why he may be trying to use the alleged 'expose' to block his extradition to India," a government officer said adding that the Davy's version seemed to far-fetched.

To ram in his point, the officer asked "why the government would push for Davy's extradition if it had secrets to hide in the Purulia armsdrop case. Bleach and Davy, in the interviews to Times Now said not only did the Narasimha Rao government have full knowledge of the operation, but supported it to further its political agenda.

Asked why the Indian government would allow the dropping of a large cache of arms, Bleach said "to understand that you have to stop thinking of Indian territory. This wasn't dropped so much in Indian territory as in Bengali territory. The target here was the government of West Bengal.

At that time, Jyoti Basu was the Chief Minister and the CPM was in power. The whole objective, my understanding was to destabilise the government of West Bengal so that President's rule could be declared and the state would have been ruled directly from Delhi. That could have disposed the CPM (Left Front) government and that was the entire purpose of the job as I understand it now. I didn't understand it at that time and I have to stress."

Bleach said he was saying all this 16 years later because India wanted Kim Davy back in India and this has "disrupted" his life yet again. On his role in the arms drop, Bleach said he was approached as a businessman to sell somebody some arms and ammunition.

When he discovered this was an illegal deal supporting a terrorist group in India, he reported that to the British Government. "And I was interviewed by MI5 who passed all the information back to India. I was told that the Indian Government wanted the guns delivered into India so they could arrest the people concerned and find out who the guns were for."

He claimed that he had got a copy of all the notes taken by the MI5 officer and the special branch officer who visited him and it contained the full details passed to India. Kim Davy said political forces in the Centre were involved. Asked why he was revealing all this now, Davy said he feared extradition to India and wanted to reveal truth.

"I am saying that there were political forces at the Centre in Delhi who saw it as an opportune way to further there political agenda. You must remember that in...we are talking ancient history here, but in 1988, the Centre introduced presidential rule in Tripura after engaging in supply of arms to different rebel groups there. The same strategy was announced publicly in the beginning of the 90's that there was a decision to introduce presidential rule in West Bengal and therefore... it was seen as a furthering of this agenda that arms were procured to protect local people," he said.

Meanwhile, the CPM Polit Bureau said: "Whatever has been said by Kim Davy and Peter Bleach, who was sentenced in the case, shows that the arms drop for the Ananda Margis was planned through an international network and the target was the Left Front government."

Crude bombs found inside Rajdhani train

2011-04-25T10:36:00.001-07:00

Three crude bombs were recovered tonight inside a compartment of the Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express after the train reached the Dhanbad station, police said.

After getting information about the explosives, a police team searched the train thoroughly and recovered the crude bombs hidden under a berth in the D-4 compartment, SP (Railways) Praveen Srivastav told newsmen here.

No arrests have been made yet.

A bomb squad from Ranchi is set to examine the explosives before defusing them.

Divisional Railway Manager A.S. Upadhyay and other senior railway officials reached the station after getting the information.

The train proceeded on its onward journey after half-hour of delay from its schedule departure, railway officials said.

Suspected terror ship detained off Mumbai coast

2011-04-19T01:04:00.001-07:00

Mumbai: At 6 pm Sunday evening, intelligence sources brought disturbing news: a ship carrying arms, ammunition and explosives was headed towards Mumbai and would be offloading at the Mumbai coast. The three agencies responsible for maritime security, the Indian Navy, Coast Guard and marine wing of the police reacted instantly.

The name of the ship was unknown as was information about its present whereabouts. According to the intelligence input, defence personnel only had with them the names of two people suspected to be carrying the firearms and ammunition.
The agencies, acting on the inputs shared by the central intelligence agencies, swiftly started their search. The fear was that the ship could be a major terror threat and a vehicle of terrorist activity. A coast guard ship patrolling off the Maharashtra coast was diverted towards Mumbai to help in search for the mystery ship.
Over the next few hours, defence personnel searched each and every ship anchored off the Mumbai coast. Finally, one ship, a Denmark flagged vessel MV Danica Sunrise, was located at around 10pm on Sunday night.
Its crew members included the two people whose names were mentioned in the intelligence input. An armed team of defence personnel boarded the vessel and started investigations. The ship was searched and the eight crew members were interrogated.
The defence team was joined by officers from the Indian Customs and Immigration, Intelligence Bureau and from the Maharashtra Police Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS).
Investigations revealed that the two were retired British Royal Army soldiers and were working on the ship as safety guards. Their term had ended on April 18 and they were to catch a Jet Airways flight from Mumbai to London on Tuesday.
Till Monday evening no firearms, ammunition or anything illegal was found. The documents all checked out. At present, the ship is anchored two kilometres off the Gateway of India.

Hostage crisis: Navy rushes warship to Somali coast

2011-04-18T07:13:00.000-07:00

Indian naval warships form a line off the coast of Chennai
New Delhi, Apr 18 : With seven Indian sailors still being held hostage by pirates despite payment of ransom, the navy has placed one of its warships on high alert and sent it from anti-piracy patrol duties in the Gulf of Aden to the Somali coast.
Navy sources said here on Monday that the Talwar-class frigate - already in the vicinity of the piracy crisis - was rushed in an offensive posturing and may see some military action to rescue the hostages.
The pirates, who released eight other Indian sailors of cargo ship MV Asphalt Venture held hostage since September last, have reportedly sought to use the seven hostages as lever to seek release of over 120 of their comrades being held in prisons in India after they were captured by the navy in the Indian Ocean in the last six months.
The navy was, however, unwilling to divulge details of the mandate given to the warship that has positioned itself off the Somali coast with regard to the current hostage crisis.
India's military move comes at a time when MV Asphalt Venture owners, who have paid an undisclosed amount as ransom, expressed 'deep disappointment' over the Somali pirates not keeping their word. They have been appealing to the pirates to release the vessel's remaining seven Indian sailors as promised when the ransom demand was made.
According to Somalia Report, a news service from the African nation, the pirates were reportedly angry at the $3.5 million ransom amount, which was lower than what they expected and were holding the remaining crew members hostage to extract more money.
The Indian Navy has captured 120 Somali pirates during its anti-piracy operations in the waters off the Horn of Africa and Lakshadweep Islands in the last six months. The biggest capture was of 61 Somali pirates last month after a mother ship, Vega 5, was apprehended.
According to latest figures, 53 Indian sailors are being held hostage on five different ships. Of them, 17 have been held for the longest on MT Savina Caylyn, an Italian ship which was seized on February 8, 2010.

Bomb scare at Delhi Metro station

2011-04-14T23:15:00.000-07:00

New Delhi, April 15 : Security forces carried out an extensive check after a call was received at the Anand Vihar Metro station Thursday threatening to blow it up, police said, adding the call turned out to be a hoax.

Police said that an anonymous call was received around 1.30 p.m and dog squads and bomb disposal teams were immediately rushed to the spot.

An officer of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which guard all Metro stations, said all precautionary measures were taken.

"We searched the entire station and soon the situation was under control," said the CISF officer.

However, the Metro services at the station were normal and no delay was caused, said the officer.

Urgently bring 26/11 perpetrators to justice: US to Pak

2011-04-13T00:22:00.001-07:00

Washington: The US has reminded Pakistan of its "special" responsibility to bring perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks to justice and asked it to do so "urgently".

"There's an international responsibility to cooperate to bring the perpetrators to justice and that Pakistan has a special responsibility to do so transparently and urgently," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at his daily news conference.
He was responding to queries on a statement of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, Pakistani-Canadian accused in the terror attack case, in court that he provided "material support" to the terrorists at the behest of the Pakistan government and its spy agency ISI and not the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
State Department spokesperson, however, refused to make any comment on this statement by Rana, arguing this is sub-judice.
"I'm not going to talk about what this individual has said in pre-trial documents or in pre-trial hearings, because it is a legal process that's moving forward," he said.

"This individual is in a trial right, or the trial hasn't begun, it's a pretrial period, so I'm not going to talk about his comments. That would be irresponsible and I'm not going to do it," Toner said.
According to court document, Rana in his defence had said his "alleged illegal acts of providing material support to terrorists -- were done at the behest of the Pakistani government and the ISI, not the Lashkar terrorist organisation." His trial is set to begin on May 16.
However, Toner, in response to another question said the US is working with Pakistan on counter-terrorism measure.
"If you're talking about broader counter-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan, certainly that's ongoing and we are very candid in sharing our views and sharing information with Pakistan about terrorist threats, and we believe that that cooperation continues to be good."
Source: PTI

India sends team to probe hijack arrest

2011-04-12T09:26:00.001-07:00

India is sending a two-member team to Chile to probe claims that the authorities in Santiago have detained a person wanted for the hijacking of Indian Airlines aircraft in December 1999 to Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Sources in the government said the team will have a Superintendent of Police rank officer of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and another from intelligence agencies. The team will be leaving here on Tuesday for Santiago.

The authorities in Chile are reported to have detained Abdul Rauf on charges of possessing fake travel documents. Abdul Rauf is stated to be brother-in-law of Maulana Masood Azhar, one of the three dreaded terrorists who were released by New Delhi to secure safe passage of the passengers who were held hostage by the hijackers in Afghan city of Kandahar. The flight, IC-814, was on its way from Kathmandu to Delhi when it was hijacked on December 24, 1999. The passengers were held hostage for eight days in Kandahar.

Abdul Rauf, believed to be the financier of the hijack of Indian Airlines plane, is also suspected to be one of the key conspirators. The sources say that he was constantly in touch with the hijackers. A Red Corner Notice by Interpol was also issued against him. Born in Pakistani city of Bahawalpur in 1974, Abdul Rauf is fluent in Urdu, Hindi and English. He is wanted by the CBI on charges of hijacking, kidnapping and murder. It would be a difficult task for the Indian team to establish his identity in the absence of his fingerprints and other data. As India and Chile do not have an extradition treaty, the Indian team would face an uphill task in going through processes that will help establish his identity and involvement in the crime.

Man arrested in Chile may be IC-814 hijacker

2011-04-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: Chile police arrested a man named Abdul Rauf in January 2011, who may be one of the conspirators in the hijacking of Air India IC-814.
Rauf was arrested in a case of fake visa but during investigations Chile police found that Interpol has issued a notice against a person named Abdul Rauf who was involved in the hijacking.
Rauf is the brother-in-law of dreaded terrorist Maulana Azhar, who was released by India, as part of the ransom.
According to the CBI's chargesheet in the hijacking case, Rauf was in constant touch with the hijackers when the plan was being executed.
A team of Central Bureau of India (CBI) and Intelligence Bureau officials will leave for Chile on Tuesday to check he is the same Rauf who is an accused in the IC-814 hijack.

'Terrorists operating suicidal networks from Pak brothels'

2011-04-11T09:28:00.001-07:00

Lahore, Apr 11: Some high-profile terrorists are reportedly operating their suicidal networks from brothels, in the guise of hotels and guesthouses, in Pakistan.

"We have traced a few phone calls of high-profile terrorists operating their suicidal network from these brothels," a DIG of the Punjab Police Headquarters, said, adding that the brothels have become the safe havens for terrorists in the City.

The Nation quoted him as saying that many police officials are rendering support and cooperation to the owners of these brothels.

"Can you believe even DSPs and SPs are involved as whenever they raid they direct the hotel owners and managers to directly meet them (DSPs andSPs) instead of wasting their time on SHOs," the insiders have said.

Besides, a confidential police report has revealed that out of total 445, almost 128 brothels are located in the Model Town police division, 96 in Saddar, 75 in City, 52 in Civil Lines, and 42 in the Cantonment police division.

Despite warnings given by the report, compiled by former Capital City Police Officer, Mohammad Pervaiz Rathore, no action has reportedly been taken against the sex workers, those patronising the criminals, and other anti-social elements.

India, Thailand to enhance bilateral cooperation in combating terrorism

2011-04-06T06:10:00.003-07:00

New Delhi, Apr 6 : Recognizing common threats to national security from transnational crimes, including international terrorism, India and Thailand have resolved to significantly enhance bilateral cooperation in combating terrorism.

In a joint statement issued here late on Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and his Thailand counterpart Abhisit Vejjajiva said both nations have resolved to significantly enhance bilateral cooperation in combating terrorism, including in restricting transnational movement and unauthorized stay of known terrorists in each other''s countries.

The two leaders unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed that there could be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism.

Both resolved to commit their countries to improve sharing of intelligence, the development of more effective counter-terrorism policies, enhance liaison between law enforcement agencies, provide assistance in the areas of border and immigration control to stem the flow of terrorist related material, money and people and specific measures against transnational crimes, through the already existing mechanisms between Thailand and India.

Both leaders agreed that the next sixth meeting of the Joint Working Group on Security Cooperation be held within the next six months.

India monitoring border developments for national security: Krishna

2011-04-06T06:10:00.001-07:00

New Delhi, Apr 6 : Responding to media queries about reports of the presence of foreign troops in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Wednesday said the government is closely and regularly monitoring all developments along India's borders to ensure the safety and security of the people.

In a statement, Krishna said: "We have seen media reports on the subject. Government closely and regularly monitors all developments along our borders, which can have a bearing on our security."

"We continuously review and take all measures necessary to ensure the safety and security of our people, as well as, territorial integrity of the nation," he added

Earlier last week, a top Army commander in Jammu said China's presence in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is 'increasing steadily' and its troops are 'actually present' along the Line-of-Control.

"Chinese presence in Gilgit-Baltistan and the Northern Areas is increasing steadily... There are many people who are concerned about the fact that if there was to be hostility between us and Pakistan, what would be the complicity of Chinese. Not only they are in the neighbourhood but the fact that they are actually present and stationed along the LoC," said Northern Army commander Lt Gen KT Parnaik.

He said China's links with Pakistan through PoK 'lends strength' to the 'nexus' between the two countries, which is a cause of 'great security concern' for India.

‘Challenge from non-state actors to peacekeeping’

2011-04-06T05:40:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: Stating that peacekeeping operations were "becoming more complex" due to the threats posed by non-state actors in conflict zones, Indian Army chief Gen VK Singh Wednesday asked the United Nations to work out ways to tackle such challenges.

Addressing a seminar on 'Peacekeeping vision 2015' organised by the United Service Institution and Norwegian Institute of International Affairs here, Singh said threats from non-state actors to UN missions in conflict areas posed challenges not only to the blue berets on the ground, but also to policy-makers in the world body.

"It is easy to deal with state players. But, as far as non-state players are concerned, the possibility of what they will do and how they will convert their own capability and their influences on the state to the detriment of the peace-keeping mission needs to be seen much more seriously," he advised the UN department of peacekeeping operations.
Peacekeeping operations were "becoming more complex...becoming more challenging", the army chief said.

"There are new additions to the challenges that both policy-makers and the people on the ground have to face," he said.

Singh noted that peacekeeping missions faced "a unique challenge" of implementing mandates that were "at times nebulous" or had aspects that may, may not be "implementable or enforceable". This, he said, needed to be worked out between the UN department of peacekeeping operations and the troop countries, or it could pose problems on the ground.

"More often than not, what we have found in some missions (is that) the UN comes under fire because it is not able to enforce the mandate that has been given. There are a lot of facets that come out of the situation, which are probably just outside the mandate, and the entire mission comes under great amount of scrutiny and criticism," he added.

Apart from peacekeeping and peace-enforcing, the UN missions are by and large made to carry out "peace-making" too, the general noted. He added that the missions have to "indulge outside military parameters to ensure that the various players are brought together on a platform where they can narrow down their differences..."

Over 8,000 Indian troops are currently deployed on UN peacekeeping missions in places like the Congo, Sudan, Lebanon and the Golan Heights. India is the third highest contributor to such missions after Bangladesh and Pakistan.

India could be target of biological terror

2011-04-06T01:14:00.000-07:00

US diplomats were concerned that India could be the target of a biological terror attack, with fatal diseases such as anthrax being released into the country before spreading around the world, according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.
The confidential cables revealed that a senior Indian diplomat told the US in 2006 that concerns about biological weapons were 'no longer academic', adding that intelligence suggested terror groups were increasingly discussing biowarfare, the Guardian reported Friday.
'(Diplomat Y. K.) Singh reported that Indian intelligence is picking up chatter indicating jehadi groups are interested in bioterrorism, for example seeking out like-minded PhDs in biology and biotechnology,' a cable from the US embassy in New Delhi sent to Washington said.
'He compared the prospects for nuclear terrorism ('still in the realm of the imaginary') to bioterrorism ('an ideal weapon for terrorism ... anthrax could pose a serious problem ...it is no longer an academic exercise for us').'
Another cable warns that 'advances in the biotech sector and shifting terrorist tactics that focus on disrupting India's social cohesion and economic prosperity oblige the (government of India) to look at the possibility of terror groups using biological agents as weapons of mass destruction and economic and social disruption'.
It also warns terrorists could easily find the material they need for bioterrorism in India and use the country as a base for launching an international campaign involving the spread of fatal diseases.
'The plethora of indigenous highly pathogenic and virulent agents naturally occurring in India and the large Indian industrial base - combined with weak controls - also make India as much a source of bioterrorism material as a target,' diplomats warned.
'Release in an Indian city could facilitate international spread ... Delhi airport alone sees planes depart daily to numerous European, Asian, Middle Eastern and African destinations, as well as non-stop flights to Chicago and Newark.
'Terrorists planning attacks anywhere in the world could use India's advanced biotechnology industry and large biomedical research community as potential sources of biological agents.
'Given the strong web of air connections Delhi shares with the rest of the world and the vulnerabilities that might be exploited at airports, a witting or unwitting person could easily take hazardous materials into or out of the country.'
Though its author admitted the chance of such an attack was slim, the cable referred to Indian government intelligence, passed to the US, indicating that Islamic extremist groups were 'seeking to recruit or employ biology/biotech PhD holders from within India'.
The cable focused particularly on the lack of preparedness of Indian authorities for such an attack, assessing Indian government assurances that the country could defend itself against bioterrorism to be 'unconvincing'.
Scientists attached to the US embassy had been shown photographs taken by a senior Indian army officer from 'frontline field laboratories for diagnostics of infectious diseases' which 'demonstrated a host of poor laboratory security and safety practices, including families sleeping in labs and disposable gloves being washed for re-use or being disposed of as non-hazardous biological waste', the cable reported.
The dispatch is one of many dealing with the threat of terrorism in India sent by diplomats in New Delhi both before and after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks that were carried out by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group in November 2008.
Earlier cables focus more on the radicalisation of Muslims within India.
One is optimistic. 'India's over 150 million Muslim population is largely unattracted to extremism. India's growing economy, vibrant democracy, and inclusive culture, encourage Muslims to seek success and social mobility in the mainstream and reduces alienation,' it said.
Though the Muslim community in India 'suffers from higher rates of poverty than most other groups in India, and can be the victims of discrimination and prejudice ... the vast majority remain committed to the Indian state and seek to participate in mainstream political and economic life', the cable said.
'Only a small number of young Muslims have ... gravitated toward pan-Islamic and pro-Pakistan organisations, which sometimes engage in acts of violence.'

New Delhi sends elite CoBRA unit to Assam

2011-04-04T05:01:00.000-07:00

The battalion has been briefed to target the anti-peace talks faction of ULFA, led by Paresh Baruah
Ratnadip Choudhury
Guwahati

PHOTO: SHAILENDRA PANDEY
The elite CoBRA (Combat Battalion for Resolute Action) unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been pressed into action in Assam to deal with the threat from the anti-peace talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), led by Commander-in-Chief Paresh Baruah.
Baruah had threatened to target Congress leaders and also hit electioneering in the run-up to the 4 April and 11 April assembly election in Assam.
Following the threat, the Congress office in Guwahati was hit by a bomb attack, which injured a few people and destroyed furniture.
The CoBRA force is the same that was used in Maoist-dominated areas and which suffered major blows in Maoist attacks. They have now been asked to stop the men of ULFA in Baruah’s strongholds of Upper Assam.

The highly trained guerrillas of the CoBRA battalion will hunt for special modules of ULFA that are active in Upper Assam. The battalion comprising of around 800 men are said to be given a detailed brief on how Baruah’s men operate, sources said. The Centre had sent the CoBRA unit to Assam earlier, but it kept it a low profile fearing that the news of its use against the ULFA might upset the peace process with the pro-talks faction of the outfit, led by Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa.
The CoBRA troopers have begun area domination operations in certain pockets of Upper Assam.

Unprecedented security for the WC final in Mumbai

2011-04-01T06:51:00.001-07:00

Mumbai turned into a fortress; Navy, Coast Guard to secure coast, anti-aircraft guns, NSG to protect Wankhede

Mumbai: The Indian Navy and Coast Guard have stepped up security in the sea off Maharashtra and Gujarat ahead of the India-Sri Lanka World Cup final Saturday, an official said on Thursday.
Ships, fast attack crafts, patrol vessels and fast interceptor crafts have been deployed to check terrorists who may try to sneak into Mumbai from the Arabian Sea, the official said.
Marine Commandos who fought Pakistani terrorists in November 2008 have been equipped with helicopters to attend to any eventuality at the sea or on shore.
Security has been tightened on the shore with additional checkpoints at boat landing areas and small jetties.
The Indian Navy has also enhanced surveillance and patrolling in and around the Offshore Development Area.
The World Cup final will take place at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

Anti-aircraft guns, NSG to secure Wankhede
Anti-aircraft guns will be strategically put in place and teams of the elite National Security Guards will join thousands of security personnel to provide security at the cricket World Cup final on April 2 at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.
Though there is no specific threat to the much-awaited game where India will clash with Sri Lanka, the Centre is not taking any chances as President Pratibha Patil and her Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa are set to watch the encounter, sources said.
A sizable number of NSG commandos and around 400 central paramilitary personnel will assist Mumbai Police to ensure foolproof security.
All air bases near Mumbai, Indian Navy and Coast Guard have been put on high alert to ensure security in the air and sea during the Saturday's match which is also expected to be watched by a host of Union ministers, chief minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan and other leaders.

Quick Reaction Teams and women personnel of CRPF would be stationed at vital locations in and around the stadium to respond to any exigency. Home ministry officials are in constant touch with Mumbai Police and the Maharashtra government to ensure security.
"There is no concern for security. We will ensure that everything goes off well in Mumbai," a home ministry official said.
Cricket World Cup gets Rs.45 crore tax relief
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has landed a Rs.45 crore ($10 million) bonanza with the Indian cabinet Thursday exempting the income earned during the World Cup from tax.
At a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the cabinet approved the finance ministry's proposal to exempt the 2011 World Cup from income tax.
"The financial implication will be nearly Rs.45 crore," the finance ministry said in a statement.
The cabinet had approved a proposal in 2005 to amend the Income Tax Act, 1961, to exempt the income of both residents and non-residents arising from an international sporting event conducted in India.

Special Holiday for Mumbai
The Maharashtra government has declared a special public holiday for Mumbai Saturday when India and Sri Lanka play the cricket World Cup final at Wankhede Stadium here.
"A special public holiday has been declared for Mumbai city on April 2 (Saturday) under the Negotiable Instruments Act," an official said. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had earlier mulled the idea of declaring it a special public holiday.
The idea was to reduce the tension on the day of the match, Chavan had told reporters.
The Indian Navy and Coast Guard have stepped up security in the sea off Maharashtra and Gujarat ahead of the India-Sri Lanka World Cup final Saturday, an official said Thursday.
Ships, fast attack crafts, patrol vessels and fast interceptor crafts have been deployed to check terrorists who may try to sneak into Mumbai from the Arabian Sea, the official said.
Marine Commandos who fought Pakistani terrorists in November 2008 have been equipped with helicopters to attend to any eventuality at the sea or on shore. Security has been tightened on the shore with additional checkpoints at boat landing areas and small jetties.
The Indian Navy has also enhanced surveillance and patrolling in and around the Offshore Development Area. The World Cup final will take place at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.
Patil, Rajapaksa to watch World Cup final in Mumbai
New Delhi: After the high octane India-Pakistan match in Mohali, the World Cup cricket final in Mumbai on April 2 is also going to be a high-profile event with President Pratibha Patil and her Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa set to watch the encounter.
Patil will be flying to Mumbai for the keenly awaited match after India entered the final by thrashing Pakistan at Mohali on Wednesday, Rashtrapati Bhawan sources said.
The President has been following the game and had watched the India-Pakistan semi-final match.
The Mohali encounter provided the "setting" for a "re-engagement" between India and Pakistan with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani mixing cricket with diplomacy.
Reports from Colombo said that Rajapaksa will fly to Mumbai for the India-Sri Lanka final. "The President wants us (Sri Lanka) to win the World Cup as a tribute to Muttiah Muralitharan who retires from international cricket after this World Cup," Rajapaksa's spokesman Bandula Jayasekera told reporters.
The Sri Lankan President and his three sons were keen spectators on Tuesday night when Sri Lanka beat New Zealand to reach the final to meet India.
Source: PTI & IANS

Security forces gun down six Naxals in Bihar

2011-03-14T03:11:00.002-07:00

Motihari(Bihar): Six Naxals were killed and eight others arrested after an encounter with security forces in Darmaha village in Bihar's east Champaran district early Monday morning.

The over 12-hour-long encounter ended at 4 AM on Monday, Director General of Police (DGP) Neelmani said. The bodies of all the six Naxals have been recovered and eight rebels, including three women, have been arrested.

Security forces have also recovered 14 weapons comprising five SLRs, eight police rifles and one .315 rifle, besides explosives and ammunition from the spot, the DGP said.

A search operation was going on at the encounter site, Neelmani said.

The security forces were led by the Inspector General of Police (IG), Operations, a CRPF Assistant Commandant, two STF DSPs and other police officials in the operation against the Naxals.

Navy intercepts pirate ship, rescues 13 sailors

2011-03-14T03:11:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: The Indian Navy intercepted a pirate mother vessel 600 nautical miles west of the Indian coast in the Arabian Sea on Monday and rescued 13 hostages. Sixty-one pirates have also been caught in the operation carried out by Navy's INS Kalpeni.
The pirate mother vessel has been identified as Vega-5. The rescued sailors and pirates are being brought to Mumbai and Kochi. INS Kalpeni, a fast attack craft, was inducted into the Navy in October 2010.
INS Kalpeni intercepted Vega 5 in the Arabian Sea on the night of March 11 after a Naval Dornier while responding to a call from MV Vancouver Bridge under pirate attack, located the pirate mother vessel in the area. When the pirates tried to flee INS Khukri and INS Kalpeni went ahead and intercepted the pirate mother ship.
Vega 5 is a Mozambique flagged fishing vessel and was hijacked on December 28, 201 and was being used for piracy operations.
India has already made some changes in its Navy's rules of engagement against pirates. The changes made on Friday (March 11) has widened the scope of Navy's offensive operations but within the framework of international laws of the seas.
The Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi, decided to formulate a suitable standard operating procedures for the Navy and for its coordination with other navies engaged in the anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean.
At present, piracy is dealt with under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code and century-old Admiralty law but the government would like to have a separate statute with provisions to effectively tackle the problem that takes place far away from Indian shores.
The Navy has deployed three ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea to deal with the piracy menace.
In January, the Navy under 'Operation Island Watch' had sunk two pirate mother ships and apprehended 43 pirates.
Meanwhile, the Indian Navy also caught 23 Myanmarese poachers near the Andaman Islands on Friday. The Navy tracked down three boats in the Bay of Bengal.
The operation was carried out by INS Batti Malv which was on a routine surveillance on the western side of the Andaman Islands on March 8, 2011. The boats with and poachers were intercepted off the Interview Island near Andamans.

India tweaks navy's rules for combating pirates

2011-03-12T00:09:00.001-08:00

New Delhi: India, making all out efforts to seek the safe release of 53 sailors held by Somali pirates, on Friday also tweaked its navy's rules of engagement against pirates in the Indian Ocean, widening the scope of its offensive operations but within the framework of international laws of the seas.

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which met in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved a series of measures including legal, administrative and operation aspects of combating piracy.

"The Cabinet Committee on Security met today (Friday) and considered proposals with regard to conduct of anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia," External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said in the Lok Sabha.

"The committee approved a series of measures which will be taken by the government of India to address the legal, administrative and operational aspects of combating piracy," he said in a statement.

"A broad policy framework covering all these aspects was approved. This would involve actions that would be taken in the medium- and long-term by the ministries of shipping, external affairs and defence," he added.

Among the decisions at the meeting include formulation of suitable standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the navy and for its coordination with other navies engaged in the anti-piracy operations.

"Formulation of suitable standard operating procedures for the Indian Navy and coordination of the Indian Navy's activities with the navies of friendly foreign countries in the Gulf of Aden" was among the decision of the CCS, Krishna said.

An inter-ministerial group headed by the cabinet secretary would be formed to act as an apex forum to monitor early release of Indian ships or crew or cargo hijacked by pirates from now on and this group would also consider welfare measures necessitated after the release of hijacked Indian nationals, he added.

The CCS also specifically considered the immediate situation arising out of 53 Indian sailors held hostage on five hijacked ships by pirates and resolved that the government would take all appropriate action to safeguard their welfare. "The committee expressed its sympathy with the families of the hostages," Krishna said.

Among the actions approved by the CCS are intensifying diplomatic efforts, both at the multilateral level and within the framework of the United Nations, through consultations with the governments of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, where the owners of hijacked vessels reside, as well as with the governments of other nationalities, who are also being held as hostages, to ensure quicker negotiation to obtain the sailors' freedom.

Government officials said the CCS gave its nod to the measures that navy had put forth - that it be provided powers to take all action with the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Seas and in consonance with the best practices of other navies that are patrolling the Gulf of Aden and off Somali coast.

"The navy's action will be as per necessity and proportionality of the piracy situation it encounters while on patrol. Rules of Engagement for every possible situation during a pirate attack and hostage crises has been considered and operational options has given," the official, who did not want to be named, said.

Rules of Engagement are set of regulations and action proposed for the armed forces before they are sent into operations that may involve defensive and offensive actions against enemies.

The Indian navy has been on anti-piracy patrols along the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 and the Arabian Sea off Lakshadweep since November 2010 and during these operations, Indian warships have sunk three mother ships of pirates, apprehended over 50 brigands and safely escorted over 1,500 cargo vessels, including 300 Indian-flagged.

With pirates now operating all over the Indian Ocean far away from the Somali coast, the navy will now get more involved in the anti-piracy efforts throughout the region, as 90 per cent of India's trade pass through the sea lanes here and is also vital for the nation's energy security that is so dependent on supplies from the Gulf countries.

China has five airbases, extensive rail-road networks in Tibet: Antony

2011-03-11T22:47:00.001-08:00

Rajat Pandit

NEW DELHI: Apart from nuclear missile bases in Qinghai province which clearly target India, China has built five fully-operational airbases, an extensive rail network and over 58,000 km of roads in Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR).

People's Liberation Army is also rapidly upgrading several other airstrips in TAR as well as south China, to add to the five airbases from where Chinese Sukhoi-27UBK and Sukhoi-30MKK fighters have practised operations in recent times.

Moreover, with extensive road-rail links in TAR, PLA can amass upwards of two divisions (30,000 soldiers) at their "launch pads'' along the border in just 20 days now compared to the over 90 days it took earlier.

All this is not strikingly new but, soon after Beijing hiked its annual military budget to $91.5 billion, mounting concern over China's massive build-up of military infrastructure was reflected in Lok Sabha on Monday.

Cutting across party lines, 19 MPs came together to quiz defence minister A K Antony on whether the UPA government was taking "cognizance'' of the "increased Chinese military activities'' along the 4,057-km LAC.

Antony, in a written reply, said "necessary steps'' were being taken in consonance with India's national security concerns. "Military capacity enhancement and modernisation of armed forces is a dynamic process, which takes into account the cumulative challenges envisaged by the nation,'' he said.

"The total road network in TAR is assessed at 58,000 km in 2010. Extension of Qinghai Tibet Railway to Xigaze is in progress. Another railway line from Kashgar to Hotan in Xinjiang Uighur Autonmous Region is under construction,'' he said, adding the five TAR airfields were Gongar, Pangta, Linchi, Hoping and Gar Gunsa.

India is now, albeit belatedly, trying to strategically counter China. Just last week, for instance, saw two new Sukhoi-30MKIs touch down at Chabua airbase in Assam, the second airbase in North-East after Tezpur to house the multi-role fighters. Both airbases will have two Sukhoi squadrons (each has 16 to 18 jets) each.

The Army, on its part, has raised two new mountain infantry divisions, with 1,260 officers and 35,011 soldiers. While the 56 Division has its HQ in Zakama (Nagaland) under the Dimapur-based 3 Corps, the 71 Division at Missamari (Assam) falls in the operational command of the Tezpur-based 4 Corps.

IAF is also upgrading eastern sector ALGs (advanced landing grounds) like Pasighat, Mechuka, Walong, Tuting, Ziro and Vijaynagar as well as several helipads in Arunachal. This comes after the reactivation of western sector ALGs like Daulat Beg Oldi, Fukche and Nyama in eastern Ladakh.

India denies presence of LTTE camps in the country

2011-03-11T00:34:00.001-08:00

New Delhi: Strongly reacting to Sri Lanka's allegations of presence of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) camps in the country, India on Thursday 'categorically' denied existence of such camps and asked Colombo to 'desist from reacting to speculative and uncorroborated reports.'

"We have seen reports from Sri Lanka referring to the Sri Lankan prime minister's statement in their Parliament alluding to the presence of LTTE training camps in Tamil Nadu. We categorically deny the existence of any such camps," official spokesperson in the ministry of external affairs said in New Delhi.
He said the government of Sri Lanka has also not taken up this issue with India.
"Such a reference is indeed unfortunate and we urge Sri Lanka to desist from reacting to speculative and uncorroborated reports," the spokesperson added.
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister DM Jayaratne yesterday told his country's Parliament that LTTE was still operating training centres in India.
Jayaratne said a former Lanka rebel named Vinayagam heads the operations in India with the assistance of Nediyavan who is Oslo-based and added that there was a chance that India trained LTTE cadres may carry out attacks in Sri Lanka.
Source: PTI

India successfully test-fires Dhanush, Prithvi-II missiles

2011-03-10T23:29:00.001-08:00

Balasore: In an exercise to further sharpen its missile teeth, India on Friday successfully test-fired two indigenously developed, nuclear capable ballistic missiles, both having a strike range of 350 kms, from separate locations off the Orissa coast.
While 'Dhanush' was flight tested from a naval ship in the Bay of Bengal at a spot between Paradip and Puri at 1005 hours, 'Prithvi-II' surface-to-surface ballistic missile was test-fired at around 11 hours from a mobile launcherat launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, 15 km from here.
"It was a fantastic launch. Both the missions, carried out from different locations off Orissa coast, were fully successful," ITR Director S P Dash said.
"Both the missiles are under production after successful completion of developmental trials and have been inducted into the Armed Forces," said a scientist of Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), maintaining that the launches this morning were "part of regular training exercise".
"The trajectory of both the missiles, with advanced navigation and guidance systems, were monitored by a widespread tracking network consisting of radars, telemetry and electro-optical systems spread over land and sea," he said.
A similar training exercise, comprising both Dhanush and Prithvi-II were successfully conducted in a "salvo mode" off Orissa coast on March 27, 2010.
Dhanush, which is also known as the naval version of Prithvi, is a liquid-propellant single-stage missile. It has a pay load capacity of 500 kg and capable of carrying both nuclear as well as conventional warheads. The missile can hit both sea and shore-based targets with pin-point accuracy.
It is 10 metres long, one metre in diameter and weighs six tonnes.
Referring to Prithvi-II, a DRDO scientist said the test firing of the surface-to-surface missile, which has already been inducted into Armed Forces, was a routine trial conducted by the personnel of Strategic Force Command (SFC).
"The trial was conducted in the presence of senior officials as part of routine training exercises," sources said.
Prithvi, the first missile developed under India’s prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), has proved its robustness and accuracy repeatedly during many trials earlier since the first trial conducted in 1988.
Prithvi missiles, equipped with sophisticated guidance systems, have reached the specified targets with very high degree of accuracy during its earlier launches.
"Randomly picked up from routine production lot during earlier user's trial by the Army, the surface-to-surface missile has achieved single-digit accuracy reaching close to zero circular error probability (CEP)," said a defence source.
With a length of nine metres and a diameter of one meter, Prithvi-II uses an advanced inertial navigation system with ability to manoeuvre trajectory.
The missile having the features to deceive anti- ballistic missile systems, is powered by two liquid propellant engines and can carry a warhead of 500 kgs.

Terrorists for Hire

2011-03-09T04:00:00.000-08:00

By M.G. Radhakrishnan

Thiruvanthapuram: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has revealed that Pakistani terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) is recruiting youth from Kerala to carry out terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir. After a year-long probe into an encounter in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir, in which four young men from Kerala were killed by security forces in October 2008, the NIA has filed a chargesheet in the special cbi court in Kerala. The NIA's findings confirm those of a Joint Investigation Team of the Kerala Police, which first investigated the case and arrested 20 people in 2009.

The NIA's chargesheet accuses Wali alias Abdul Rehman-a Pakistani and LeT commander based at Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir-of recruiting youth from Kerala. The chargesheet was filed by NIA's Mukesh Singh, DIG, and Sajid Farid Shapoo, SP. The NIA claims that the conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Oman and the UAE. Of the 24 accused, 19 have been arrested. "Interpol has been requested to issue a Red Corner notice to arrest Rehman and four other absconding Indians suspected to be in Gulf countries now," says K.N. Raveendran, prosecutor for the NIA. Another accused in the case, T. Nazeer from Kannur in Kerala, was arrested last year from the Meghalaya border by the Bangladesh Rifles. He is an accused in a number of terror cases in Kerala and in the 2008 serial blasts cases in Bangalore.
The recruitment case first surfaced in 2008, when Muhammad Fayaz, Abdul Raheem, Muhammad Fayeez and Muhammad Yasin-all in their 20s and from poor families-were shot dead in the forests of Lolab in Kupwara. Yasin had converted to Islam from Christianity. The Kerala Police had confirmed that the four belonged to Kerala and a case was registered in Kannur. After a year-long investigation, the Kerala Police's Special Investigation Team found that they had been recruited by members and leaders of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), now attached to the LeT.
The recruitment drive in Kerala began in 2006 when indoctrination camps were held by SIMI leaders, including Nazeer. The camps were held under the garb of religious classes organised by Noorisha Tareeqat. The funding for recruitment and for carrying out terror activities came through hawala traders in Bangladesh.
On September 10, 2008, five youngsters-Fayaz, Raheem, Fayeez, Yasin and Abdul Jabbar-from these camps were selected and taken from Kannur by train to Jamia Nooria, the headquarters of Noorisha Tareeqat in Hyderabad. Three days later, they were taken to Delhi by train and were put up at a lodge near Nizamuddin Railway Station. On September 14, all five took a night bus to Srinagar, where they were handed over to Umair, a Kashmiri. On the 16th, they were taken to Kupwara by a woman called Parveen., where they joined an LeT training camp. In October, Fayaz, Raheem, Fayeez and Yasin were killed in an encounter while Jabbar escaped and returned to Kerala. The NIA found that Jabbar was treated in a hospital in Perumbavoor near Ernakulam before he fled the country on a fake passport.
It is an exaggeration to portray Kerala as a terror hub, but terrorist forces outside the state and country have been trying to use Kerala and have had limited success.
Kodiyeri Balakrishnan
Kerala home minister
"It is an exaggeration to portray Kerala as a terror hub, but terrorist forces outside the state and the country have been trying to use Kerala and have had limited success. We have been able to arrest all the accused except those who fled the country within a few months of the incident," says Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, state home minister. Jacob Punuse, director general of police, says that all they got from the four dead in Kashmir were their fake passports. "From that, we succeeded in tracking their entire operations and arrested almost all the accused."
Though most of the ideological and financial sources of terror are located outside the state, terrorist incidents and fundamentalist activities have been growing in Kerala with active participation by locals. In August 2010, suspected Islamic militants chopped off a professor's hand in Muvatupuzha near Ernakulam. More than 25 people were arrested, most of whom are alleged to have links to the Popular Front of India, a Kerala-based Muslim militant group. The professor was attacked because he contributed to a college examination question paper which allegedly contained derogatory references to Prophet Mohammed.
That the NIA is also probing four other terror cases in Kerala is proof that the state is emerging as a terror hub. The agency has filed a chargesheet against 35 people in connection with a SIMI arms and ideology camp in Vagamon, Idukki, in 2007. Another chargesheet is against 18 people for holding a SIMI meeting in Panaikkulam in 2006. The burning of a Tamil Nadu Transport Corporation bus in Kalamaserry, Ernakulam, in 2005 is also being probed, along with the 2006 twin blasts at a Kozhikode bus stand in 2006.

Al-Qaeda routing money to India via Europe

2011-03-06T00:50:00.001-08:00

New Delhi: European countries are being used as hot destinations by terror group al-Qaeda to route money to India, according to a report by Peruvian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

The report said the FIU had found at least one case of such suspicious transaction by al-Qaeda every month and shared them with the US investigators.
"The FIU also reports tracking cases similar to that of an OFAC-designated (US Office of Foreign Assets Control) of al-Qaeda element moving money from Europe through Lima and on to India," the report leaked by Wikileaks, a non-profit media organisation dedicated to bringing important information to the public, quoting FIU head Enrique Saldivar disclosed.
"Asked if this al-Qaeda case was the first of its kind or they had seen similar cases before, Saldivar told NASOff that they see about one case a month," the cable said.
Source: PTI

Headley trail hot again

2011-02-26T22:20:00.001-08:00

Headley trail hot again, NIA puts 4 Mumbai men through polygraph test

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has put four Mumbai men through polygraph tests after establishing that they had been in contact with Lashkar-e-Toiba operative David Coleman Headley and his accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana.
The four, who sources said hold "important keys" to the 26/11 conspiracy, were called to Delhi recently. The NIA is likely to use them as witnesses.
Both Headley and Rana were arrested in Chicago in October 2009. Over several visits to India in the months and years before 26/11, Headley had scoped out the targets that the terrorists hit that night.
Among the four people examined by the NIA was Rajaram Rege, a public relations officer with the Shiv Sena. His name figured in a few reports about Headley's alleged confessions some months ago. Rege was put through the lie detector test and questioned on his association with Headley and Rana, sources said.
When contacted by The Sunday Express, Rege acknowledged that he had been "contacted" by the NIA, but refused to speak further. "The case is over now. I do not want to comment on it," he said over the phone from Mumbai.
The second person on the NIA's radar is Jogeshwari resident Mohd Bashir Sheikh, who sources said, has known Rana since 2002. Sheikh is learnt to have admitted he met Rana 8-9 times, and found his accommodation in Mumbai.
"Sheikh first met Rana while he was a cab driver in the US in connection with his application for immigration to Canada. He was looking for citizenship in either the US or Canada. However, he came back to India in 2005, and subsequently visited Rana's immigration office in Worli," said an NIA officer.
Sheikh could not be reached for a comment.
The third person is Abdul Majeed Kutty, owner of Jumbo Electronics in the Fort area. NIA sources said Headley purchased cameras and electronic equipment from this shop, which he subsequently used to film terror targets in India. The NIA is learnt to have found details of the purchases, which are part of the evidence in the case.
Kutty refused to comment.
The fourth person is another Jogeshwari resident, Abdul Haq Dhukka. Sources said Dhukka had met Headley during the latter's stay in Mumbai.
When contacted, Dhukka said he had given his statement to the NIA, and refused to elaborate.
Source: The Sunday Express

Cornered Naxals are cosying up to NE ultras

2011-02-25T23:12:00.000-08:00

The United Liberation Front of Asom, led by self styled commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, has reportedly established close operational links with Naxal elements to carry out destructive activities in different parts of the country.

Highly placed sources told this correspondent that apart from the Inter-Services Intelligence wing of Pakistan, some Chinese elements are also guiding these anti-India n insurgent outfits in a bid to intensify their 'destabilise and disintegrate India campaign.'

The ISI and its cohorts are not only funding and imparting arms training to all anti-Indian elements, they are also supplying arms and extending logistical support to those insurgents. The whole concept is to engage India with another prolonged proxy war in the sensitive north-east region.

The report of close operational cooperation between the anti-talk faction of the ULFA and the Naxal elements was confirmed by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Thursday, when he revealed that the ultra left-wing cadres have established close links with the Paresh Baruah-led outfit for the past few months.

Gogoi also added that the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti of Assam is working as a front of Maoists in Assam. They have also established close links with the Adibasi National Liberation Army and some other underground outfits.

The Maoists are desperately trying to set up their base in Assam. Tea garden areas in upper Assam and some of the tribal areas in the hilly interiors are sensitive spots where Maoists are trying to establish their base.

Joint combing operations by central paramilitary forces and the state police in all the major Naxal-affected states including Jharkhand, Orissa, Chattishgarh, Bihar and West Bengal have put the Naxals on the defensive.

Subsequently, the Naxal leadership has decided to expand their base in the north-east. Accordingly, the Maoists have renewed their link with various north-east underground outfits.

This new friendship will help Maoists procure weapons and organise arms training for their cadres in the vast un-administered land along the Indo-Myanmar and Indo-Bangladesh borders.

The recent arrest of three Assamese youth from a Naxal camp bordering Orissa has come as solid evidence of the growing influence of Maoist ultras among the youth in Assam. All three belonged to upper Assam's Naharkatiya area and they were identified as Aditya Bora, Singh Raj Orang and Ashok Sabar.

The trio reportedly admitted to their close liaison with Naxal leaders. They had apparently gone to Naxal-infested regions of the West Bengal-Orissa border for secret parleys with Maoist central committee member and top Maoist leader Kishenji.

Sources indicated that Maoists have already set up their local committees in Assam and Manipur. All three members, arrested near Orissa border, are believed to be active members of the upper Assam committee of Maoists.

Earlier, Maoists had extended merely tactical support to the cause of Kashmir and the north-eastern insurgents' outfits. But a few years ago, they established links with RPF, a militant outfit from Manipur. RPF is the political wing of the PLA and a believer of Maoist ideology.

Maoist general secretary Ganapathi wrote a letter to the RPF extending, support to its'national struggle' and seeking 'close tie' and 'exchange of revolutionary ideas' among other things.

The Maoist leadership had earlier established secret links with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Issac-Muivah) group.

The central government's campaign has forced the Maoist guerillas to forge new friendships with north-east's militant outfits, to continue their struggle in the heartland of north India.

This development is likely to create hurdles in the ongoing peace campaign in the disturbed region, if corrective measures are not undertaken at the earliest.

The ISI and hostile Chinese elements are reportedly taking full advantage of the situation to foment trouble in the region. It remains to be seen how the central government and the security agencies counter this new element of threat in the region.

Sujit Chakraborty In New Delhi

Maoists make fresh demand for collector's release

2011-02-23T22:40:00.000-08:00

Bhubaneswar, Feb 24 (PTI) Maoists today made a fresh demand for quick release of five key Naxals to publicly free Malkangiri District Collector R V Krishna and involvement of rights activist Swami Agnivesh in the process, prompting the mediators to appeal for his freedom by tomorrow.
While Naxal leader Ganti Prasadam was today granted bail by the Orissa High Court, Maoists demanded that five others including Sriramulu Srinivasulu and Padma, wife of a top rebel, be also freed from jail, official sources said.
The condition laid by the abductors was conveyed to Malkangiri district administration in a letter sent through the released junior engineer Pabitra Majhi, who had been abducted along with the collector on February 16, they said.
The abductors also expressed their intention to free the collector in public in the presence of three Maoist-chosen mediators who held talks with Orissa government, Swami Agnivesh and project director of District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Malkangiri after the release of top naxals named by them, sources said.
Expressing shock over the new demand, Ganti Prasadam, mediator G Hargopal and Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao made a joint appeal to the ultras to release the district collector within 24 hours, by tomorrow evening.
Hargopal said Orissa government has agreed to release Srinivasalu, who has already got bail in a case, but he has to be sent to Andhra Pradesh as there are cases against him in that state and the issue is beyond Orissa government purview.
Regarding Ganti Prasadam, Padma and others, Orissa government has agreed to withdraw cases against them, he said.
On Agnivesh, the mediator said it would not be possible to involve him at this stage.
About release of tribals of Malkangiri and Koraput districts, the matter would be taken up within 15 days "and we will pursue it," Hargopal said.
"We are happy that the junior engineer has been released but any additional condition will complicate the issue as yesterday we had already made commitment of release of both the hostages in 48 hours," Hargopal said.
"We had given assurance to Orissa government after consulting Ganti Prasadam, Varavara Rao and Srinivasulu," he said
"We as mediators are surprised. We did not expect additional demand will come up. We appeal to them (abductors) to free the collector in 24 hours, that is 6 pm tomorrow evening," Hargopal said.
He said their appeal was being aired in English and Telugu as Maoists listen to radio regularly.
"This appeal may have to be taken by the party very seriously because we have promised Orissa government and you (Naxals) had earlier said that nobody need to come to the spot," Hargopal said.

Orissa hostage crisis: Govt caves in, Maoists to free Collector, engineer

2011-02-23T00:19:00.001-08:00

Bhubaneswar: Kidnapped Malkangiri district collector R V Krishna and a junior engineer have not been released, said a Maoist interlocuter, dismissing reports that the two hostages were freed last night. Professor Hargopal, one of the mediators chosen by the Maoists, said the hostages will be released in 48 hours. This after the Orissa government folded to all demands made by the Maoists.

After wrapping up the three-day talks with the state government, the Maoist-chosen mediators said Krishna, the 30-year-old IAS officer, and Pabitra Majhi, who are in captivity for the seventh day, would return within 48 hours.
Home secretary U N Behera said the hostage crisis has been resolved. "Both the Malkangiri Collector and the junior engineer will be back within 48 hours," Prof G Hargopal, one of the three Maoist-chosen interlocutors, told reporters at the conclusion of the talks. Hargopal said the mediators were satisfied at the outcome of the talks.
Behera said it was agreed that cases against five Maoists, including Ganti Prasadam and Padma, wife of top naxal Ramakrishna will be withdrawn after following due process of law.
The government also agreed that there would be no coercive action by security forces as long as the Maoists do not indulge in unlawful activities, he said. Twelve Maoists including hardcore rebel leader Sriramalu Srinivasalu were today released on bail in one case by a fast track court but will be be behind bars in connection with another case.
Regarding the demand by Maoists for release of naxals like central committee member of CPI (Maoist) Asutosh Sen, Sriramulu Srinivasulu, Gananath Patra and Jiban Bose, the Home secretary said the matter would be examined on their merit.

While eight demands of Maoists had been settled yesterday, remaining six were agreed to during today's talks, he said, adding now the path is clear for release of Krishna and Majhi, who were abducted from Chitrakonda area of Malkangiri district on February 16.
Regarding the demand for release of tribals, Behera said the state government in the past had already withdrawn petty cases against tribals and same approach would be adopted for those still in jails.
Steps for examining withdrawal of petty cases of tribals now lodged in jails would be started in 15 days and completed within three months, he said.
"We mediators express our satisfaction with the outcome of our mediation. We express appreciation for concern of Maoists for tribals of Orissa. The tribals' release was of utmost concern for them," Prof Hargopal said.
Apart from Prof Hargopal, other interlocutors who participated in the negotiations were Prof Someswar Rao and Dandapani Mohanty while Behera and Panchayati Raj secretary S N Tripathy represented the state government.
"We trust the withdrawal of cases against tribals on priority basis will be taken up in 15 days. We hope that tribals will get released and will be back in their habitats," Prof Hargopal said.

Hostage crisis: 12 Maoists released
About 12 Maoists including hardcore rebel leader Sriramalu Srinivasalu were today released on bail as talks for safe return of abducted Malkangiri district collector and an engineer appeared to reach a decisive stage after another top Naxal Ganti Prasadam joined the negotiation process.
Srinivasalu got bail along with 11 others from a fast track court in Malkangiri. The Maoists had demanded release of Sriramlu, Ganti Prasadam, Padma and several others for freeing district collector R V Krishna, a 2005 batch IAS officer, and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi. They were abducted on Wednesday last.
The mediators - Prof R S Rao, Prof Hargopal and Dandapani Mohanty - today consulted Maoist leader Ganti Prasadam, who was shifted to the special jail in the state capital from Koraput.
"It is the common responsibility before us to defuse the situation," Prasadam said after reaching here from Koraput. After the third day of talks, state Home Secretary U N Behera said, "We are nearing close (to resolving) the issue with the mediators selected by the Maoists."
"They (mediators) are in touch with him (Prasadam)," the Home Secretary said.
Asked whether the state government would oppose the bail of certain other Maoists leaders, Behera did not give a direct reply and said, "We have progressed well in the matter."
The state government was represented by Behera and Panchayati Raj Secretary S N Tripathy. The three mediators went to Jharpada jail for discussions with Prasadam. Contentious naxal demands like release of Maoists and 700 tribals, withdrawal of BSF and CRPF from Malkangiri and Koraput were discussed at length as Krishna, 31, and junior engineer Pabitra Majhi spent yet another day in captivity.

Participation of Prasadam in the negotiations was one of the major demands of the Maoists who had abducted the two officials on February 16 from Chitrakonda area of Malkangiri district.
While eight of the 14 demands of Maoists were settled between mediators and state government officials yesterday, discussion on the remaining six would hold the key to resolution of the crisis, sources said.
Prasadam has moved a bail petition before the Orissa High Court along with four other Naxals. The state government has decided not to oppose Prasadam's bail, they said.
The settled issues included recognising Konda Reddy and Nokadora communities as Scheduled Tribe, steps for scrapping Pollavaram multi-purpose dam project in Andhra Pradesh and issue of land pattas to tribals whose land had allegedly been taken away in Malkangiri and Koraput, Behera said.An agreement has also been reached on extension of a canal project in Malkangiri and compensation to families of two persons who died in jail custody due to alleged torture in Koraput.
The state government would also take steps to facilitate release of two central committee members of CPI(Maoist) Sila Di and Padma lodged in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh jails, he said.The issue of stoppage of bauxite mining in Mali and Deomali hills in Koraput and Rayagada districts was also resolved, he said.
With people remaining anxious about the fate of the hostages, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told the assembly, "We have been assured by the mediators that there shall be no harm to Krishna and Majhi."Both are safe and in good health, he said
Source: PTI & IANS

HC upholds Kasab's death penalty

2011-02-21T00:04:00.000-08:00

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has upheld the death sentence awarded to Ajmal Amir Kasab, the only Pakistani terrorist caught alive during the November 26, 2008 attack on Mumbai. The High Court upheld the lower court's order completely and found Kasab guilty of seven murders including the killings of senior Mumbai Police officials Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar."This is rarest of rare matter so he should face capital punishment. Kasab and Abu Ismail together killed 56 people," the two-judge division bench comprising justices Ranjana Desai and RV More observed while dismissing an appeal filed by Kasab challenging the death sentence by Special Judge ML Tahaliyani in May 2010.Kasab made his fourth appearance in the High Court through teleconferencing on Monday wearing a white kurta with his head down. The entire proceeding lasted for just a few moments before the court pronounced its verdict.

While upholding Kasab's death sentence the High Court also dismissed Maharashtra Government's appeal against acquittal of Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed in its 1208-page judgement. Fahim and Sabauddin were accused of preparing maps of Mumbai and giving them to alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba operatives. Maharashtra government has decided to appeal against the acquittal of the duo in the Supreme Court.

Sabauddin's lawyer Ejaz Naqvi said that Kasab wanted the death penalty.

"What is important is that Kasab wanted death penalty. He has got it. Kasab was smiling today and looked that he was confident of getting the capital punishment," said Ejaz Naqvi.

Kasab has been sentenced to death for attacking Mumbai on November 26, 2008 along with nine other Pakistani terrorists and killing 166 people. He was found guilty of 80 offences, including waging war against the nation, which is punishable with the death penalty.

Tahaliyani on May 6, 2010 gave 22-year-old Kasab death sentence on five counts of murder, conspiracy to murder, waging war against the country, abetting murder and indulging in terrorist activities.

Kasab was also awarded life imprisonment on five other counts, which included attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and violation of the Explosive Substances Act.

While convicting him on June 3, the judge had ruled that Kasab was guilty of directly killing seven people and a total of 59 with associate Abu Ismail, who was shot dead after running into a police picket at Girgaun Chowpatty early on November 27 - shortly after the terror attack began in Mumbai on November 26 night.

His conviction was based on CCTV footage showing him striding across the Chhattrapati Shivaji Terminus with an AK-47 and a backpack.

The 60-hour audacious attack began on the night of November 26, 2008 and went on till the afternoon of November 29. Only Kasab was captured alive while the other nine terrorists were killed in the gunfight with security forces.

Orissa: Police still clueless about kidnapped district collector

2011-02-16T23:00:00.001-08:00

Bhubaneswar: More than 12 hours after Maoists abducted R Vineel Krishna, the district collector of the worst-affected Malkangiri, the Orissa police are no wiser about the possible whereabouts of the young officer.

Krishna, a 2005-batch IAS officer was coming back after attending a public-contact programme in Kudumulgumma block in the cut-off areas of Malkangiri when three to four armed Maoists abducted him and two other junior engineers (JE) at Jantapai area, a little more than 3 hours drive from Malkangiri district headquarters.
The Maoists later released one of the JEs with a letter demanding immediate halt to Operation Greenhunt and release of Maoists lodged in jails within 48 hours. District officials said Krishna and junior engineer Majhi were still in Maoist custody somewhere in the dense jungles of Andhra-Orissa border.
Speaking to The Indian Express, state home secretary U N Behera ruled out any commando-type action while hinting that some kind of trade-off may be worked out to secure the district collector and the JE's release. "Any commando action would endanger their lives. But to initiate any action we need to establish contacts which we have not been able to do so far," said Behera. Preliminary reports said the abduction seems to be the handiwork of Andhra-Orissa Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) of the Maoists that covers the four north coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh - East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram and Srikakulam - and the five southern Orissa districts of Malkangiri, Rayagada, Gajapati, Koraput and Nabrangpur.
Malkangiri project director of District Rural Development Agency, Balwant Singh who accompanied Krishna at the public contact programme in Badapada GP of Kudumulgumma block yesterday afternoon, said afterthe public contact programme in Badapada GP attended by hundreds of tribals, the collector headed to Papermetla village in Kudumulgumma to inspect some work. "The public contact programme was a huge success. The programme was organised to distribute old age pensions and hear the grievances of the villagers. After the meeting, he left for Papermetla at 3.30 pm by motorbike and that was the last I saw him. Collector, who had the JE on his pillion, was abducted at Jantapai while coming back from Papermetla around 5 pm," said Singh.Krishna did not have a PSO with him when the abduction happened.
Earlier in the day Krishna accompanied by district officials launched electrification work in Siligumma village of Raleguda GP, the first village in the cut-off area to be electrified after independence. The cut-off areas are 150-odd villages on Andhra-Orissa border water-locked by the Chitrakonda reservoir after the construction of two major hydel projects. Without any development, the remote cut-off area has therefore become a safe haven for Maoists. In June 2008, 38 Greyhounds personnel of Andhra Pradesh were drowned to death when Naxals sank their motor launch in the Chitrakonda reservoir near Alampakka.
Krishna, an IIT Madras civil engineering graduate, joined the IAS in 2005. The 30-year-old is easily one of the few brightest IAS officers of Orissa and is known for his administrative skills and honesty. He proved his mettle during the 2008 Kandhamal riots when he was posted as sub-collector of Baliguda sub-division of the district. "His efforts in reaching out to riot victims was highly commendable," said Kandhamal collector Dr Krishan Kumar. Meanwhile, back at home his disconsolate wife and a one-and-half-year-old son are anxiously awaiting news of his whereabouts. Krishna's IAS batchmates and colleagues have been trying the best to keep up the morale of the officer. His parents who stay in Bangalore are rushing to Malkangiri.
"Working in the treacherous terrains of Malkangiri requires lots of guts. Krishna was posted there because of his commitment to work," said a senior IAS officer.
The incident, has sent shockwaves among IAS officers of the state, who have been posted to various Maoist-affected districts. Krishna during his tenure as collector Malkangiri for last 16 months had become extremely popular among local tribals through his pro-people programmes. As a result, very few tribals joined Maoist ranks in recent months. Director of Census Bishnupada Sethi said Krishna's efforts were crucial which helped conduct the houselisting operations without any hitch in Maoist-affected district.
Sharing borders with deeply Maoist-afflicted states like Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, Orissa has found itself constrained in dealing with the armed rebels as they progressively extend their areas of operations. While 15 of Orissa's 30 Districts have, over the years, witnessed Maoist violence and mobilization, it is the border Districts which have been the worst affected.
Maoists in Malkangiri work in close coordination with their comrades from across the borders in Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The Maoists function through their dalams (squads), and those operating in Malkangiri currently include the Kalimela dalam, the Poplur dalam, the Motu dalam, the Jhanjavati dalam, and the Korkonda dalam, among others.
The Collector and some of his officials, who had ventured into deep areas of Badapada gram panchayat, were intercepted by a group of armed cadres, who reportedly took the Collector hostage. While the State police frantically tried to find a clue to his whereabouts, Krishna remained untraceable. Director-General of Police Manmohan Praharaj said he cannot comment anything about it at this stage.
Krishna, along with Project Director, District Rural Development Agency, Balawant Singh, another IAS officer, and about four more district-level officials had headed to Badapada gram panchayat, located in Chitrakonda reservoir, this morning to hold the public awareness camp.
Preliminary reports reaching here said the group finished the camp, but Krishna and three others took two bikes to inspect some more areas. It is then that Krishna is believed to have walked into the Maoists' area, who were aware of his visit. Sources said Krishna was escorted by two junior engineers (JEs) and an NGO worker after the camp. They took two bikes to venture into nearby areas and headed in different directions.
Latest reports said the JE, accompanying the 36-year-old IAS officer, was set free by the Maoists. He carried a letter which had given the Government 24 hours to withdraw the security forces and free the ultras lodged in different jails. ADG (Operations) Sanjib Marik said the Collector has been untraceable since afternoon and there has been no contact with him after the camp.
The officials had headed from Chitrakonda to Janbai, a distance of 10 km, by road. At Janbai, they took a boat to Badapada GP, which is located in Chitrakonda reservoir. The day's meeting went off well but soon after, Krishna went missing. The cut-off areas of Malkangiri, in the midst of the reservoir, comprises six gram panchayats with about 151 villages. Far from the mainland, these areas, contiguous to Andhra Pradesh, are haven for the Maoists because of their terrains.
The place where Krishna was abducted is about 2 to 4 km drive from Malkangiri district headquarters depending on road conditions. Police sources said Maoists from Andhra Pradesh may have been behind the abduction. Malkangiri is one of the districts acutely-affected by Naxalism.
SOurce: Indian Express

Cops probing Naxal links with Assam ultras

2011-02-13T23:21:00.001-08:00

Guwahati: A day after a former ULFA militant and two other youths from Assam were arrested in Orissa, the police are once again taking a closer look at possible links of different armed groups of the state with Maoists.

The three persons from Assam included one Aditya Bora, said to be a former ULFA militant who had been in Jharkhand and Orissa for the past six months or so, reportedly providing arms training to Maoist cadres there.

Bora, who hails from Rajgarh in Dibrugarh district, is also suspected to have been involved in an incident of arms snatching from security forces in the district in November last year.

“There are reports about some Assam groups having links with the Maoists and also about sending their boys to their camps in Jharkhand, Orissa and other states,” a senior Assam Police official said here.

Six persons arrested in Lakhimpur district in upper Assam on January 27 had mentioned the name of Bora and that he was in Jharkhand undergoing training in a Maoist camp.

The police visited Bora’s home a few days later and was trying to link him to an incident of arms snatching that took place in Tingkhong on November 4 last year.

In April last year, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had said the Maoists had forged links with the ULFA to set up a base in Assam.

Besides the ULFA, a couple of other armed groups of the state are under the scanner for their alleged links with the Maoists.

Intelligence reports had last year suggested that the Adivasi National Liberation Army, that works among tea labourers and other settlers of Chhotanagpur-Jharkhand origin in Assam, had sent some of its boys for arms training with the Maoists.

Two other Assam outfits — United Peoples Democratic Solidarity and the Dima Halam Daoga — too have Maoist links, reports said.

Noted RTI activist Akhil Gogoi, general secretary of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, had landed in a controversy last year after the Assam Police claimed he had Maoist links.

UNDER SCANNER
* ULFA
* Adivasi National Liberation Army
* United Peoples Democratic Solidarity
* Dima Halam Daoga
* RTI activist Akhil Gogoi

New terror modules emerging: Chidambaram

2011-01-31T23:21:00.001-08:00

New Delhi: Home Minister P. Chidambaram Tuesday said new terror groups were emerging and there was no room for complacency even though the internal security situation in the country had vastly improved in the past year.

Addressing the fourth chief ministers' conference on internal security here, Chidambaram said: "A number of modules (of terrorists) are active. New groups have raised their heads."
He said the internal security situation has "vastly improved in the past one year". Hinting that the central government is taking a serious view of investigations leading to the involvement of rightwing radicals in terrorist incidents, Chidambaram said: "Every terrorist group will be pursued and brought before the law."
The home minister said there was no let up in cross-border terrorism and attempts at infiltration. He said left wing extremism also posed a major threat to the internal security.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh added that the internal security situation was by and large stable but serious challenges and threats remained. He said that there were "serious challenges and threats" from left wing extremism, cross border terrorism and fundamentalism. He said left wing extremism had seen a decrease over the previous year, but the number of casualties among civilians had increased. "Chhattisgarh, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand continue to be a cause of concern."
He also complimented Home Minister P. Chidambaram and his team for their proactive role in tackling the internal security challenges.

Indian Navy commandos to be armed with Israeli rifles

2011-01-13T22:14:00.001-08:00

New Delhi: The Indian Navy's elite marine commandos will this month be armed with Israeli assault and rifles that will enhance their operational capability as a force trained for special operations.

A consignment of over 500 TAR-21 Tavor assault rifles and another 30 Galil sniper rifles worth over Rs.15 crore ($3.3 million) and Rs.2 crore respectively was delivered to the MARCOS (marine commandos) in December 2010, a defence ministry official told IANS here.
A team from the Israeli Military Industries (IMI), the manufacturer of the specialist weapons, will be in India to carry out joint inspection of the consignment's post-delivery quality to ensure the weapons are in fighting-fit condition.
"The lot of over 500 Tavor and 30 Galil rifles has arrived and the Israeli team will be here to jointly inspect the delivered weapons and for assembling them. The MARCOS will begin using these rifles and start training on them from this month," the official said. He did not wish to be identified because of ministry rules.
The defence ministry had placed the orders for the rifles for the MARCOS - their actual strength is classified - in 2008.

The two weapons are already in use with the Indian Army's special forces and the Indian Air Force's Garud special forces units. The army's special forces got about 3,000 of the Tavors and another 1,000 of the Galils some time in 2004, for which they had placed orders in 2002.
The Tavor, a 5.56mm calibre weapon of NATO specifications, is a 21st century assault rifle from IMI. The MARCOS have been using the indigenous INSAS rifles and the Russian Kalashnikov variants. The Tavor would also be a standard weapon for the force from now.
The Galil is a 7.62mm sniper weapon, again manufactured by IMI, popularly known as Galatz in the Israeli defence forces.

Army plans two training grounds in Chhattisgarh

2011-01-13T21:47:00.001-08:00

“No fire exercises near Maoist zone”

In the clearest indications of their plans till date, senior officers in the Army said the Chhattisgarh government and the Army were in the process of finalising two separate training grounds in the State. While one training centre shall be built in the north-eastern district of Raigarh (on the Orissa border), a second one shall be identified in the south-western district of Narayanpur (on the Maharashtra border).

“The Army is in the process of acquiring a large patch of land at Saraipali in Raigarh district to set up a military college modelled on their counter-insurgency school in Varangte [Mizoram],” said a senior official in the Chhattisgarh administration.

“Raigarh shall have college buildings, possibly firing ranges, and classrooms and shall be on government land. There is not enough forest cover in the area, so we are giving them another patch of land for forest exercises in Narayanpur district and a small brigade headquarters in Narayanpur town,” said the official.

Although the size of the land in Raigarh is not known, sources in the Army said they had earmarked a 600 sq.km. plot in Narayanpur in an area known as Abujmard for drills and military manoeuvres. While the facility in Raigarh may have provisions for a firing range, the Army stressed that no live fire exercises would be permitted in Abujmard.

Sources said the Army had originally asked for land on National Highway 43 in the hilly forests around Keshkal. But the Army settled for Abujmard as the Chhattisgarh police were already using Keshkal for jungle training.

Loosely translated as the “unknown forest,” Abujmard is a 4,000 sq.km. patch of densely forested land that has been declared a “liberated zone” by the Communist Party of India (Maoist). In 2010, Maoist cadres killed over 100 well-trained paramilitary troopers in Chhattisgarh alone.

Subject to conditions

Sources said the Army might conduct exercises near Abujmard on conditions that they should not cut trees, displace villages, build any permanent structures and conduct any aggressive exercises using live ammunition.

In January this year, the Army wrote to the Home Ministry asking for rules of engagement in case they are attacked.

In August last, the Air Force was granted permission to return fire in case their helicopters were fired upon. Sources said the Army expected similar clearance.

India successfully test fires Agni-II plus missile

2010-12-09T22:00:00.000-08:00

India today test-fired the Agni-II plus missile from the Wheeler Island of Dhamra in Odisha Coast. Our correspondent reports, the maiden missile test-fire was conducted at 10 this morning from the launch complex number 4 of the Wheeler Island under Chandipore Integrated Test Range.
The new series Agni-II plus, a surface-to-surface missile, is capable of carrying nuclear warheads of 1 tonne and can strike targets within a range of 2,500 to 3,000 km. The new missile is said to be an intermediary between Agni-II and Agni-III. Agni-II plus, also known as Agni-II prime, is developed by Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and expected to usher a new chapter in the India's missile programme.
Being an upgraded version of the Agni-II missile, the new missile, is more accurate and powerful and with better range. The Agni II plus missile can also carry extra fuel and will have a new motor in its re-entry vehicle for better maneuverability and an improved navigation system.

Varanasi: Dr Shahnawaz, Bhatkal brothers emerge as main suspects

2010-12-09T01:16:00.001-08:00

New Delhi: A day after the blast in Varanasi's Sheetla ghat killed a toddler and injured 37 others, the Mumbai Police said on Wednesday that Bhatkal brothers Riyaz and Iqbal – the chiefs of the Indian Mujahideen – had masterminded the explosion. The Bhatkal brothers are in Pakistan.

Preliminary investigations have shown the actual muscle to carry on the blasts was provided by Dr Shahnawaz, the brother of IM foot soldier Mohammed Saif who was arrested in the Batla House encounter in September 19, 2008.
In that encounter, a week after the Delhi blasts, the then IM commander Atiq Amin was killed and Saif arrested. Dr Shahnawaz, who is both in Dubai and Pakistan now, took charge thereafter. A Pakistan-trained mujahideen, Shahnawz is in regular touch with the Bhatkal brothers, sources said.
He is also involved in the Delhi, Ahmedabad and Jaipur blasts. It was widely expected that the IM terror modules that operated out of Azamgarh had been wiped out after the Batla encounter. But that is not so.
Preliminary investigations point at IM members based in the Sanjarpur-Saraimeer-Phulpur area of the Azamgarh district, just 100 kilometres from Varanasi. Dr Shahnawaz along with aides Khalid, Abu Rashid and Bada Sajid or Mohammed Sajid had fled to Nepal after the Batla House encounter. This former physician in Lucknow Hospital is purportedly now in both Dubai and Pakistan. All four now hold Nepalese passports
Meanwhile, the email in which the banned terrorist group, Indian Mujahideen, claimed responsibility for the bomb blast in Varanasi originated from the suburb Vashi in Navi Mumbai. The email which was shot to several media houses minutes after the blast was sent through an unsecured WiFi connection of the Airtel broadband, official sources have said.

The Indian Mujahideen module had hacked into a broadband Internet connection of a Navi Mumbai resident. Police sources said the Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) that was used to send the five-page email was traced to a house in sector 17, Vashi in Navi Mumbai.
The house owner's insecure WiFi was hacked into, the sources said, adding the logger of the router has been disabled so there no trace of who logged into it and hacked it. A father-son duo were picked up for questioning in connection with the email that claimed responsibility for yesterday's blast at a crowded ghat in Varanasi which killed an infant and injured 37 others.
The two were questioned and later released. Earlier, Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjeev Dayal has said the police of Navi Mumbai and Mumbai were coordinating to trace the culprits. Terrorists of Indian Mujahideen have been using unsecured WiFi connections to send mails to media houses within minutes of blasts taking place.
The email ID used was of gmail. The mail was written on December 6 and the account has been accessed rarely, the sources said. For the first time, the email was not area specific. All others had talked about the place where blasts would occur.

The email modus operandi, sources said, was used in Ahmedabad and the Delhi serial blasts in 2008 with Mumbai chosen by IM commander Iqbal Bhatkal as the place from where emails would be sent. This also points to the fact that IM modules are still active in Mumbai and have not been uprooted after the Batla House encounter.
The device, sources said, was wrapped in polythene and kept in a crack of the stairs leading to Sheetla Ghat. While the chemical examination of the debris is still not complete, it appears prima facie to be a fertliser-based charge with low intensity output. But the device was powerful enough to blast the rock triggering a shower of stones that sped out like missiles.
Top intelligence officials believe more such devices could have been planted at different places and the email was prepared beforehand. As the email is dated December 6, 2010, the terrorists could have tried to plant the device on the Babri Masjid anniversary but may not have been able to do so because security at the ghat was high that day.
The Indian Mujahideen (IM) claimed to have carried out the Varanasi bomb blast as revenge for what it called the "biased" Babri Masjid verdict, as mentioned in the email.
Source: Agencies

Experts deliberate on measures to combat terror

2010-12-07T23:59:00.001-08:00

Kolkata, Dec 8 : Indian security experts, along with some of their international counterparts, deliberated here today on how best to save our cities from acts of terror both from within the country and outside.

At a seminar organised by the Security Watch India(SWI), a pannel comprising former Nagaland Governor and former IB Chief Shyamal Dutta, Sheriff of Kolkata Utpal Chatterjee and eminent security experts from the United States of America discussed measures to combat terror.

They deliberated on the new face of terrorism post 9/11 with al-Qaeda emerging as the centre of ideological moorings of the so called Jihadi groups.

The relationship and wide network among the AQ and its accolytes, including LeT, JeM and Huji which traget India, were also discussed.

The participants discussed threadbare the Afpak (Afghanisthan-Pakistan) situation and possible re-emergence of Taliban as the power centre with the support of the Pakistani military and intelligence establishments and its consequences on India.

In the context of the above threats, the speakers vouched for a need to create a wider security apparatus involving government agencies, industries, business houses, private security agencies and the civil societies.

They also highlighted the centrality of specialised training and preparedness to meet the terrorist threats and also to cater to any crisis arising out of natural disasters and Chemical Bioligical Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) events.

Besides Kolkata, the seminar was organised in eight other cities, including Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi and Bangalore.

Bomb Blast Varanasi ghat

2010-12-07T07:44:00.000-08:00

Varanasi, Dec 7 (PTI) The sound of chanting of mantras reverberating in the air during the 'Ganga aarti' in this holy town turned into wails of people with the bang of an explosion this evening.

The crowd, including a large number of foreign tourists, were witnessing ceremonial 'aarti' of river Ganga at a ghat here. Soon after it got over and people were getting ready to leave when a loud explosion struck the area.

The noise of the blast triggered panic among the people who ran helter skelter for their lives.

"We had gathered here for an ganga 'mayee' aarti and were getting ready to leave when a loud noise was heard and we ran for our lives. Ghats had been the target previously also," said an eyewitness.

Nepali man caught with explosives in Delhi

2010-12-05T23:32:00.001-08:00

New Delhi, Dec 6 (IANS) A man of Nepali origin has been arrested in Delhi with explosives and nine electronic detonators, police said Friday.

Lok Nath Panth, 40, was arrested from Karol Bagh in central Delhi Thursday evening, an official said.

'We are investigating his source of explosives and his clients in Nepal, and suspect him to be a long time supplier to Nepali Maoists,' said Deputy Commissioner of police (Central) Jaspal Singh.

Dealing with security-related challenges in country has improved: Chidambaram

2010-11-30T19:38:00.001-08:00

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday said that in the two years since the terrorist attack on Mumbai by Pakistani terrorists, dealing with security-related challenges in the country has improved.

Presenting his ministry's monthly report for November, Chidambaram said: "There was a spate of news stories doubting the changes that have been brought about in the last two years. I, therefore, propose to deal at some length with one part of the work done in the last two years, and that is 'capacity addition'. The government has taken steps to ensure that."

Focusing specifically on internal security, the Home Minister said that twenty-two innocent civilians had been killed in different places in Assam between November 8 and 10.

He said that the NDFB (Anti-Talks) faction had claimed responsibility for the killings, and some arrests have been made.

"The security forces have been directed to take stern action in accordance with law, apprehend the leaders of the faction and the perpetrators of the crimes, and bring them to justice. They deserve - and will be given - exemplary punishment for their crimes," he said.

Commenting on left-wing extremism, Chidambaram said that in November, the CPI (Maoist) was responsible for 135 deaths, including 62 civilians and 11 security personnel.

"Of the civilians killed, 18 were branded as 'police informers'. Apart from targeting so-called 'police informers', the Naxalites have now started attacking the families of policemen and Special Police Officers with the object of discouraging any one from providing assistance to or joining the police force," he said.

In Chhattisgarh, in the past 6 months, he added that seven family members of police constables had been killed, and in two instances, fathers of two of these constables were abducted and released with the warning to ask their sons to resign from the police force.

He said Naxalites continued to target infrastructure, attacking 31 properties such as Panchayat Bhawans, school buildings, roads and police stations.

The minister said that the government's response to the challenge of left-wing extremism remains two-pronged - using security forces to neutralize them and promote development-related initiatives.

He said that in November, security forces had arrested 170 Naxalites and neutralized 24 others in encounters. Thirty-one Naxalites had surrendered, he added.

On the development side, he said that the government has approved an ambitious integrated action plan for sixty districts affected by Naxalism.

"We propose to make a block grant of Rs.25 crore to each district for the remaining four months of 2010-11 and Rs.30 crore to each district for 2011-12. A meeting of the Development Commissioners of the nine States has been convened on December 3, 2010. It is our intention to fasttrack the implementation of the plan and it is our hope that the administration in each of the districts would be able to deliver concrete and visible results before March 31, 2011," Chidambaram said.

He also revealed that a tribunal has upheld a government notification that declares the LTTE as an 'unlawful association' under UA(P)A, 1967 for a further period of two years (i.e. till November 12, 2012).

He also said that a sum of Rs.24 lakh had been sanctioned as assistance to eight beneficiaries at Rs. three lakh each as assistance to victims of terrorist/communal/Naxal violence. (ANI)

26/11: ‘LeT contact’ hunt leads to labour contractor

2010-11-27T01:29:00.001-08:00

Patiala: On a day when it emerged that the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commanders who planned the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes had spoken to a drug smuggler in Punjab (who was also a police informer), on his mobile phone, the Punjab Police tracked the mobile number to a migrant from Bihar who has been working as a labour contractor in Rajpura for the past few months and picked him up for questioning.

However, the police were yet to conclusively ascertain whether this is the person the LeT cadres called a day before the Mumbai terror attack. Sources also confirmed that a joint team of intelligence agencies from Mumbai and the Intelligence Bureau headquarters in Delhi had come to Patiala a few months ago and made specific inquiries about the Punjab link to the case.
The mobile phone number 9815263211 was tracked down to 43-year-old Mohammad Rahim Khan by the Patiala Police on Friday. Khan, originally from Jogbani in Bihar, was picked up by the police in the afternoon. He was supplying labour for the past four months to Rajpura-based commission agents Suresh Kumar and Subhash Kumar, who have a shop in Rajpura's Anaj Mandi (grain market).

Claiming that he had this prepaid mobile connection with him for the past 2-3 years, Khan is learnt to have denied having ever received a call from abroad from anybody. He has also claimed that he has never been involved in any criminal activity and has never been arrested by police.
The Patiala police were trying to access the call detail record (CDR) of Khan's number to establish whether any such call was received prior to the attacks. "But since mobile phone companies don't have such old data readily available, it could take us some time," a senior police official said.

The Indian Express on Friday had reported that investigations into the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks had revealed that the LeT commanders who planned the attacks were in touch with a narcotics smuggler in Punjab in the days leading up to the attacks and had had two long telephone conversations with him through voice over Internet protocol (VoIP).
A day before the attack, the LeT commanders had called up this number twice -- at 5.31 pm and 5.40 pm -- and had conversations lasting 465 and 562 seconds, respectively. The man in question is accused of smuggling drugs from Pakistan to India and is believed to have been on parole at the time he received the calls. He is said to be currently lodged in a Patiala jail.
Source: The Indian Express

Armed forces special powers a home ministry problem: IAF chief

2010-11-26T00:59:00.001-08:00

New Delhi, Nov 26 (IANS) Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik, who heads the Indian Air Force, Thursday said removal or dilution of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) - that gives the forces a legal immunity in their counter-terror operations - was a 'home ministry problem'.

He also reiterated his reservations on any alteration in the controversial law.

'I have no comments on (the AFSPA). It is a home ministry problem,' Naik told reporters here on the sidelines of a function.

The IAF chief said he has already expressed his reservations on the matter earlier and has not changed his mind on the issue.

'I have expressed my reservations earlier and they have come out. There is no change in my stand,' he said.

The AFSPA has come under severe criticism from some political circles and human rights activists who accuse the armed forces of misusing the law, which gives them legal immunity in case of a 'collateral damage', during their operations against terrorists and insurgents.

The law is in operation in some terror-hit areas of northeastern states and Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also has been demanding its revocation from the state.

The armed forces have been opposing any dilution in the act because they say it would have disastrous consequences on the fight against secessionism and insurgency. They also reject the view that extraordinary powers to the armed forces provide unbridled powers to the soldiers.

Naik in October said any decision on the AFSPA was a prerogative of the government even as he stressed that the controversial legislation was needed as a 'legal protection' for soldiers fighting terrorists.

'A soldier fighting anywhere at the request of the government, and not voluntarily, must have legal protection. Otherwise, he would be left inefficient to complete the job in which either the central or the state government has interest,' Naik had said on the annual Air Force Day.

The government is itself divided on the issue with Congress leaders, particularly Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, against taking any steps that would come in the way of the army's fight against terrorists. Home Minister P. Chidambaram is in favour of amending the law.

26/11: Beware of small strikes

2010-11-26T00:55:00.001-08:00

India has to add a major component to its outlook of the security environment with new evidence showing that the Al-Qaeda and other terrorist factory managers are planning smaller but effective attacks.

So, while India should keep its terror radar highly operational to look for the blips indicating a big strike, it should not put its antenna down looking for smaller strikes. This especially since the Lashkar-e-Toiba has been able to build a wide network of sleeper cells across India, mostly in the south, and far away from well-oiled security apparatus.
What needs flagging is a report that has sent security planners scurrying to draw up a new blueprint of response. The Al-Qaeda has released a plan to militant websites, which was picked up by its English-language magazine called Inspire. The plan details a new strategy called `Operation Haemorrhage'. Basically, it is a plan to use low-cost technology and cheap-to-assemble gadgets to effectively cause maximum damage.
Operation Haemorrhage plans to achieve three goals: trigger fear and chaos, disruption of normal life (example, throw airlines schedule into a tailspin) and make governments spend more money and time on building up security layers and walls.
An example of `Operation Haemorrhage' was the failed cartridge parcel bomb plot last month which cost the Al-Qaeda just $ 4,200 to assemble. All it needed was two cell phones costing $150 each, two HP printers ( $300 each), shipping, transportation and other miscellaneous expenses adding up to $4,200.
For a measly $4,200, the financial damage was massive. It disrupted global air cargo systems and grounded flights, causing a huge `haemorrhage' to the economy. It reflected a new strategy of low-cost attacks designed to inflict broad economic damage.

The parcel bombs were discovered in Dubai and London. The parcel bomb sent from Yemen and taken off a cargo plane at a British airport was timed to explode over the eastern seaboard of the United States.
Had the bomb exploded, the effect would have been devastating. The attack failed as the authorities got a last-minute tip off from a Saudi source. But Inspire said it was not disappointed. The fear, disruption and added security costs caused by the packages made what it called 'Operation Haemorrhage' a success.
The terrorists have become so audacious that they are laying out their plans well in advance. Inspire said that the al-Qaeda was "laying out the plans for the enemies in advance because our objective is not maximum kill but to cause (damage) in aviation industry." It said the plot was the work of "less than six brothers" over three months. The plot, the group wrote, "will without a doubt cost the US and other Western countries billions of dollars in new security measures."
Al-Qaeda calls this the "strategy of a thousand cuts." "To bring down the US we do not need to strike big," it said. "In such an environment of security phobia that is sweeping the US, it is more feasible to stage smaller attacks that involve less players and less time to launch and thus we may circumvent the security barriers America worked so hard to erect." The failed Times Square bomb plot was part of this strategy.

This would be the LeT plan for India too. Often, the LeT draws its inspiration and photostats the plans from the al-Qaeda. What the security apparatus should look out for are plots that would affect the economic fabric of India and a plan that would generate fear, chaos and death.
Hence, the focus should be on vehicles that generate economic growth, sustain the growth and the sparkplugs that often trigger a boom. Key sectors that the LeT may target are: the booming stock markets, real estate, IT and financial institutions. The plan could be to damage and disrupt these sectors -physically or financially.
Disruption and damage could also mean targeting the huge network of railways and airlines across India. While airline security has been tight, the railways would always be a soft spot. And considering the fact that the rush season is due to begin next month, security will have to be tightened.
The LeT is also likely to target `off-security POC' (point of contact) by activating the sleeper cells in smaller cities - example, Pune, Nagpur, Kochi, Vizag.
This need not mean a complete shift from hunting for the `big bang'. The al-Qaeda has been on the job of planning a Mumbai-type of attack across Europe and the US. The outfit has been planning simultaneous attacks on London, Paris and Berlin. What has come their way is the well-networked intelligence apparatus in Europe and US and the no-delay policy of passing on information.
Plans to trigger 26/11 attacks were uncovered through such intelligence snooping by a combined operation involving the intelligence agencies of the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany.

The plot was hatched by militants based in Pakistan.
Reports indicated that militants based in Pakistan were planning simultaneous strikes on London and major cities in France and Germany. The plan was in an advanced stage and was tracked by spy agencies.
When the terror plan came to light, the US military began helping its European allies by trying to kill the leaders behind the plot in Pakistan's Waziristan region through missile attacks using drone aircraft.
Unlike the US, India cannot afford pre-emptive strikes to thwart the terror plans of plotters. Considering the volatile geo-political situation that India shares with its neighbours, notably Pakistan, New Delhi will have to devise other strategies. The major one would be intelligence snooping and gathering, intelligence sharing on real-time basis between the Centre and States and between the States.
The other would be to identify sleeper cells and arrest the plotters. The third would be to further shore up security.
Hence, the security engagement post 26/11 will have to be two-pronged: look out for small strikes that could cause an economic and political `haemorrhage,' trigger fear and disruption; secondly, look for the big bang.
Source: India Syndicate & Agencies

'Maoist rebel bomb' kills seven in India's Bihar state

2010-11-21T02:20:00.000-08:00

At least seven people have been killed in north-east India after a bomb thought to have been planted by Maoist rebels exploded, Bihar police say.The device was found on Saturday, but it was not defused immediately. It was cordoned off and covered with sandbags.
It exploded the following day, while it was being examined by local villagers, a police officer said.
State legislative elections were held in the area on Saturday despite a rebel call for a boycott.
More than 50% of voters turned out in Aurangabad and Gaya districts, the Associated Press news agency reported.
A number of people were also injured in the blast, in Aurangabad district. Police also blamed suspected rebels for another explosion in Gaya district on Saturday which killed two people, the agency said.
Saturday's vote marked the end of month-long multi-phase elections for Bihar's 243-member provincial assembly.
Bihar is one of India's poorest and most corrupt states, though many believe it has begun to shed its reputation for lawlessness, caste violence and banditry.

Al Qaeda planning Mumbai-style attacks in Europe, US: CNN

2010-11-11T02:00:00.001-08:00

Washington: Al Qaeda is still planning Mumbai-style attacks in Europe, with the United States also possibly being targeted, CNN reported citing counter-terrorism officials in Europe and the United States.

The discovery of Al Qaeda's plans to launch coordinated attacks in several cities in Britain, Germany, and France led to the US issuing an unprecedented travel advisory in October for its citizens travelling in Europe.
European counter-terrorism officials cited by CNN say they believe the aim was to carry out the attacks before the end of this year. The expected timeframe of the plot had not previously been disclosed.
A former head of Germany's foreign intelligence service, Dr. August Hanning, told CNN intelligence indicated that Al Qaeda had already started planning to launch Mumbai-style attacks in the United States.
"We have got information that they have planned or are planning a plot like the Mumbai plot in Europe and the United States," said Hanning who retired late last year as State Secretary in Germany's Interior Ministry, one of the country's most senior counter-terrorism positions.
The revelation is the most concrete indication yet that Al Qaeda is planning mass casualty gun attacks on US soil, the news channel said in a report from Hamburg.
A senior US counter-terrorism official told CNN that US intelligence agencies have for some time been concerned that Al Qaeda would attempt to replicate on US soil aspects of the November 2008 Mumbai attack blamed on a Pakistani terrorrist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
"The assumption has been that they would make plans to do this and the potential threat is being treated very seriously," the official told CNN.
The capture of Ahmed Sidiqi, a militant from the German port city of Hamburg, in Afghanistan in July, helped Western intelligence uncover the conspiracy, according to European and US counter-terrorism officials. Sidiqi is currently being held in American custody at Bagram air force base in Afghanistan.
Information came from "different sources ... and this is one of the sources," Hanning told CNN. His statement was echoed by a senior US counter-terrorism official.
Western intelligence agencies also learned that Ilyas Kashmiri, a senior Al Qaeda operative, had a planning role in the plot. According to US counter-terrorism officials cited by CNN, Osama bin Laden himself signed off on the plot.
Kashmiri, a veteran jihadist who made his name fighting Indian troops in Kashmir, has in the last year emerged as a key planner of Al Qaeda operations against the West, according to Western officials and court documents.
"Kashmiri knows our situation in Germany and therefore he is dangerous," Hanning told CNN.
Source: IANS

Senior RSS leader chargesheeted in Ajmer blast case

2010-10-23T04:27:00.000-07:00

Jaipur: A senior RSS leader's name figures in the chargesheet filed by the Rajasthan ATS against five accused in the 2007 Ajmer blast. Indresh Kumar, the RSS leader, was present at a secret meeting held in a Gujarati guest house in Jaipur on October 31, 2005, in which six other functionaries of the outfit were also present, the 806-page chargesheet filed before a court in Ajmer on Friday said.

ATS sources said Indresh has not been made an accused in the case as further investigation is underway to ascertain whether he had any links with the blast. Refuting any involvement in the blast, Kumar said, "it is a political conspiracy against me. Investigating agencies have been misused. The present government protects the traitors and wages a war against patriots. I will fight this injustice in court".
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said, "the truth has come out and the RSS should accept it. Later, the background of its leaders whose names have appeared and their links will come out. One should trust the judiciary that the truth will come out and those guilty will be punished."
The five accused in the chargesheet include Devendra Gupta, allegedly linked to radical Hindu group Abhinav Bharat. They have been charged with murder and defiling a place of worship.

The chargesheet was filed by the Anti-Terrorist Squad in the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Jagendra Kumar Jain in connection with the blast on the premises of the dargah of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti that left three persons dead and 15 others injured.
Gupta and the other two accused in the case --Lokesh Sharma and Chander Shekhar Lave-- are in judicial custody. The accused have been charged with sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 120B (conspiracy) and 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship) of IPC among others.
Two other accused -- Sandeep Dange and Ramji Kalsangre -- are absconding while another accused Sunil Joshi died during the course of investigation, according to ATS officer Satyendra Singh who filed the charge sheet. The prosecution has cited 133 witnesses. The court has fixed October 26 for arguments on the charge sheet.

Fierce gun battle in Kashmir to flush out Jaish terrorists

2010-10-21T01:54:00.001-07:00

Srinagar: An encounter broke out in the early hours of Thursday between three holed up Jaish-e-Mohammad militants and security forces in Malroo on the outskirts of Srinagar city, officials said.

File photo

Police and troops of the 2 Rashtriya Rifles cordoned off the Malroo locality, 15 kilometres from here, in the morning following a tip-off about the presence of at least three militants in one of the houses in the area, they said. The ultras opened fire on the security forces when they were zeroing in on the target house, which belonged to property dealer Abdul Rashid Bhat.
The troops retaliated following which a gunbattle ensued, they said. As the house is located in a populated area, the security forces announced a halt in hostilities and sent a group of locals to persuade the militants to surrender, they said. However, the ultras refused the offer.
The security forces are evacuating all civilians from the vicinity before they launch an assault to flush out the militants, they said.

The firing between the security forces and militants resumed after the security personnel ensured there were no civilians in the close vicinity of the house, the officials said. A helicopter was seen flying very low over the house after which one of the militants started firing towards it, they said.
A defence spokesman said the movement of the choppers in the area is for routine administrative purposes as the headquarters of anti-militant operation Kilo Force is located in nearby Shariefabad area. "We do not use helicopters during encounter operations," Lt Colonel J S Brar said.
Source: The Indian Express

Bangladeshi infiltration in India!

2010-10-20T22:30:00.001-07:00

We are arrogant people. To couple that with the ignorance which we possess is a deadly sin. We have been trying to tackle Kashmir since last 6 decades; suddenly we see another monster with the name of Naxalism. It would not be very long before we see one more problem raising its ugly head. Bangladeshi infiltration!! It must be noted that we face problem not only from Pakistani borders but from Bangladeshi border too. While Pakistan has been aggressively trying to harm India, Bangladesh’s plan is more subtle and long term with disastrous consequences.
To put things into perspective, the problem has reached such gargantuan proportions that now the fate of this country is being decided by infiltrators who come here and settle with the help of our cheap-as-shit politicians for some votes. 53 out of 294 Assembly constituencies of West Bengal have a high concentration of Muslims who have entered India. Similarly, the future of 40 Assembly seats in Assam is actively decided by Bangladeshi infiltrators. Recently, Pranav Mukherji also accepted the validity of this problem. But astonishingly, this is not a new problem. Students of Assam have been actively trying to draw attention towards this since 1978. Our government, after characteristically promising to solve, has failed to deliver. Its own candidates have poached these infiltrators as vote-banks. They have been given voter-id cards, Indian citizenship and all the benefits reserved for citizens of India so that the perpetrators may come in power again and again. Vast swathes of land have been occupied and the indigenous people have been forced to leave their homes because of these foreigners. Now if you are reading the next few lines for the first time, you will laugh. I say this because I had laughed too when I heard it for the first time. Bangladeshi clerics and fanatics have been working on a plan to create ‘Greater Bangladesh’ or “Brihot Bangladesh’ which will consist of West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and Jharkhand. This phenomenon had started in 1960’s and 1970’s when due to the long porous borders and better economic conditions in India, Bangladeshis started migrating here. Soon the Congress politicians saw an opportunity in this situation and started poaching them for cheap electoral victories.
Even today, center is hellbent on not accepting the presence of this problem at the first place. AASU (All Assam Students Union) has been actively trying to attract government’s attention towards this problem but to no avail. Districts of Assam like Dhubri, Goalpara, Hailakandi, Karimganj, Cachar are entirely Muslim majority districts now. It is pertinent that Bangladesh has long discarded Secularism and has become an Islamic state and as soon as the migrants achieve a majority status in this region of lower Assam, they will demand secession from India and merger in Bangladesh. Not that this problem is only located to Assam. States like Bihar with districts of Purnia, Arharia, Kishanganj, Katihar and West Bengal with districts like South 24 Paraganas, North 24 Paraganas, Nadia, Murshidabad, Maldah, Kolkata have shown visible proof of the rapid growth in Muslim population in every census. It is evident that no human race can reproduce so quickly and these are foreigners coming in from Bangladesh. If you feel I am a right wing fundamentalist please see what General S.K.Sinha had to say. He had been the deputy chief of Army staff and was appointed the governor of Assam. In November 1998, he sent a report to the president titled- “Report on Illegal migration into Assam submitted to the President of India by Governor of Assam”.

The muslim population of Assam has shown a rise of 77.2% in 1991 from what it was in 1971. The Hindu population has risen 41.89% from what it was in 1971…. The illegal immigrants coming in India after 1971 have predominantly been Muslims from Bangladesh. It has been altering the demographic complexion of this state… It poses a grave danger to the identity of Assamese people and our national security. The unabated influx of illegal migrants of Bangladesh in Assam threatens to reduce the Assamese into minority in their own state, as happened in Tripura and Sikkim. Successive governments In the center and in the state have not met this challenge… I feel it is my bounden duty to the nation and the state I have sworn to place before you this report on the dangers arising from the continuing silent demographic invasion… The long cherished design of Greater Bangladesh, making inroads into the strategic land-link of Assam can lead to severing the entire land-mass of the north-east from the rest of country. This will have disastrous strategic and economic consequences.

Demographic shift

This was said by no ordinary student activist or journalist but by the former Deputy Chief of Army staff and Governor of Assam. You can gauge the magnanimity of problem by this itself. If not, then try and talk to any Assamese friend of yours and you will see what the natives feel like. We need to understand that we need to take care of the millions of hungry Indians before we show sympathy towards others. And I must emphasize that letting illegal immigrants have a free run is like committing Harakiri. These migrants use the inherent corrupt structure of India to take ration cards and Driving licenses in no time. Many reports say that they also work as sleeper cells for all the coming terrorist action in the nation and provide them with much needed inside help. Bangladeshi Army, ISI and govt. of Bangladesh give complete shelter to these terrorists on their soil and aide them in creating sleeper cells in India. Religious fanatics from Saudi Arabia freely and openly offer sums upto Rs. 1 lakhs to any Bangladeshi who marries an Indian non-Muslim. Qari Salim, an ISI operative and a HuM cadre who was arrested in Guwahati in 1999, revealed that he had come to India via Bangladesh and was tasked to carry out sabotage activities on the Leh-Manali highway. People involved in conspiracy of the hijacking of IC-814 from Kathmandu in December 1999 had used Bangladesh for coming to India.
I will end this rant with a few open questions for my readers. The Indo-Bangladesh border in 4096 Kms long and is very porous. Do we still not understand the importance of sovereignty that we keep the border so neglected? What has our government done to make this border secure? What have the authorities done to identify and send back the illegal migrants back to their native countries? What course of action are we planning to take in future? Will we forever be ruled by vote-bank politics and be aware that we are being ruined day by day or will we ever do anything?

JAI HIND

Image courtesy- Mughalistan

via http://www.himanshushekhar.com/2010/10/bangladeshi-infiltration-in-india/

Lt Gen Hasnain to command 15 corps

2010-10-20T02:57:00.001-07:00

New Delhi: After a two-decade gap that saw insurgency at its peak in Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim officer is set to command the Srinagar-based 15 Corps that is the nerve centre of the fight against militancy in the state. Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain, who is presently commanding the Bhopal-based 21 Corps, is set to take over as the 15 Corps Commander by the end of this year after the incumbent Lt Gen N C Marwah moves on to his next posting.

Lt Gen Hasnain, who has served several stints in the Valley including a recent one as the Divisional Commander at Baramulla, is also the senior-most serving Muslim officer of the Indian Army.

The officer, who is known for his academic leanings in military circles, is the only serving Lt Gen in Army ranks belonging to the minority community and is a second generation Army officer.
Hasnain will be the first Muslim officer to command the 15 Corps after Lt Gen M K Zaki who was in charge of the crucial command from 1989-91. Lt Gen Zaki was also later appointed as the advisor to the Jammu and Kashmir government from 1991 to '93.

Well regarded as an out standing officer, Hasnain has had several stints in Kashmir and has spent a bulk of his over three decades of service in the state. More recently in 2008, the officer was instrumental in maintaining the peace in Baramulla that was badly affected when Jammu and Kashmir was struck by violence over the Amarnath row.

Then a Maj Gen commanding the Baramulla based `Dagger' Division, Hasnain used the concept of what he described as `soft power' to defuse tension by reaching out to the masses.

In his several talks with local leaders, the officer gave his personal example as a Muslim in the Indian Army to drive home the point that the minority community can do well by joining the mainstream.
Besides tackling operational hurdles, the officer has also handled controversies in the Valley and is known to employ a firm hand against malpractices. As a Brigadier in 2004 when cross-border firing was at its peak, the officer was commanding the 12 Brigade that guards the Line of Control at Uri when he conducted a court martial a against a Major who was accused of rape and molestation in the infamous Handwara case. The officer, Major Rehman Hussain of the Rashtriya Rifles, was found guilty and was ordered to be dismissed from the Army.
Source: The Indian Express

ISI involved in Mumbai terror attack, says Headley

2010-10-19T07:00:00.001-07:00

London: Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) was heavily involved in the Mumbai attack and held meetings with terrorist leaders over the operation that killed more than 160 people, Pakistani American David Headley has told Indian interrogators.

The stunning revelations were made by Headley at the Metropolitan Correction Centre in Chicago when he met officials of India's National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Guardian reported Tuesday, basing its exhaustive story on classified Indian documents.
ISI's support came out in a 109-page report prepared following the interrogation of Headley, who was arrested last year for identifying targets in Mumbai to be attacked by the pro-Pakistan Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Headley has spoken about dozens of meetings between ISI officers and senior militants from LeT who carried out the savagery in Mumbai. Pakistan initially denied all links to the Mumbai massacre but later admitted that the only terrorist caught in Mumbai was indeed a Pakistani.

Over 160 Indians and foreigners were killed by 10 terrorists who sneaked into Mumbai from the sea. They targeted luxury hotels, a Jewish centre, a cafe, a hospital and the main railway station in Mumbai.
A key motivation for the ISI in aiding the attacks was to bolster militant organisations with strong links to the Pakistani state and security establishment who were being marginalised by more extreme radical groups, the media report quoted Headley as saying.
During questioning, the American claimed that at least two of his missions were partly paid for by the ISI and that he regularly reported to the spy agency.

The documents indicate that militants' supervision by the ISI was often chaotic and that its seniormost officers may have been unaware at least of the scale and ambition of the operation before it was launched.
Headley was interviewed for over 34 hours by Indian investigators in the US prison in June this year. He has described how "a debate had begun among the terrorist outfits" and "a clash of ideology" had led to splits.
"The aggression and commitment to jihad shown by several splinter groups in Afghanistan influenced many committed fighters to leave (LeT)," Headley was quoted as saying. "I understand this compelled the LeT to consider a spectacular terrorist strike in India."
Headley said the ISI hoped the Mumbai attack would slow or stop growing "integration" between groups active in Kashmir, with whom the agency had maintained a long relationship, and "Taliban-based outfits" in Pakistan and Afghanistan which were a threat to the Pakistani state, the Guardian report said.
"The ISI... had no ambiguity in understanding the necessity to strike India." The aim of the agency was "controlling further split in the Kashmir-based outfits, providing them a sense of achievement and shifting... the theatre of violence from the domestic soil of Pakistan to India".
He also described a meeting with a "Colonel Kamran" from the military intelligence and a string of meetings with a "Major Iqbal" and a "Major Sameer Ali". He claimed that he was given $25,000 by his ISI handler to finance one of eight surveillance missions in India.

ISI director general, Lt General Shuja Pasha, visited a key senior LeT militant in prison after the attacks "to understand" the operation. The Guardian said this implies what many Western security agencies suspect -- that the top ranks of the agency were unaware of at least the scale of the planned strike.
Islamabad has denied its involvement in the Mumbai strike that seriously strained its relations with New Delhi. An ISI spokesperson told the Guardian that the accusations of the agency's involvement in the Mumbai attack were "baseless".

It was Delhi after Mumbai, Headley tells investigators
Pakistani American terror suspect David Headley has told Indian investigators that he had scouted Delhi for another strike at potential targets, including the prime minister's residence and key defence complexes.
Headley, who has confessed his role in plotting the 2008 Mumbai attack with Lashkar-e-Taiba leaders and was arrested last year in the US, told a team of Indian interrogators in a US prison that he was in the Indian capital in March 2009, said sources who refused to be identified.
During his Delhi trip -- four months after 10 terrorists sneaked into Mumbai from the sea and killed 166 people over three days -- Headley videographed 7 Race Course Road, the prime minister's official residence, Raksha Bhavan and the National Defence College (NDC) in the heart of the capital, the sources disclosed.
A four-member team of Indian investigators interrogated Headley in June this year after he entered into a plea bargain with the US government offering to be available to foreign investigators for any questioning related to terror plots he was scheming with the LeT and Al Qaeda.
The 49-year-old Pakistani-born revealed that he found "minimal security" at the NDC that appeared a "vulnerable target".
The security cover at the prime minister's residence appeared too tough to break through and his Pakistani handlers were not interested in striking at the Raksha Bhavan, an office-cum-residential complex for defence personnel, Headley is believed to have told the investigators.
He later spoke to his co-conspirator, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, another Pakistani terrorist who is also in a US prison. He said his Pakistani handlers were more interested in attacking the NDC and had even started working on the idea with a help from an unknown person in Nepal, sources said.
Source: IANS

India, Russia begin joint antiterrorism drills on Friday

2010-10-14T21:34:00.001-07:00

Russian and Indian joint antiterrorism exercises begin on Indian territory on Friday and will last through October 24.

Russia is sending more than 200 troops from its 34th mountain brigade, based in the North Caucasus, to join the Indian troops in the INDRA 2010 drills.

Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft delivered the Russian troops in the north-east of India on Thursday.

The Russian troops will be equipped with lightweight Permyachka Infantry Suits, which protect at least 80 percent of the body surface from small-caliber bullets and low-speed shrapnel.

The Indian and Russian military have conducted joint INDRA exercises since 2003, including biannual peacekeeping drills.

India's military cooperation with Russia goes back nearly half a century, and the Asian country accounts for about 40% of Russian arms exports.

Tight security in Tripura for Durga Puja

2010-10-14T05:06:00.000-07:00

Agartala, Oct 14 : Security has been stepped up in Tripura on account of Durga Puja.

Over 12,000 security personnel and quick reaction teams (QRTs) besides bomb and dog squads have been deployed for the five-day festival that began Wednesday, Inspector General of Police K. Nagraj told reporters.

The Border Security Force has been asked to be extra vigilant on the India-Bangladesh border, he said here.

Counter-insurgency operations against militants will be intensified by Assam Rifles, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Tripura State Rifles (TSR), Nagraj said.

At least 2,000 community Durga Pujas have been organised in the state.

In the past, rebels targeted Hindus for celebrating religious festivals. Now pujas are being organised in about 300 tribal and extremist-prone areas, according to a police official.

Pak terror group planning to attack Games

2010-10-13T22:09:00.001-07:00

New Delhi: Commonwealth Games organizers have put their security advisers ``on alert'' following reports that a Pakistan-based terror group was planning an attack on the games leading up to the closing ceremonies.

Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell on Wednesday said he was unaware of any new or credible terror threat on the eve of the closing ceremonies and the men's and women's marathon along city streets, but said the games' security detail would investigate.
Police and the military seized improvised explosive devices (IEDs) last week in Jammu city, about 580 kilometers (360 miles) north of New Delhi. It came as a newspaper said the Lashkar e Taiba terror group might be planning an attack.
``We're not aware of any such threat, but having asked the question, we would certainly put our security people on alert ... and check it out,'' Fennell said.
The same group carried out the commando-style attack in Mumbai in November 2008 which killed 166 people. In February of this year, a bombing at a popular cafe in the city of Pune killed 16 people.
In unconfirmed reports, London's Daily Mail newspaper said that Indian intelligence authorities had warned of a militant terrorist plot to attack Delhi on Thursday. It said new intelligence indicated that the Pakistan-based group was targeting attacks in the Indian capital, where 64,000 people were expected to travel to the closing ceremonies.

The Indian military and police seized 10 IEDs hidden in apple wooden boxes in Jammu city, an army officer told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Jammu is the winter capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state The officer said the destination for the explosives was not immediately known.
The Daily Excelsior, an English-language newspaper in Jammu, reported last Friday that ``the possibility that the explosives were to be taken to New Delhi in a bus by one of the militants, who is at large, couldn't be ruled out.''
The explosives were seized from four people, including a police official, who have been arrested, said another police officer, also on condition of anonymity.

Indian authorities have deployed nearly 100,000 police and military personnel in the streets of New Delhi and put fighter jets on standby for the Commonwealth Games. A number of athletes pulled out because of security concerns following a recent shooting at a tourist site.
There are more than 6,000 athletes and officials from 71 countries and territories at the games.
Sporting events have previously been targeted in the region. A bomb blast at an Indian Premier League cricket match in April wounded 14 and an attack in Pakistan on the Sri Lankan cricket team's bus en route to a match in Lahore last year giving many athletes concern over attending the games.
Australia's travel advisories ahead of the games indicated that they would be held ``in a security environment where there is a high risk of terrorism.''

Delhi will be under siege as Games close Thursday
The Indian capital will look like a curfew-hit town Thursday as a slew of security and administrative measures will be enforced to ensure a safe Commonwealth Games closing ceremony where Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa will be the chief guest.
The heart of the city will transform into a restricted area as thousands of police and paramilitary personnel fan out to guard the venue of the high-profile event -- the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
The presence of Rajapaksa, whose military crushed the Tamil Tigers only last year, at the stadium can only add to the security agencies' worries. Giving him company will be Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as well as Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance.
Traffic to the city centre Connaught Place will be restricted from midnight Wednesday in view of the marathon race set for Thursday morning. The men's hockey final will also take place Thursday. Central and Delhi government offices will be shut Thursday. So will all the main markets.

Schools, colleges and hostels have been already closed for the 12-day Games that began Oct 3. Policemen, many armed with automatic weapons, have stepped up random checking of vehicles across the city, paying special attention to motorists.
"We have been on high alert all these days. We will remain on top alert till the Games end Thursday," Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told IANS. "Our responsibility will continue till the last foreign athlete and official leaves the country safely," he added.
About 7,000 athletes and officials from 71 countries and territories have been in New Delhi for the 12-day mega event, the biggest sports event that India hosted after the 1982 Asiad. Although many of them have left India, there will be some 5,000 visitors at the stadium Thursday.
A home ministry official said: "There will be no compromise on security till Thursday. Things have worked well so far. But we won't lower our guard." Delhi's airports will be a no-fly zone during the two-hour closing ceremony from 7 p.m.
The Indian Air Force will monitor Delhi's skies. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) will look for air intrusions. Thousands of police and paramilitary forces will be on the roads. Plainclothes personnel have been mingling in markets and residential areas besides bus stands and railway stations.
Thursday will be a day of traffic restrictions. Traffic towards the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will begin at 2 p.m., five hours before the ceremony begins. Patel Chowk and Central Secretariat stations of Delhi Metro will be closed. But Metro trains will ply beyond the usual closing time of 11 p.m. for spectators to return home from the Stadium.
"Our personnel will be on high alert from Wednesday night till the early hours of Friday," Rajan Bhagat told IANS.

CWG closing ceremony tickets sold out
Tickets for the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games were sold out Tuesday night - nearly 48 hours before the actual event Oct 14, an official at the ticketing helpline said. "The tickets in the Rs.750 bracket were sold out quite a long time back. After that, the ones in the Rs.4,000 category were also sold out. Until Tuesday morning, there were only eight tickets available in the Rs.20,000 bracket and around 240 in the Rs.50,000 bracket," the manager said.
"But last (Tuesday) night everything was sold out," he added. The closing ceremony, to be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Thursday, promises to be a spectacular celebration of song and dance with a colourful laser show.
The helpline manager further said that after the great success of the opening ceremony of the Games, they have been bombarded with enquiries about tickets for the closing ceremony. Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa will be the chief guest at the event.
The sale and availability of the Games tickets have been mired in controversy from the beginning. Spectators have often been told that the tickets have been sold out while the venues remained half-empty.
Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennell had expressed concern over poor spectator turnout, particularly in some disciplines, and had ordered an inquiry.

Shops, offices in Delhi to remain shut on CWG closing
All government offices, shops and commercial establishments in the national capital will remain closed Thursday when the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games is to be held. The union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had June 24 decided that central government offices in Delhi will remain closed Oct 14.
The central government declared holiday as per the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. The Delhi government also declared a holiday Oct 1. "All shops and commercial establishments in Delhi will remain closed on the closing day of the Games. The notification has been issued under the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954, according to which no deduction can be made from the wages of any employee on account of the holiday," a Delhi government notification said.
According to an official, the central government took the decision to facilitate the movement of traffic and ensure greater participation of public in the closing ceremony. The Delhi High Court and lower courts in the capital will remain closed till Oct 17.
Source: IANS

Three killed, five injured in Howrah explosion

2010-10-08T02:22:00.000-07:00

Three persons were killed and five others injured in an explosion at a house in Bankra area of Howrah district on Thursday night, police said.

The explosion occurred in the house at Bankra's Kaboorpara area about 20 km from Howrah at around 11 pm in which three persons were killed and five others injured.

Senior police officers have rushed to the area, they said, adding the cause of the explosion was not yet known.

Sources said the explosion occurred when explosives stored in the house exploded. Some neighbouring houses were also damaged in the explosion, they said.

India to get 250-300 advanced jets co-developed with Russia

2010-10-08T02:04:00.001-07:00

New Delhi: India and Russia will soon sign a multi-billion dollar agreement to co-develop an advanced stealth fighter of which the India Air Force (IAF) will get about 250-300, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said here Thursday after talks with his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov.

Antony, at a joint press conference with Serdyukov, said the two countries agreed that the India would get the fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) and 45 transport planes, also to be developed jointly with Russia.
"India will receive 250-300 most advanced FGFAs," Antony said. "These two projects are the major achievements of this year, and for the next 10 years these two projects, MTA (medium transport aircraft) and FGFA, will be a shining example of India and Russian defence cooperation."

Antony said the proposal for the final agreements to be signed "within a few months" was pending with the government of India "for some technical formalities". "All the issues have (been) discussed and solved between the two countries... Now it is in the final stages of the Indian government (because of some) some technical formalities... I am sure we will be able to complete them," he said.
An official who did not want to be named said the preliminary design contract for the FGFA was likely to be inked during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's proposed visit to India in December.

The 30-tonne stealth aircraft -- each priced at around $100 million -- will have very advanced avionics, stealth to increase survivability and enhanced lethality, according to IAF officials. Sedyukov said the FGFA and MTA project would be completed as per jointly agreed "time frame and final proposal will be signed soon".

On the MTA project, Antony said the two countries have already signed a shareholding agreement between Russian aircraft major Sukhoi and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The twin-engine MTA, fitted with modern avionics, is a 15-20 tonne payload capacity aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of up to 65 tonnes and a cruise speed of 800 kmph. The total development cost is estimated at over $600 million, to be equally shared by both sides.

India and Russia share a long standing defence and strategic partnership that goes back to the Cold War era. "In the area of defence, Russia is our trusted partner for a long time and will remain so in the future also," Antony said after his talks with Serdyukov.
About the delays in acquiring military hardware from Russia, including the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, Antony said all these issues "were discussed threadbare and most of the issues we have arrived at satisfactory solutions".

"In the remaining issues, the Russian defence minister has personally assured me that he will take personal interest to find satisfactory solutions at the earliest. I am happy about the outcome of the discussions," he said.
Serdyukov said India and Russia have a "great volume of military and technical projects". "It is quite natural to have some delays. But I will underscore that there are no critical delays in our projects. I have also raised a number of issues today with my Indian colleague, he promised to scrutinize and I will do the same on my side in order to tackle the problems mentioned by India."

Serdyukov arrived in India Wednesday for the 10th annual meeting the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation. The focus of the meeting, jointly chaired by Antony and Serdyukov, was on extending beyond 2020 the existing bilateral agreement on military-technical cooperation.
Serdyukov is be accompanied by a delegation of Russian defence ministry and industry representatives. The commission's sessions are held annually and alternate between New Delhi and Moscow.
Source: IANS

Interpol notice against 2 Pak Army majors in 26/11 case

2010-10-07T04:53:00.001-07:00

Red Corner Notice to five Pak accused (two in the pics) in the Mumbai terror strikes case. PTI Photo

New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) National Investigation Agency (NIA) has secured an Interpol Red Corner Notice against five accused persons, including two serving Pakistani Army majors, for their alleged role in the Mumbai terror strike of 2008.

The Interpol issued the Red Corner Notice after securing a non-bailable warrant from the court Additional Sessions Judge here. A Red Corner Notice is an arrest warrant circulated by the Interpol.

The warrants were issued on the basis of disclosures made by American national and Lashker-e-Taiba terrorist David Headley, who was extensively questioned by the NIA officials in June this year.

The Red Corner Notice has been issued against Major Sameer Ali, and Major Iqbal, both serving in the Pakistani Army, Illyas Kashmiri, an LeT terrorist, Sajid Majid and Syed Abdur Rehman Hashim.

4 cops killed in Maoist landmine blast

2010-10-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

GADCHIROLI (Maharashtra): Four securitymen, including two CRPF personnel, were killed on Monday when Naxalites triggered a powerful improvised explosive device blast in a marketplace in Perilimili village in the district when they were out shopping.

The security personnel were shopping at a local market in the area when the explosion took place at around 4.30 PM, killing two CRPF men and two police officers on the spot.

The two CRPF men have been identified as Inspector Nauroti Yadav and constable Anand Kumar of the 9th battalion of the force, posted in the area for anti-Naxal operations.

Two sub-inspectors of Maharashtra Police -- Shashi More and Mahendra Mangul -- were also killed in the attack, police said, adding their vehicle was badly damaged in the explosion.

Senior officials said that a rescue team and additional reinforcements have been dispatched to the spot to trace the other policemen who were accompanying them and launch a combing operation to track down the Maoist rebels.

The area falls in Aheri taluka of the district, one of the worst-hit by left wing extremism in the state.

Jama Masjid attack: US, NZ & Oz issue security advisory

2010-09-20T02:59:00.001-07:00

New Delhi: With the shooting near the historic Jama Masjid Sunday morning renewing security concerns about the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games, the US issued an advisory to its citizens in India asking them to "maintain a heightened situational awareness". Soon after, the Australian government on Monday warned of a “high risk of terrorist attack in New Delhi”, even as it updated its travel advice for its nationals in the wake of the firing on tourists outside Jama Masjid Mosque in the Indian capital.

New Zealand chef de mission Dave Currie is currently in Delhi to check the facilities and the security situation of the Games Village.
"US citizens are urged to always practice good security, maintain a heightened situational awareness and a low profile," said the advisory posed on the US embassy website. "US citizens are advised to monitor local news reports and consider the level of security present when visiting public places, including religious sites," it said.

The US intelligence agencies have recently warned the Indian authorities about the possibility of another terror attack in India.
Two Taiwanese tourists were wounded when two gunmen on a motorcycle opened random fire near the Jama Masjid here Sunday morning, creating a scare ahead of the Commonwealth Games that will see the participation of some 7,000 athletes and officials from 71 nations and territories.

Ko Chang and Ku Ze Wei, both in their 20s, were shot in the head and stomach respectively when the gunmen fired at a bus from which a group of tourists was alighting, police and eyewitnesses said.
The shooting, that took place barely two weeks before the Games, have renewed public scrutiny for security arrangements for the biggest sporting event Delhi will host since the 1982 Asian Games.

Last week, top Indian officials, including Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, briefed ambassadors from Commonwealth countries and allayed their concerns over security for the mega-sporting event.
Although Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit downplayed Sunday's incident, there are apprehensions that it could embolden some skeptics to skip the Delhi Games.

New Zealand chef de mission Dave Currie is currently in Delhi to check the facilities and the security situation of the Games Village. Based on Currie's report, the New Zealand Olympic Committee would decide whether to go ahead with the trip or not.
Australia has said it would send a team to the Games in as the security risk was "acceptable" despite a warning from a private firm of an 80 percent chance of a terrorist attack.

Australia warns of high risk of terror attack in New Delhi
Melbourne: Australian government on Monday warned of a "high risk of terrorist attack in New Delhi", even as it updated its travel advice for its nationals in the wake of the firing on tourists outside Jama Masjid Mosque in the Indian capital.
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) said there is now a "high risk of a terrorist attack" in New Delhi, as the Indian capital prepares for the Commonwealth Games scheduled to start on October 3.

It said Australians should pay close attention to their personal security at all times. According to ABC report, the family of Australian swimmer Nick D'Arcy will travel to Delhi for next month's games despite the security fears.
The authors of a security risk assessment said there was an 80 per cent chance the games will come under some form of attack from terrorists. Nick D'Arcy's mother Sue said she was prepared to put her trust in Australian and Indian authorities.
"We've got every faith in the Indian Government and Australian Swimming and the Australian Federal Police and we will be careful," she said, adding "we will do everything that's directed to us, that's the best we can hope for really."

Red alert in Delhi: Firing near Jama Masjid

2010-09-19T01:34:00.001-07:00

New Delhi, Sep 19 : Gunmen opened fire on a tourist bus near the main mosque in New Delhi on Sunday, injuring two people thought to be of east Asian origin, police and medics said.

The attack took place outside the Jama Masjid mosque area in the ancient walled city that is one of the main attractions on tourist routes through the Indian capital.

"Two persons were injured in the firing," New Delhi assistant police commissioner Jagbir Singh told AFP, adding that the victims had been transferred to the nearby Lok Nayak Jay Prakash Hospital.

A doctor there, Vijay Kumar, said the victims, both male, appeared to be of east Asian, possibly Taiwanese, origin and one had a serious stomach injury. "One has been shot in the stomach and is serious, but his pulse and blood pressure appear to be normal," Kumar said.

Eyewitness Hafeez Javed told local Zee television that the attackers fired with automatic weapons. The shooting comes as New Delhi gears up to host the Commonwealth Games, which start in two weeks, with thousands of extra security forces on duty to ensure the safety of athletes and officials.

Indian officials have promised that the event, dogged by delays and overspending, would be secure amid persistent worries over safety from participating nations, notably Britain and Australia.

Chief minister of New Delhi Sheila Dikshit confirmed the firing and appealed for calm. "It's a very sad incident," she told NDTV news channel. "I appeal to everybody: please do not panic. An incident like this is worrying but nothing to panic about."

Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said that the remaining tourists on the bus were safe and "we have launched a manhunt for the attackers and intensified security".

HRW pitches in, seeks AFSPA removal

2010-09-08T22:15:00.001-07:00

New Delhi, Sep 9 : Member of Civil society and Human Rights organisations Wednesday called for repeal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFPSA) and accused troops of misusing the Act in troubled Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East region.

"AFSPA has been in force since past 52 years and the Act has been misused by the troops. The Act has become an object of hate and should not have remained in force for decades. It has created a climate of impunity and abuse that has embolden police, paramilitary forces and military to commit grave human rights violations,” Mennakshi Ganguly, South Asia Director of the Human Rights Watch said at conference to assess the call to "Repeal the AFPSA".

The conference was organised by Peoples Union for Civil Liberty and other social groups besides European Union. E N Rammohan, former Director General of BSF, Lt Gen B S Malik, Wilfred Dcosta attended the conference.

Enacted in 1958 as a short-term measure to allow deployment of the army against an armed separatist movement in India’s northeastern Naga Hills, AFSPA has been invoked for more than five decades and since been used throughout Northeast India. A variant of the law was also used in Punjab during a separatist movement in the 1980s and 90s, and has been in force in Jammu and Kashmir since 1990.

Conference organiser Binalakshmi Nepram said AFSPA has entered its 52 years of implementation. “Government panels, United Nations and hundreds of civil society organisations across India have called for its repeal, but the issue continues to remain deadlocked. Our meeting is intended to break this deadlock and to bring forward various views on the issue, so that we can consult and advise each other to the best viable solution.”

Speaking on the occasion, Rammohan said that good and efficient force will never violate laws. “The AFPSA is being misused by inefficient and incompetent officers for promoting their interests,” he said.

Security Analyst, Ravinder Pal Singh said AFSPA has allowed members of the armed forces to perpetrate abuses with impunity because certain clauses in the law provide them with relative immunity from prosecution. “The military feels protected by AFSPA. But this has negative outcomes for the military in its discipline and professionalism. It would be useful to examine a modifying legislation that discourages possible of acts of impunity by the security forces,” he said.

The speakers said there are various judgments on the allegations of human rights violations. The courts have found forces acting under AFPSA guilty of violation of human rights and ordered compensations besides prosecuting the perpetrators in several cases.

Some speakers said the government has promised to make certain changes in the Act and they should go ahead with it. “Some top brass of the defence forces are resisting the changes and creating hurdles for the government,” they added.

Maoist movement a mutiny in agony: Meghalaya Guv

2010-09-05T05:34:00.000-07:00

Shillong: The Maoist movement was a "mutiny in agony" and the ultras had taken up arms because of exploitation of their areas, Meghalaya Governor R S Mooshahary said today.

"These people who were peaceful, humble and peace loving have now raised a war against the Indian union. It has some relevance to the environmental aspect because we have gone and exploited their areas. We have deprived them of their means of livelihood which the forest used to give them," Mooshahary, a former chief of BSF and the elite NSG, said.

"They have nowhere else to go and today if they are taking up the arms, they are sending us the message that what we have done in the last many years have caused them a lot of agony .... And, now we do not know how to control it," the governor said, inaugurating the Shillong CMS Vatavaran environment and wildlife film festival.

Stating that a balance should be ensured between progress and preservation, Mooshahary contended that both were important.

Stressing on the need to create facilities for a better quality of life, he, however said, "In the name of development, if you destroy everything, it will bring bitter problems."

About coal mining in Meghalaya, he said it had rendered large tracts of land unusable. "Rat hole mining is degrading the land. Mining is important... but technology should be used so that the land is restored to its usability."

He also referred to the erstwhile Bodo Liberation Tigers of Assam who after laying down their arms and forming the Bodoland Autonomous Territorial Council were now playing an important role in preserving the Manas National Park.