Indian home secretary G K Pillai....no holds barred.....made things clear without chewing his words

India will get to quiz Rana by June-end: Pillai

Vishwa Mohan & Himanshi Dhawan\TNN
May 29, 2011, 12.36am IST

NEW DELHI: India will get access to 26/11 plotter Tahawwur Hussain Rana for questioning after his trial in Chicago gets over, possibly by June-end. Stating this, Union home secretary G K Pillai said on Saturday that India should also get access to David Coleman Headley's wife, Shazia Gilani.
In an exclusive interview with TOI, Pillai said that India can challenge the immunity Headley has secured from the US prosecutors if the political leadership so willed, expressed disappointment with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton's statement giving a clean chit to Pakistan over Osama bin Laden's presence in the country and acknowledged differences between the home ministry and the ministry of external affairs over how to engage the hostile neighbour.
On the differences in the government over rapprochement with Pakistan, the home secretary stressed that the divergence was not about whether to engage with Pakistan but only on how to engage. "I don't think there is any difference that we need to engage with Pakistan. Even in the home ministry we want to engage with Pakistan. I think there is differing perception on how you go about it...how tough you need to be in terms of bringing perpetrators of terrorism to justice... because you cannot be all goody-goody and expect result from them... At some point of time you need to exercise some element of pressure... that is an issue for us," said Pillai.
Asked about the prospect of India getting the opportunity to interrogate Rana, Pillai said, "That we will get... they (Americans) were supposed to give us the access earlier. That has not happened, possibly because they did not want the trial to be affected by either giving us access or information that we would have used in the chargesheet. They thought the value of information will go."
A Canadian citizen, Rana is believed to be an important cog in Lashkar's terror machines, using his immigration firm, First World Immigration, to organize documents for operatives and provide cover for them.
The home secretary also confirmed that the issue had been raised with the visiting US homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano on Friday.
He also indicated that India may not have to wait for long for access to Rana, the Pakistan-born Lashkar jehadi who claimed to have facilitated terror attacks at ISI's instance. "I think we should get it (the access) in June. The trial started on May 23 and they said that it was going to take two weeks. It should be over in the first week of June," Pillai said.
The home secretary also said that India will get access to all the material evidence US prosecutors have brought against the involvement of Rana and his group Lashkar in the 26/11 plot stressing that Rana's conviction will establish ISI's linkage to the terror attack on Mumbai. India will file the chargesheet against Headley and Rana after it gets all these documents from the US.
The home secretary, however, was not sure of the benefit of getting Rana extradited. He felt that it was not worth wasting political capital on. "What you get him for? His offence is that he gave Headley a cover. He is not among the fellows directly involved. Put him in the chargesheet...but you have to get so many other people who were directly involved... Lakhvi (Lashkar commander Zakiur Rahman), Sajid Mir, even Headley. We don't want to waste political capital just to get him (Rana)."
Significantly, Pillai said that India could challenge the immunity that Headley had secured from the US prosecutors in return for a promise to disclose the details of Rana and other Lashkar terrorists. "It is an issue that we have to challenge in a court... you implead yourself as party in the case against Headley and contest that you cannot sign such an agreement. It is a legal call, a political call that has to be made."
Even with regard to whether India should become a party to the case that American Jews have brought against ISI in a New York Court, the home secretary said that it has to be a political decision. "On the one hand you said that you want to be friends with Pakistan...and then you want a case against Pakistan.... It is really a political call."
Elaborating on the home ministry's expectations from Pakistan, he said, "We have three touchstones to determine Pakistan's ability of earnestness or sincerity: bringing 26/11 people to trial; secondly, stopping infiltration from across the border; and third, closing down terror camps...camps that we all know. If these are not fulfilled, then we, from a MHA perspective, have a problem."
The home secretary further said that the basic problem was that Pakistan continues to be in denial mode. He gave the example of Pakistan's involvement in circulation of fake Indian currency notes. Pillai said that there was unimpeachable evidence against them, but the Pakistanis would not acknowledge. "It becomes difficult to deal with a country which is in denial mode. What do you do? They say they don't do anything. It is all Indian propaganda."
Pillai also expressed surprise over US secretary of state Hillary Clinton's purported clean chit to Pakistan over Osama bin Laden's presence in a town teeming with military personnel. "It tests the limits of one's credulity to say that nobody in Pakistan, close to military establishment, knew about it. Somebody comes and builds a double storey building with high walls and a fence...which stands out and you say nobody asked... nobody bothered. The local thanedar (SHO) would have asked, and must have been told that it was a `no go' area."
Pillai said that while US has been more cooperative post-26/11, it could do a lot more. "They have been more forthcoming. As for whether they can give us more information, I think yes. They have more information and they need to give us more... that is something that we are always requesting for."..............http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDExLzA1LzI5I0FyMDAxMDA=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

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India's official list of fugitives embarrasses government....Red-faced CBI, NIA, IB and MHA look for cover

Vishwa Mohan & S Ahmed Ali /TNN
May 21, 2011, 12.58am IST

New Delhi/Mumbai: Stung by embarrassing goof-ups in Indias 50 most wanted list sent to Pakistan and the CBIs larger list of Interpol red corner notices,the Union government on Friday directed central agencies and all state police to thoroughly verify the status of all accused and put in place a mechanism to update the information at regular intervals.
Sources said the Union home ministry has set a three-month deadline for central agencies and state governments to vet the list of accused for bloopers and come up with a process of error-free updates.
These directions came a day after the Times of India reported that there were goofs galore in the CBI list of red-corner notices and three days after the TOI first broke the story that a man on the 50 most wanted list given to Pakistan was out on bail in Thane.
Despite admitting mistakes at different levels, secretary (internal security) in the home ministry U K Bansal said there was no plan to recall the list of '50 most wanted' sent to Pakistan. "The entire list is being reviewed. We have no plan to recall the list from Pakistan," he said. Officials in the home ministry said India would inform Pakistan about errors in the 'list of 50' through Interpol soon.
"This is the first step that we have taken. Some more action will be taken in the next 10 days to ensure that the list of wanted persons is error-free," an official said after the Union home ministry ordered a tooth-combing of wanted lists by central agencies and all state governments following a series of blunders were pointed out in the '50 most wanted' list given to Pakistan.
The steps came amid indications of a nudge from the Congress party to take action against those responsible for the various blunders. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi put on record the party's desire for action by saying that the matter was "serious" and accountability needed to be fixed.
On Friday, with embarrassment piling, the CBI pulled all its lists -- red-corner and general wanted persons-- off the internet as it rushed to update the database on suspected terrorists and other criminals. Visitors to the website saw the message, 'Temporarily taken off its list for updation,' when they attempted to access the lists. CBI sources said they pulled the lists after Union home minister P Chidambaram pulled up the investigating agency for the goof-ups.
The Union home ministry, CBI and other investigating agencies faced huge embarrassment when it was revealed that two men on the '50 most wanted' list given to Pakistan had been arrested by the Mumbai police and were in India. This list had been mainly compiled from the CBI's red-corner notice database. The TOI reported on Friday that four other men remained in the red-corner database despite being either dead or arrested.
The latest shocker, a seventh case, emerged on Friday when it was revealed that Rajkumar Meghen, leader of the United National Liberation Front, an insurgent group in the Northeast, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) last year but remained on the red-corner list. The red-corner notice was issued against Meghen at the request of the Manipur police, but neither the state police nor the NIA informed the CBI about his arrest.
Regarding the earlier six cases, on Tuesday it was reported that Mulund blast accused Wazhul Kamar Khan, who India had told Pakistan was hiding in that country, was actually in Thane and out on bail. On Thursday it emerged that '93 serial blasts accused Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan aka Hamza, also in the '50 most wanted' list, is in Arthur Road jail. On Friday, it was reported that don Dawood Ibrahim's brother Noora still has a red-corner notice (RCN) against him, though he is dead. It is the same case with '93 blasts convict Ejaz Pathan, who died in jail in Mumbai.
Two Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) men also have RCNs against them, though one of them, Mohammed Abdul Shahed aka Shahed Bilal, is dead, and another, Saikh Abdul Khaja aka Mohammed Amjad, is in jail in Andhra Pradesh.
Government on Thursday suspended a junior inspector and transferred a superintendent and deputy superintendent of police from the CBI's Interpol division in New Delhi in the first damage-control step taken following revelations of the goof-ups.
The home ministry had shared the India's 50 'most wanted' list with Pakistan during home secretary-level talks between two countries here on March 28-29. India said the men on the list had sought shelter in Pakistan and demanded that they be sent home to face charges. The list was prepared by the CBI, NIA and other wings of the government in consultation with IB's counter-terror intelligence unit Multi-Agency Centre (MAC).
"There were three rounds of meetings among officials of these organizations and due diligence was done before the list to be handed over to Pakistan. Unfortunately, the error happened and now we are trying our best to ensure a foolproof mechanism," an official said....http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDExLzA1LzIxI0FyMDAxMDQ=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

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Assam: Peace efforts paid its dividend to the Congress in the Assembly polls

Congress victory will spur Assam peace process

Vishwa Mohan\TNN
May 14, 2011, 06.28am IST
NEW DELHI: The Congress victory in Assam will see the ongoing peace efforts with insurgent groups, specifically with ULFA, gain momentum.
The Centre, which has been negotiating with ULFA informally over issues like surrender of arms of its cadres and setting up camps for them ever since the talks began in February, will now invite the group's leadership here for the second and 'substantive' round in early June. The outfit will be asked to come with its 'charter of demands' to pursue the process within the constitutional framework.
Although officials responsible for back-channel exchanges had been working on several fronts to take the talks process forward, there was a 'sense of uncertainty' due to elections as they were not sure about the pace and extent of the peace process in case a new regime came in.
"The sense of uncertainty has now gone with the poll result going in favour of Congress chief minister Tarun Gogoi, the man who has been on the same page with the Centre over the peace talks with ULFA and other insurgent groups in Assam," said a senior home ministry official.
It is believed that the peace efforts have paid dividends in the form of victory for the Congress. During its poll campaign, the party pitched for peace in the state for better security by holding talks with all insurgent outfits including ULFA, NDFB, DHD(J) and KLNLF.
Gogoi too made his intention clear after his election victory on Friday. He said in Guwahati: "Reaching out to the militant groups and bringing lasting peace would be my priority. We have been trying to bring all the insurgent groups to the negotiating table. We hope to resolve all contentious issues through negotiations during the next five years."
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh government has already agreed to deport one of the top ULFA leaders Anup Chetia to India provided he withdraws his court plea for political asylum. Officials here say that the pro-talk faction of the outfit, led by its chairman Arbinda Rajkhowa, would now send its emissary to Chetia to convince him to withdraw his asylum plea and come back and join the peace process.
An official said: "The possibility of Chetia's joining the pro-talk faction will make the process broad-based. The move will also in some way weaken the anti-talk faction led by its absconding leader and the outfit's commander-in-chief, Paresh Baruah."
Though the first round of talks with the outfit had taken place in February when a team led by Rajkhowa came here and met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and home minister P Chidambaram, the process had begun long ago when the ULFA chairman came back from Bangladesh in November 2009. He was handed over to the Assam Police after being nabbed by Bangladesh security agencies in a coordinated operation across the border.
He had remained in jail before the Assam government decided not to object to his bail plea in a Guwahati court in December last year as part of the state's move to bring the outfit for the much-awaited peace talks.
The rest of the top ULFA leadership was released from jail much earlier in similar fashion. Among them were ULFA's vice-chairman Pradip Gogoi, deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah, cultural secretary Pranati Deka, publicity secretary Mithinga Daimary and senior political ideologue Bhimkanta Buragohain......http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTEvMDUvMTQjQXIwMTcwOA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

India's most wanted terrorists....the deadly list....makes mockery of the Interpol RCNs

India releases list of '50 most wanted' sheltered in Pak
May 12, 2011, 04.21am IST TNN
[ Vishwa Mohan ]

NEW DELHI: Continuing its pressure on Pakistan to act against 50 of India "most wanted" based in the neighbouring country, New Delhi on Wednesday made public the complete list of fugitives including Dawood Ibrahim and Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed, wanted for a spate of terror acts here.

The move to disclose the list nearly one-and-a-half months after it was actually shared with Islamabad could be seen as New Delhi's continued effort to remind the neighbour of its unfulfilled pledge to help fight terror.

The list includes the names of two serving Pakistan army officers – 26/11 accused Major Iqbal and Major Sameer Ali – besides Syed Abdur Rehman alias Pasha, a former major with 6, Baloch Regiment of Pakistan army, and Ilyas Kashmiri, the dreaded HuJI chief who worked as an auxiliary of Pakistan's special operations unit.

"Pakistan needs to act on the list which was shared during home secretary-level talks between the two countries on March 28-29. Islamabad has, in fact, made a mockery of the Interpol Red Corner Notices against the people on our list by not delivering on such an important global lookout notice," said a senior intelligence agency official.

The terrorists and criminals on the list, not ranked in order of their threat perception, include those wanted for the 26/11 attack, 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, IC-814 hijacking, 2001 Parliament House attack and a number of terror attacks in Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and in other Indian cities over the years.

The latest list, which carries names of 31 Indians and 19 Pakistanis, has in fact swelled from 20 in 2001 to 50 in 2011 – in the span of 20 years, a clear indication of the ease with which those tormenting India can find shelter in Pakistan.

The 'list of 50' carries names of 19 members of the Dawood Ibrahim gang.

Apart from Dawood, who was designated a 'gobal terrorist' by US and put in the special UNSC-Interpol list, others of his gang on the list of India's most wanted are Memon Ibrahim alias Tiger Memon, Chhota Shakeel, Abdul Razak, Anis Ibrahim and Mohammed Ahmed Dosa, all involved in the terror attack which claimed over 250 lives in Mumbai in 1993.

Besides the list which was handed over to Pakistan in March, India had in February last year given a separate list with names of members of Indian Mujahideen– the terror outfit which was set up by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as its front in India on ISI's direction. It was handed over during foreign secretary-level talks between the two countries here.

The list had names of Riyaz Bhatkal, founder of IM; Iqbal Bhatkal, brother of Riyaz; Yasin Bhatkal, bombmaker of IM; Abdus Subhan Qureshi alias Tauqeer and Abu Aiman among others. The latest list has, however, carried only two names of IM members – Mufti Sufiyan and Amir Reza Khan.


Names of four Khalistani terrorists including Wadhawan Singh – leader of Babbar Khalsa International – are also on the list. Singh, who was involved in the conspiracy to murder the then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, has been absconding for 29 years.......http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTEvMDUvMTIjQXIwMDEwMA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

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Mumbai terror attack (26/11): The terror duo - American David Coleman Headley and Canadian Tahawwur Hussain Rana - may nail Pakistan's lie in Chicago Court

Govt waits for Rana's trial before filing its chargesheet
May 11, 2011, 04.59am IST TNN
[ Vishwa Mohan ]

NEW DELHI: India will closely observe the trial of key 26/11 accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana in a Chicago court from May 16 before taking any final decision on filing a chargesheet against him and his accomplice David Coleman Headley in the Mumbai attack case.

India expects that the Chicago trial will throw more light on the conspiracy that could be handy for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in finalising its own chargesheet against the duo, specifically when the US has, so far, not agreed to India's demand to question Rana.

"Though the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been constantly sharing information with the NIA over progress of the probe at its end, India is keen on questioning Rana before filing the chargesheet," said a senior home ministry official. The case against both Headley and Rana was registered in November 2009 here after their arrest in Chicago a month before.

The trial against Rana, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, is expected to bring more facts linking Pakistani spy agency ISI with the 26/11 terror attack. Rana had, in order to get relief from the US court, claimed that he had helped Headley, the American Lashkar terrorist, at the behest of Pakistan government.

Though the US court has already rejected his plea for relief on this ground, officials here believe the accused may come out with more details in his defence making the ISI's footprints in Mumbai terror attack clearer.

Asked about the trial against Rana in which Headley will be a key witness, home secretary Gopal K Pillai said, "The trial begins on May 16 based on evidence. We expect a very speedy conclusion of the trial." He, however, told reporters that one should wait for Rana's trial before making any conclusion on the case.

It is learnt that India will again ask US for access to Rana after conclusion of the trial. Indian officials do not rule out the possibility of seeking Rana's extradition from US in due course after filing the chargesheet against him.

"We can always ask for Rana's extradition as he, unlike Headley, has not entered into plea bargaining seeking exemption from any such move," said an official, adding the Chicago trial is expected to be concluded by this month-end.

Besides the developments in the US, India agencies are also banking on the ongoing probe, including the latest one which firmly points to Pakistan's link. The NIA has come to know that the packing carton of the Global Positioning System (GPS), used by the 26/11 gunmen, was traced to the same Karachi house which was believed to have been used as a control room to orchestrate the Mumbai attacks.

The information, which is to be shared with Pakistan, will help Islamabad match the details of the GPS with the packaging carton. Indian investigators claim that the number, model of GPS and packaging date of the carton match with the device found in the fishing trawler 'Kuber', used by the Lashkar gunmen........http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTEvMDUvMTEjQXIwMTcwMQ==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Mumbai terror attack: The probe progress depends more on What Chicago Court trial comes out with....Pakistan in any case will remain in denial mode for it's survival

India releases dossier linking 26/11 plotters with ISI
May 10, 2011, 02.23am IST TNN
[Vishwa Mohan]

NEW DELHI: Just a week ahead of the crucial trial of a key 26/11 accused in the US, India on Monday released detailed dossiers on five Pakistanis, including a serving ISI major who have been chargesheeted by US authorities in connection with the Mumbai terror attacks.

The move is aimed at highlighting the role of Pakistani spy agency ISI as a terror sponsor at a time when the detection of Osama bin Laden in the garrison town of Abbottabad deep inside Pakistan has trained the global spotlight anew on ISI's terror links across the globe.

Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian who is to go on trial in a Chicago court for facilitating the 2008 terror attack on Mumbai, has claimed immunity from prosecution on the ground that he was working for the Pakistan government.

Besides Major Iqbal of ISI, others who figure in the dossiers include Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander and head of its Indian operation Sajid Majeed alias Sajid Mir, Lashkar trainer and explosives expert Abu Qahafa, Lashkar's Kashmir in-charge Mazhar Iqbal alias Abu al-Qama and Lashkar's operational commander Muzammil who took charge of anti-India operations of the banned terror ouotfit after Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi's arrest.

The home ministry, however, did not identify Muzammil in its note, using FBI's description of 'Member D' for him in its second indictment report against the five Pakistanis in the Chicago court.

American Lashkar terrorist David Coleman Headley, who has pleaded guilty for his role in 26/11, will be the witness in the case where Rana has been accused of using his travel agency to help Headley carry out the recee of Mumbai and other places in India on Lashkar's hit list.

Stating that the US move "vindicates" Indian probe, a senior home ministry official said, "The dossiers were handed over to Pakistan during the Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level talks in February last year. Islamabad has, however, not acted on it so far."

India had named Major Iqbal and another Pakistani army officer Major Sameer Ali as the brain behind the Mumbai terror strikes along with Lashkar founder Hafiz Saeed. Interpol Red Corner Notices (RCNs) have been pending against them since last year. Headley during his interrogation had disclosed these names, stating the roles of each of them. It was Major Iqbal who had first received all the 26/11 surveillance videos from Headley.

The home ministry's dossier on the accused said that Major Iqbal, who was posted in Lahore from 2007 to 2008, had handled Headley. The US federal prosecutor too said that in July 2006, Major Iqbal provided to Headley approximately $25,000 to, among other purposes, establish and operate the Mumbai office of First World and pay for living expenses while Headley carried out his assignments for Lashkar.

The dossier said Sajid Mir was associated with LeT and supervised others. He also served as a "handler" for Headley while Abu Qahafa trained others in combat techniques for use in terrorist attacks.

US federal prosecutors had revealed that Sajid Mir, Abu Qahafa and Mazhar Iqbal conspired with each other, Headley, 'Lashkar Member D' (Muzammil) and others known and unknown to the grand jury, to deliver, place, discharge and detonate explosives and other lethal devices in, into and against places of public use, state and government facilities, public transportation systems and infrastructure facilities in India.

During the course of attacks in Mumbai, Sajid Mir, Abu Qahafa and Mazhar Iqbal were in touch with the gunmen, giving them instructions and asking them to arrange the release of a hostage in exchange for the release of a captured attacker................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTEvMDUvMTAjQXIwMDEwMQ==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

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Purulia Arms Drop: Kim Davy's extradition effort continues...the recent episode had it's echo in West Bengal during Assembly polls

Kim Davy extradition case: CBI officer, lawyer being sent to Denmark
May 6, 2011, 04.03am IST TNN[ Vishwa Mohan & Neeraj Chauhan ]

NEW DELHI: Continuing its effort to bring Purulia arms drop case mastermind Kim Davy here to face trial, India will send a team comprising an investigator and a legal officer to Denmark to assist the government there in the court case on Davy's extradition.

"The team comprising a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer and a lawyer will leave for Denmark either on May 14 or May 16. It will go with all available evidence that substantiates Davy's involvement in the crime," said a senior government official.

The Danish government had, on behalf of India, earlier moved its National Court -- the country's apex court -- appealing against a lower court verdict that denied Neils Holck alias Kim Davy's extradition to India. Though India is not a party to the case in the Danish court, the team will help the prosecutors there with necessary material evidence.

The decision to send the team comes days after Davy and one of the convicted persons in the case, Peter Bleach, had alleged that the Purulia arms drop operation was planned by the Indian government and its intelligence agencies to destabilise the Left Front government in West Bengal.

The government had, however, quickly denied the allegation saying it is mischievous and aimed at misleading the prosecuting agency and the court in Denmark which are seized with the matter of his extradition to India to face trial. The Cabinet Secretariat in a statement on April 30 said: "His (Davy) self-serving allegations and attempt to give a political colour to his crime and thus deflect the judicial process of his extradition is not substantiated by evidence and facts."

The CBI, which probed the case, also rubbished Davy's allegations. It said that the agency during the investigation had seized Davy's laptop that contains more than 50,000 pages in which the accused has given "elaborate details about his plan and preparation of the crime".

"This is clinching evidence against him (Davy). Nowhere has he mentioned anything about any likely help from any Indian official agency," said the CBI.

The incident took place on the night of December 17-18, 1995, when a huge consignment of sophisticated arms and ammunition was airdropped over some villages in Purulia district of West Bengal. The aircraft involved in the case was forced to land at Mumbai airport four days later and six crew members -- British national Peter Bleach and five Lativians -- were taken into custody. However, Davy had managed to escape from the airport.

An Indian court had sentenced all of them to life imprisonment in February 2000. However, the government had granted presidential pardon to remit the sentences of five Latvians in July 2000 and Peter Bleach in February 2004.