Senior IPS officers are keenly watching the move which may affect top postings in central agencies

http://t.co/HiD2lVZD

Govt looking to re-employ CRPF chief

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Sep 20, 2012, 02.22AM IST 

NEW DELHI: In a move which may cause heartburn among top IPS officers in the country, the government is exploring re-employment options to give an extension to CRPF chief K Vijay Kumar, who is set to retire on September 30.

Though there is nothing unusual in going for re-employment, the step has raised eyebrows at a time when four other top posts - chiefs of Intelligence Bureau, RAW, BSF and CBI - are up for grabs in the next three months.

If the government does grant extension to Kumar beyond three months of his retirement, he would become only the second person in the top police hierarchy in getting employment through contract for such a key post.

Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) Ajit Lal is the only IPS officer who is serving on 'contract' through a re-employment process by virtue of the post being earmarked for a three-year term.

In normal course, Lal, a 1974 batch IPS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, was to retire on August 31. He, however, got an extension on 'contract' and will continue as JIC chairman till August 2014. Such officers on contract continue to get fixed salary of Rs 80,000 per month, besides government accommodation and support staff.

Although Kumar, a 1975 batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, is considered one of the finest IPS officers in the country, the move to grant him extension is being questioned among the top bureaucracy with officials arguing that such a decision may demoralize senior cops looking to head various central agencies.

Kumar, who as chief of the Special Task Force had got forest brigand Veerappan eliminated, was appointed as CRPF chief in October 2010.

Among other agencies, BSF director general U K Bansal and CBI chief A P Singh will retire in November while IB director Nehchal Sandhu and RAW chief Sanjeev Tripathi will retire in December.

The government has already shortlisted six officers who will be considered for the post of CBI director. They include Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar, NIA chief S C Sinha, ITBP director general Ranjeet Sinha, CBI special director V K Gupta, Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS officer Atul and Odisha cadre officer Prakash Mishra.

Neeraj Kumar, an IPS officer of 1976 batch, is being considered the top contender for the post due to his vast experience in the CBI. Similarly, V Rajagopal, R N Gupta and Yashovardhan Azad are in the running for the IB director's post. All three are serving as special directors in the intelligence agency.

Chiefs of IB, CBI and RAW are appointed on a fixed tenure of two years. Chiefs of these agencies may, however, remain in their posts beyond two years if they don't attain the age of 60 years. In case of other agencies, government has to take the route of re-employment if it wants to keep the officer in the post beyond three years of his retirement.........http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTIvMDkvMjAjQXIwMTUwNQ==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Bangladeshi immigrants ........ better to explore an option of 'work' permit

http://t.co/i1VeGTbT

Assam deported only 134 Bangladeshi illegal immigrants in past 2 yrs

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Sep 18, 2012, 02.09AM IST 

NEW DELHI: Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants seem to having a free run in Assam. The border state has deported only 134 illegal immigrants to Bangladesh in the past two years, even though the Tribunals, tasked with detecting the foreigners, had found as many as 5,652 offenders between 2010 and 2012.

Assam government has recently informed the Union home ministry that 36 existing Tribunals had declared 4,787 as "illegal immigrants" who came to the state on or after March 25, 1971.

Besides, 865 people — who were part of pre-1971 stream of illegal migration — were also declared "foreigners" by the Tribunals under the Foreigners Act, 1946. But, nearly 97% of them went missing after being declared "illegal migrants".

"The dismal record of deportation, where only 134 of 5,652 people were deported, is an indication of the futility of the whole exercise when most of those declared illegal immigrants just vanished into thin air," said an official.

He said the state would not only have to fast-track the entire process of identification, but also have to constantly keep a tab on those whose cases were pending before the Tribunals.

The disclosure of dismal record of deportation from Assam was made at the time when over 3.10 lakh cases of suspected illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are pending at the Tribunals in the state.

The gap between the number of people who were deported and those who were identified as illegal immigrants may just be a tip of iceberg if one looks at the figure of those Bangladeshis who visited India "legally" but went missing after expiry of their travel documents (visa) during the same period.

Figures, available with the home ministry, show that 58,932 Bangladeshi nationals, who entered India legally during 2009-11, did not return. Though the figure of detection and deportation of such Bangladeshi nationals is higher than those who entered illegally by crossing the unguarded border, the gap is still quite high.

Immigration figures show that only 23,653 out of total 82,585 Bangladeshi citizens could be traced and deported between 2009 and 2011, leaving whereabouts of 58,932 of them unknown.

Amid the growing demand for detection of illegal immigrants, the Assam government has requested the home ministry for 64 more Tribunals and reasoned that the additional ones would help settle more than 3.10 lakh pending cases.

"We will send a proposal to the finance ministry for approval," a home ministry official said. Around Rs 22 lakh per annum is estimated to be the expense for each Tribunal - comprising two judges — that functions under the Foreigners Act, 1946................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JSi8yMDEyLzA5LzIwI0FyMDA5MDA=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Indian Mujahideen ..... a "start to finish jihad factory"

http://t.co/6ekVq37D

40 ‘missing’ youth in IM’s ‘jihad factory’?

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Sep 12, 2012, 04.19AM IST 

It is suspected that some of the youth might have joined the outfit during its routine recruitment drive.

NEW DELHI: Calling Indian Mujahideen (IM) a "start to finish jihad factory", security agencies have asked the country's police brass to watch out for the banned terror outfit, which continues to be on a "talent scouting" spree, emboldened by tacit support of Pakistan's ISI and its labyrinthine networks in various cities of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Delhi. 

Referring to 40 "missing" youth of Maharashtra, who might have gone underground after joining IM, the central agencies during last week's security conference asked top cops to look for their whereabouts. It is suspected that some of the youth might have joined the outfit during its routine recruitment drive. 

While "innocuous religious platforms" like Quran Foundation, Pune; and Islamic Guidance Centre, Mangalore, among other similar institutions are happy hunting ground for its cadres, IM's primary targets are disenchanted Muslim youth —ranging from petty criminals to well-heeled software professionals. 

The agencies, in their presentation on IM, noted that recruitment of IT professional Mansoor Ali Mohammed Peerbhoy was a prized catch for the outfit. He was enlisted while he studying Arabic in Pune's Quran Foundation. 

Peerbhoy, a Yahoo executive-turned-media chief of IM, who was arrested in 2008, had lured a number of educated youth to IM's fold. Recruitments of Arif Badar, IED assembly and micro-chip based timer expert, and Mobin, internet hacking expert, were cited as cases in point of how budding talents were identified and trained as terrorists through fiery and emotive taqrirs (speeches) and attitude hardening dars (lessons). 

It was noted that "brainwashing through doctored pictorials and videos, such as, that of Godhra and Babri Masjid incidents" was very common in taqrirs and dars. 

Use of social networking sites for sending personalized messages and motivating vulnerable youth had also come to the notice of investigating agencies, prompting them to suggest setting up "massive and sophisticated surveillance infrastructure" in the country. 

The presentation, drawing details from Delhi Police's dossier on the outfit, says IM doesn't have a defined structure. Its top leaders run the show from safe havens not only in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia but also in Nepal and the UAE (Dubai and Sharjah). 

IM, which was set up by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to project to the world that Islamic terrorism in India is homegrown, has "substantial corpus of money" having funding sources based in Kuwait, Riyadh, Chicago and various cities in Pakistan. 

The outfit had carried out a number of attacks in several Indian cities, including Jaipur, Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Pune. 

Besides, officials suspect that the terror outfit could be involved in other blasts like in Varanasi (December, 2010), Delhi HC (May 25, 2011) and Pune (August 1, 2012) — all of which are being investigated.

Though IM came to notice for the first time when it sent e-mail to media houses ahead of serial blasts in Faizabad, Lucknow and Varanasi in UP in November, 2007, its genesis - the note says - goes back to 2000. At that time, IM was largely involved in talent spotting, motivation and training of Indian youth in LeT and ISI facilities to lend credence to the "homegrown terror" concept.................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTIvMDkvMTIjQXIwMTQwMw==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

De-radicalisation and counter-radicalisation ...... Once west used to look to east to find an answer from pluralistic society

http://t.co/OsTGXAxi

India to explore US, UK model of community outreach programme to tackle radicalization

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Sep 8, 2012, 05.40PM IST 

NEW DELHI: Stung by recent incidents showing how an increasing number of youth is getting indoctrinated to radical views, India will explore the community outreach programme, adopted in the US and the UK, to curb the growing social malaise in a planned manner. Besides, different government ministries and social organizations will also be asked to come out with solutions to counter radicalization. 

The option was discussed here on Friday as part of various possibilities and solutions during the ongoing security meet, where the country's top cops referred to the role of Indian Mujahideen (IM) as well as some 'frontal' organizations behind deep-rooted radicalization and indoctrination to attract `fresh talents' for the banned terror outfit. 

Spread of hate messages, depicting a particular community as a victim in India, in the wake of lower Assam violence and the unrest in Mumbai's Azad Maidan also figured in the discussion. 

The DG and IG-ranked officials of state police, security\intelligence agencies and paramilitary forces emphasized on adopting a two-pronged strategy —de-radicalization and counter-radicalization — to deal with the menace in a structured manner. A similar model is adopted in some Western countries by involving various agencies and non-political community leaders. 

The participants suggested that the model could be replicated by involving not only police officials but also officials of different ministries, including human resources, minority affairs and information & broadcasting, through various activities. It can be helpful in not only dealing with some 'perceived' sense of discrimination among minority communities but also in suggesting ways and means to remove 'actual' discrimination, if it exists. 

"There have been a number of instances where even 'perceived' sense of discrimination was used to push some misguided youth towards radical views", said an official who participated in the discussion. 

The participants cited that though the IM was created and funded by Pakistani spy agency ISI as a front of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in India, it had enrolled local youth to set up terror modules in different parts of the country. Interrogation of over a dozen arrested cadres of the group had revealed how they were drawn towards the outfit after being brainwashed by radical elements. 

"There is a need to reach out to many such vulnerable youth in the country in a structured manner. It is being done by various agencies in the US and the UK through community outreach programmes," said another official. 

Though the recent arrests of educated youth, including a DRDO scientist and other professionals in Bangalore and other cities for plotting terror strikes, acted as a trigger to discuss the matter of radicalization, the participants constantly referred to the IM underlining the looming threat from the banned terror outfit. 

Expressing their concern over the growing activities of the IM in their states, a number of senior police officials also said unless the physical and financial support received by the terrorists from across the border were stopped, it was difficult to control terror strikes in the country. 

In fact, activities of IM, involved in a number of terror attacks in the country over the past four years, were discussed by the top cops in a separate session for more than two hours on Friday. This was for the first time that such a high-level meeting specially focused on homegrown terrorists, who are receiving active support from across the border.............http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTIvMDkvMDkjQXIwMTcwMA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Government finally wakes up to face social media

http://t.co/ARGfNEVJ

Social media new security challenge: Manmohan

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Sep 9, 2012, 02.37AM IST 

PM also said communal situation in the country had worsened, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala.

NEW DELHI: Weeks after government imposed a limited period ban on bulk SMSes and MMSes and blocked certain "inflammatory" web pages, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday cautioned that efforts to curb the misuse of new means of communication and social media networks should not be at the cost of freedom of expression. 

Addressing a meeting of chiefs of state police, intelligence agencies and central paramilitary forces, Singh said that communal situation in the country had worsened, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala. 

On how to regulate social media, the PM said: "Any measure to control the use of such media must be carefully weighed against the need for the freedom to express and communicate". 

He also warned that the terror groups retain the capability to mount another attack through the sea route. "There are also indications about terrorist groups maintaining their ability to use the sea route," he said in what was unanimously interpreted as an acknowledgement of the threat of a repeat of 26/11. 

Emphasizing the need to check the misuse of social media by subversives, Singh said: "The use of bulk SMSes and social media to aggravate the communal situation is a new challenge that the recent disturbances have thrown before us. We need to fully understand how these new media are used by miscreants. We also need to devise strategies to counter the propaganda that is carried out by these new means". 

He, however, expressed confidence that police would shortly be able to devise "effective strategies to deal with these tendencies". 

His remarks came with reference to the use of SMSes\MMSes and web pages — carrying morphed images - by certain elements to trigger violence against people from the north-east. The hate campaign marked a new security challenge, which was acknowledged by the PM in his address to the security brass. 

Though the government had imposed a limited ban for two weeks on bulk SMSes and MMSes and blocked certain web pages and threatened to launch a crackdown on social media like Facebook and Twitter, the response of authorities was criticized for both heavy-handedness and impracticality of enforcing the regulation. 

The PM's remarks capture the dilemma the government faces as it struggles to fashion responses to the competing demands of freedom of expression, citizens' privacy and the need to maintain public order. Singh's admission about the worsening communal situation underscores the sensitive issue is on UPA's watch. The regime has listed restoration of communal harmony among its top achievements. 

As solutions to handle communal tensions, the PM expressed the need to develop "soft skills" among beat constable, re-orienting police forces to effectively track the sentiments of people and inter-community tensions, advance identification of potential trouble makers and seeking cooperation of community. 

On terror threats in the hinterland, he said, "We are still in the process of developing capabilities to take pre-emptive action in respect of terrorist threats. 

"Realignment of operational approaches, training of police personnel and more effective collaboration among states and between States and the Centre should form part of our overall strategy of dealing with the menace of terrorism," he added. 

He too, like home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, preferred to keep quiet over the setting up of the controversial NCTC - a brainchild of former home minister P Chidambaram that was conceived as a premier anti-terror body for coordinated action against terrorists. 

The PM, however, did some plain speaking before the top cops telling that capacity of the police to tackle inter-community relations has weakened and grass root intelligence collection system had "languished in some places". 

Underlining cyber security as another key area where cops need to work effectively, Singh said: "Our country's vulnerability to cyber crime is escalating as our economy and critical infrastructure become increasingly reliant on inter-dependent computer networks and the internet". 

On Red terror, the PM pointed at the ability of Maoists to gradually increase their numbers and enhance their "military potential" as causes of worry. He said: "Acquisition of indigenous capacity for fabrication of hardware and the ability to ideologically sway sections of society into raising clamour about violation of human rights only adds to the complexity of the situation.".................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTIvMDkvMDkjQXIwMTQwMA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Intelligence Bureau chief Nehchal Sandhu....... was it a self-defeating remark? Why did he utter this before media?

http://t.co/JMG6T2wY

India vulnerable to global terrorists: IB

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Sep 7, 2012, 03.31AM IST 

New Delhi: In an attempt to sensitize top cops of the country about new trends in international terrorism, Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Nehchal Sandhu on Thursday said the attack on an Israeli diplomat's vehicle in the Delhi earlier this year indicated India's vulnerability to the designs of global terrorists to attack non-Indian targets. 

"The attack on the Israeli vehicle with an innovated IED on February 13 indicates that India will not be spared by international terrorists seeking to attack non-Indian targets on Indian soil. This incident brings to the fore the need to be sensitive to the trends developing in the sphere of international terrorism," Sandhu said, addressing chiefs of state police, paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies during a security meet. 

Use of cyber space by terrorists to radicalize vulnerable youth and to spread "motivated rumours" for creating communal disharmony was also discussed in the meeting. These matters came up in the context of the recent Assam violence, exodus of northeast people from several cities and arrests of over a dozen educated persons, including a DRDO scientist, for plotting terror strikes. 

Setting the tone for the meet, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde pointed to terrorists using internet and social networking sites, taking advantage of the "anonymity that the user acquires in this medium". 

As part of efforts to face these new challenges, Shinde told top cops that the ministry had constituted a nine-member standing committee of director generals of police, headed by the IB chief, to suggest "best practices and SOPs for any aspect of police operations and also recommend assessments on any issue of national security". 

The minister, however, preferred not to mention the controversial anti-terror body, NCTC — in contrast to his predecessor P Chidambaram who not only conceived the body but also pitched for it as an instrument to deal with terrorism...............http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTIvMDkvMDcjQXIwMjMwMQ==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Pakistani Hindus ....... Are they really worried of their security? Isn't it an 'economic' move?

http://t.co/F2VQdsY1

Nearly 20% Pakistani Hindus did not return

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Sep 6, 2012, 03.23AM IST 

NEW DELHI: Nearly one-sixth of 17,485 Pakistani Hindus, who had come to India on valid visas in the past three years, did not return to Pakistan. All of them who stayed back, however, did not apply for Indian citizenships. They had, rather, sent representations to local authorities exploring the option of being in India for longer term for varied reasons including economic compulsions. 

Indian government had during 2009-11 received 1,290 applications of Pakistani nationals for grant of citizenship by registration and naturalization. Though only 764 of them had got Indian citizenship during the period, the remaining ones were allowed to stay on long term visas. 

The home ministry disclosed these figures in response to different Parliament questions over the last fortnight. These official data have come amid reports that many Pakistani Hindus who came to India recently do not want to return due to alleged religious persecution. 

Although the home ministry in response to those questions preferred to distance itself from the allegation of religious persecution or discrimination, it said that all the applications seeking Indian citizenships were processed "as expeditiously as possible" in consultation with the ministry of external affairs and the state governments concerned where the applicant ordinarily stays after coming to India. 

The statistics shows that 1,198 out of 6,437 Pakistani Hindus who came to India in 2009 did not return after expiry of their visas. Similarly, 491 out of 6,036 did not return in the year 2010 while 1,248 out of 5,012 had stayed back last year. The figures, in fact, point at substantial jump in the number of those who did not return last year - the period coincides with the increasing number of reported atrocities against Hindus in Sindh and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan. 

The home ministry said as many as 18,185 Pakistani nationals belonging to minority communities (Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists) were currently living in India on long term visa. 

"Requests of Pakistani nationals belonging to minority communities (in that country), Pakistani women married to Indian nationals and staying in India and Indian women married to Pakistani nationals and returning to India due to widowhood/divorce are considered for grant of long term visa," said the ministry. 

Officials in the ministry, privy to the application details of Pakistani nationals who want Indian citizenships, said that there were a number of them who wanted to be in India for economic reasons as they thought their adopted country would provide them better business or employment opportunity in a peaceful environment. 

"All of them who want citizenships or long term visa do not talk about religious persecution in Pakistan. While a number of them cite economic reason, the remaining ones express desire to be here with their older relatives who had left Pakistan after partition in 1947," said an official.

Special Status ..... a tool to end backwardness through financial support

http://t.co/xUTPX1Ra

Cabinet nod for special status for six most-backward dists of Karnataka

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Sep 5, 2012, 03.10AM IST 

NEW DELHI: Six most-backward districts of Karnataka will soon get an exclusive status for receiving additional funds for development and providing reservation to people of that region in government jobs and educational institutions. The Union Cabinet on Tuesday cleared the proposal to this effect by agreeing to insert a new Article 371 (J) in the Constitution. 

Under this proposal, a separate development board will be set up for six districts - Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur, Koppal, Yadgir and Bellary - for monitoring the overall socio-economic well-being of the region that consists of the erstwhile Hyderabad-Karnataka areas of the state. 

Besides making "special provisions" for these districts, the new Article will also empower the President to provide special powers to the state governor to pass orders to provide reservation of a proportion of seats in educational and vocation training institutions in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region on the basis of "domiciles". Reservation in government jobs will be given through constituting "local cadres" for the people of the region. 

"The new Article will be inserted through the Constitution Amendment Bill, 2012. The Cabinet nod now clears the decks for its introduction in the Parliament," said an official. 

The official said that though the government would try to get it passed in Parliament during the remaining three days of the ongoing Monsoon session, it was not clear how it could be done amid the tough stand taken by main Opposition BJP over the issue of coal blocks allocation. 

Since any Constitution Amendment Bill requires two-third majority of members present in both Houses of Parliament, its passage appears to be difficult at this stage. 

It is learnt that the BJP too had been keen for the Bill which is the outcome of the party-led state government's long pending proposal. Opposition Congress in the state too had agreed for this and voted in favour of the resolution passed by both the legislative assembly and legislature council. 

The Article 371 of the Constitution had earlier been amended to make special provisions for the Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra's Marathwada region. 

The Marathwada region had, under Article 371 (2), got separate development board for equitable allocation of funds, whereas the Telangana region had, under Article 371 (D), got a provision of local cadres for reservation in direct recruitment and admission to educational institutions and setting up of an administrative tribunal. 

"The new Article, 371 (J), for Karnataka is a hybrid of both the models and is much more comprehensive," said an official, adding that it will take care of the aspirations of people from the region as far development — through equitable distribution of funds and reservation in jobs and educational institutions — is concerned......http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JQkcvMjAxMi8wOS8wNSNBcjAwNTAx&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom 

Homegrown terror ... it shows India's vulnerability

http://t.co/Ikqyv32C

Karnataka terror plot: ‘Ultras went to Pak via Iran, met ISI men’

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Sep 4, 2012, 02.14AM IST 

NEW DELHI: With the interrogation of terrorists picked up in Karnataka shedding more light on their network within and outside the country, central agencies have come to know that two of the suspects went to Pakistan via Iran and met three ISI officers in Karachi before getting in touch with their handlers in Saudi Arabia. 

On the basis of their questioning, it was learnt that the ISI officers were in touch with the Saudi-based handlers, including Indians and Pakistanis, who not only used to pass on 'directions' to the Bangalore and Hubli-based modules but also sent money to them through the 'hawala' network. 

Sources privy to details of the interrogation as well as the probe of the money trail, said the duo - Abdul Hakkim alias Abdulla and Zafar Iqbal Sholapuri alias Zakir - had first visited Iran on valid travel documents including Indian passports and one-month visa. They, however, entered Pakistan illegally and met three ISI officers in Karachi. 

"It must be a deliberate move to visit Pakistan illegally as the Pakistani spy agency did not want to leave a trail of their visit," said an official, claiming that the three ISI officers whom they met were identified by the terrorists as Abdul Wahab, Hamid and Mustafa. 

Officials were, however, tightlipped about any corroborative evidence the agencies might have over the claims made by the arrested terrorists during their interrogation. 

This is the third recent case where anti-India elements were found to be operating from Saudi Arabia. Deported LeT terrorist Abu Jundal and Indian Mujahideen activist Fasih Mahmood, who is still in the custody of Saudi authorities, were running their terror modules from there. 

An official said, "The handlers who were in touch with the arrested Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh youth have nothing to do with Jundal's or Fasih Mahmood's network. It is suspected that the different networks were being looked after by different sets of ISI officers." 

Karnataka police has so far arrested 14 persons after busting the terror module. Besides being asked to eliminate identified politicians and journalists, the arrested youth were also given the task of gathering information about various terror targets including defence establishments and nuclear installations in southn India. 

"We believe that more people are part of these busted modules. Some more arrests will follow soon," the official said......... 

Politics behind this trust deficit ........ Why can't Mumbai Police follow the law

http://t.co/gjFny63i

Mumbai cops violated law over Bihar arrest

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Sep 3, 2012, 12.56AM IST 

NEW DELHI: Mumbai Police may have acted within the law by arresting Azad Maidan vandal Abdul Qadir Ansari from Sitamarhi in Bihar without taking the state police in the loop but it violated legal provisions by not producing the accused before a 'local' magistrate or senior police officer after his arrest. 

Ansari - a Jogeshwari resident who allegedly vandalized the Amar Jawan memorial during the Azad Maidan riots on August 11 - was taken to Mumbai where he was produced before a city court which remanded him to police custody till September 4. 

The episode, which triggered a war of words led by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray who took offence to Bihar's move of flagging the mistake to Mumbai Police, is, however, not the only one which saw such inter-state squabble. 

JD(U)-ruled Bihar had indulged in a similar tussle with BJP-ruled Karnataka when the latter's police arrested Indian Mujahideen terrorist Kafeel Ahmed from Darbhanga district in May for his alleged involvement in the blasts at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore in 2010. Instead of informing Bihar police before arresting Ahmed, Karnataka police picked him up and produced him before a court in Jharkhand. 

The incident was not only picked up as an episode of 'trust deficit' between different states ruled by different political parties but also highlighted poor coordination among states on tackling terrorism. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had taken strong objection to Karnataka's action and had written to the Union home ministry highlighting the violation of law over jurisdiction. 

Taking note of Kumar's protest, the ministry had on May 16 written to all states reminding them of the provision under Section 80 of CrPC. 

In a detailed note to chief secretaries over the legal provisions, the ministry had said, "A person arrested must be produced before executive magistrate or deputy superintendent of police or commissioner of police within whose jurisdiction the arrest was made unless the court which issued the warrant (for arrest) is within 30 km of the place of arrest." 

The law clearly shows that Mumbai police violated the legal provision by not 'producing' Ansari before the local magistrate or police after it arrested him in Sitamarhi. Bihar police came to know about the arrest only through media reports. 

Mumbai police, however, did nothing illegal in arresting Ansari without 'informing' the local police. Citing legal provisions, the home ministry's note mentioned such exceptions if the delay in executing the arrest warrant may turn out to be counterproductive. 

Referring to Section 79 (3) of CrPC, the ministry said if there was reason to believe that delay in obtaining endorsement (from the local authority) will prevent arrest, the warrant may be executed without going through such process. 

This provision may give Mumbai police a breather in its response to Bihar which highlighted the unilateral act of Maharashtra in carrying out such arrest. The assumption that Mumbai police did not want to waste time in taking endorsement from local authorities as the delay could have allowed Ansari to flee to Nepal may hold some ground. But the explanation may not absolve the city police from its responsibility of producing the accused in a court in Bihar after the arrest.........http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDEyLzA5LzAzI0FyMDA2MDE=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom 

Homegrown terror ...... major concern before India

http://t.co/AeKiZTbK

Defence, nuclear units were on Karnataka terror radar

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Sep 1, 2012, 12.56AM IST 

Families of suspects addressing the media at press club in Bangalore on August 31, 2012.

NEW DELHI: Vital Army, Navy and nuclear installations in south India were on the terror radar of the suspects arrested in Bangalore and Hubli for allegedly plotting to target MPs, MLAs and journalists in Karnataka. During interrogation, they apparently said Saudi Arabia-based handlers of these terrorists are Pakistanis and Indians.

"Most politicians who were in the hit list of these suspected terrorists belong to BJP, one of them a party Rajya Sabha MP," said an official.

Karnataka Police recovered photographs and sketches of South Indian defence installations from the suspects. DRDO claimed "no sensitive or classified information was compromised" after the busted terror plot revealed involvement of one of its scientists Aijaz Ahmed Mirza.

Police suspect there must be some connection between these recovered photographs and sketches and Mirza, who might have been in touch with others in defence establishments over the months.

Though the police did not find any details relating to nuclear establishments during the raids in Bangalore and Hubli, three of the 11 terrorists - linked to Pakistan-based outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihad-Al-Islami (HuJI) - admitted during interrogation that they were also asked to do surveillance of these installations by their handlers in Saudi Arabia. Central agency sources said two of the arrested suspects had also visited Tehran before going to Pakistan.

It is learnt that the inputs about these two modules, operating out of Hubli and Bangalore, had come from Andhra Pradesh during technical surveillance on some of the 'remnant' groups of the slain HuJI terrorist Shahid Bilal.

Although Bilal, who had set up network in Hyderabad and other cities in Andhra Pradesh before fleeing to Pakistan, was reportedly shot dead in Karachi, some people belong to the modules created by him are active in many southern states. "Arrest of some more persons of these modules cannot be ruled out at this juncture", said the official.

These details emerged even as DRDO on Friday said that Mirza had been placed as Junior Research Fellow (JRF) for the past few months at the Centre for Air Borne Systems (CABS), a DRDO laboratory, after a thorough background check. "Verification of his antecedents including by police was conducted in the process of Mirza's placement on the temporary position of JRF," the DRDO said in a statement.

West Bengal and Bihar show the way ..... security measures should be backed by better politics

http://t.co/hm2LKMkd

Vishwa Mohan |TNN

NEW DELHI: Even as Red menace continues to be a major internal security challenge affecting almost one-third of total districts in the country, West Bengal — parts of which was once a hotbed of Maoist activities — has shown a remarkable improvement with none of its naxal-affected district reporting any casualty in the first seven months this year.

Bihar comes next, reporting significant improvement in terms of reduced incidents and casualties in the past one year. Both these states have moved closer to what Andhra Pradesh had achieved by reporting zero casualty consistently in past so many years.

Home ministry's latest figures, comprising details of Maoist incidents and casualties, show that 203 districts in the country are under naxals' influence in varying degree.

While 84 of them are categorized as "violence-affected districts", 119 others, including seven districts of the national Capital, have some kind of left wing extremists' (LWE) influence due to "over-ground activity of front organizations" of the CPI (Maoist) and other similar groups.

These 119 districts have, however, not reported any kind of violence. Even the 84 violence-hit districts have a different degree of LWE activities. Around 50 of them are moderately to highly affected, while the rest (34) are partially affected.

Figures of Bengal show that none of three highly Maoist-affected districts - West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura — had reported any killing in the past eight months. The period, which incidentally coincides with CM Mamata Banerjee's rule in the state, had also seen elimination of senior naxal leaders including top CPI(Maoist) politburo member Kishenji and arrest of many others during joint operations of state police and central paramilitary forces.

West Midnapore, which witnessed as many as 360 deaths of civilians and security personnel during 2009-11, has reported zero casualty this year. Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum, Murshidabad and Malda have also not reported any casualty.

Officials in the home ministry feel that human intelligence-based specific operations as well Banerjee's approach to reach out to people directly in the Maoist-affected districts had played an important role in improving the situation in Bengal.

"Mamata Bannerjee is the only chief minister who holds regular meetings and rallies right in the naxals' dominated districts. This political move to fill the vacuum created by the retreating Maoists proves to be a boon for West Bengal", said a senior home ministry official.

Bihar, too, has reported minimum deaths in the Maoist-hit districts in the state this year. West Champaran, Lakhisarai, Banka, Jehanabad, Arwal, Kaimur, Vaishali and West Champaran are among the naxal-affected districts which that reported zero death this year.

In the national Capital, the districts which have come under the influence of LWE due to presence of overground front organizations of the Maoists are: Central Delhi, New Delhi, South Delhi, North West Delhi, South West Delhi, North and North East Delhi.

The ministry data show that significant spatial reduction in Maoist violence has also been noticed in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh since 2009.

Hate web pages: Are Indians vulnerable to the extent of killing their fellow countrymen over the incidents elsewhere?

http://t.co/htLNtvzs

Shinde: India to confront Pak on hate pages

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Aug 30, 2012, 02.46AM IST 

"We will definitely share evidence with Pakistan," Indian home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may have decided not to raise with Pakistani President Asif Zardari the contentious issue of morphed images and inflammatory videos, which were purportedly uploaded in Pakistan and were among the triggers for the exodus of northeasterners, but his government is sticking to its plan to confront Islamabad with the evidence of uploading of hate web pages in that country.

"We will definitely share evidence with Pakistan," Indian home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said on Wednesday even as Union home secretary R K Singh asserted that the majority of the doctored videos and morphed images were indeed uploaded in Pakistan.

The comment came a day after the country's foreign policy establishment said that the PM would not take up with Zardari the issue of Pakistan-based groups or individuals, who circulated fake content on the web to fan hatred against people from the northeast, leading to their exodus from different parts of the country.

Sources in the foreign ministry have expressed discomfort with Singh's plainspeak with some even suggesting that he may have "spoken out of turn".

In contrast, Shinde stood by the home secretary, stressing that he had raised the issue of doctored videos being uploaded in Pakistan with Pakistani internal security advisor Rahman Malik. "I have also asked him to take action against those Pakistani elements who were involved in it," Shinde added.

The suggestion that the home secretary spoke out of turn has baffled the home ministry, with sources maintaining that Singh had kept the foreign policy establishment in the loop.

Although Singh himself refused to comment on Wednesday on the criticism that he fluffed his lines, he emphasized that New Delhi wanted Islamabad to take action against those who were responsible for uploading doctored videos that incited communal tension.

The home secretary did, however, clarify that he never blamed Pakistan for the SMSes which were circulated calling for retaliation against alleged atrocities on Muslims. "I have never said SMSes originated in Pakistan. But yes, majority of doctored videos and morphed pictures on the web uploaded from Pakistan."

He also said India never claimed that Pakistani government or its intelligence agency ISI was responsible for the inflammatory pictures but that it was the handiwork of some individuals in that country. He, however, declined to indicate any timeframe when India would share the details with Pakistan.

The MEA-MHA divergence on Pakistan is not new. Foreign ministry mandarins had also looked askance at the statements of Singh's predecessor G K Pillai. Known for his straight talks, Pillai would not mince his words when speaking about Pakistan's use of terrorism as a weapon against India, often discomfiting the foreign ministry officials, who revel in a nuanced approach to their formulations.

Government has already blocked over 300 web pages where these contents were uploaded. The host sites whose servers are located in USA have, meanwhile, been contacted to share details with India.

"It will take some time to get all those details. Once we get it, we will share it not only with Pakistan but also with other countries," said an official.

Officials in the ministry said that there were also evidence that some of the hate videos were uploaded in countries like Egypt, the US and UAE.

Thousands of people from the northeast living in cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune left their workplaces last fortnight following rumours of reprisal attacks after the ethnic violence in lower Assam.

The rumours spread after morphed images and inflammatory videos were uploaded in several hundred websites, falsely suggesting that atrocities were committed on minorities living in Assam during clashes between Bodos and Muslims.

Assam: Politics of violence ...... inaction is another crime

http://t.co/aOw4oyZA

Tarun Gogoi govt asked to act tough against mischief makers
Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Aug 29, 2012, 02.45AM IST

NEW DELHI: As Assam continues to be rocked by sporadic incidents of violence, the Centre on Tuesday asked the state to act tough and explore the option of taking into preventive custody all those who indulge in making provocative statements.

Amid growing feeling that CM Tarun Gogoi is not taking enough measures to handle the situation, Union home secretary R K Singh spoke to Assam chief secretary N K Das and director general of police J N Chaudhury asking them to take strict action against anti-social elements.

Singh is learnt to have told them that any possibility of social unrest must be nipped in the bud by taking all preventive measures including custody of ring leaders.

Sources said that the matter would shortly be taken up by home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde with Gogoi.

Though the state police have so far registered 1,442 cases and arrested 170 people - including an MLA Pradeep Brahma — for their alleged involvement in violent clashes, none of the ringleader had been taken into preventive custody despite apprehensions of disturbances during the bandhs.

"Had it been peaceful bandh, no one would have bothered much. But, the leaders of all the groups indulged in making provocative statements that led to inflaming passions in the violence-hit districts," said an official.

While the Bajrang Dal had observed a bandh on Monday, the All Assam Minority Students' Union (AAMSU) had a similar lockdown on Tuesday. Leaders of both these groups were allowed to roam free and make speeches during the bandh period.

Officials here fear that if the flare-up is not contained immediately, the situation may further worsen. An official said, "Instead of merely urging political parties and outfits to refrain from making provocative statements, the state police should have taken the leaders of different groups into preventive custody".

Violence spread to new areas other than the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) when local leaders tried to impose bandh in Tezpur, Barpeta Road, Nagaon, Morigaon and Sibsagar in the past two days. One person was reportedly killed at Barpeta Road in an attack when he refused to shut down his shop on Tuesday.

Assam : Politics of violence ...... just hope that the probe should not be guided by politics

http://t.co/KNo4gFxy

CBI preliminary probe shows bigger conspiracy behind Assam violence

Vishwa Mohan |TNN | Aug 28, 2012, 02.53AM IST 

NEW DELHI: The CBI's preliminary investigation into the lower Assam violence has pointed to a bigger conspiracy behind the ethnic clashes. More arrests are expected soon as the agency is learnt to have zeroed in on certain people who might have been involved in the July 20 incident that sparked off the communal conflagration.

The agency, probing seven of the total 1,442 cases registered, has found enough evidence which shows that the first incident — that occurred on July 6 when the Kamtapuri Liberation Organization (KLO) militants killed two Muslims — had nothing to do with what happened later on July 19 onwards.

Two persons — Mahibul Haque Ratul and Mohammed Abu Siddique — were injured in an incident of indiscriminate firing by motorcycle-borne attackers in the same area in Kokrajhar on July 19. Both the incidents were more due to personal animosity and were unconnected. Details of both these incidents and statement of one arrested KLO militant were shared with local Muslim residents.

Still, four Bodo youth were attacked and killed at Jaipur under Kokrajhar Police Station by some unidentified Muslims with sharp weapons on July 20. That incident acted as a trigger that turned out to be a full-fledged communal violence, killing 88 people over the next one month.

Sources in the investigating agency said that the interrogation of all those arrested in connection with subsequent incidents showed that the killing of four Bodo youth on July 20 was a planned act. The CBI has some corroborative evidence.

"Despite being shared details of previous incidents, a group within the minority community simply chose to ignore the police\administration version. They planned to retaliate amid opposition from other Muslims from the area," said an official.

All these matters and progress of probe came up for review during a meeting, chaired by Union home secretary R K Singh, here on Monday. Assam police chief J N Chaudhary shared details of cases registered in the state. Chaudhary told Singh that total 170 people have been arrested in connection with the communal violence.

"Since conspiracy angle is being probed, more cases - including ones relating to the arrested Assam MLA Pradeep Brahma — will be handed over to the CBI soon," said an official, adding the state government would conduct a judicial inquiry into the incident.

Brahma, MLA of the Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF), which is an ally of the ruling Congress in Assam, has been named in seven cases. The BPF is the ruling party in Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD).

Home ministry officials also reviewed the ongoing relief measures in the meeting. Assam government conveyed to the ministry that the number of relief camps has gone down from 340 to 218 and the number of people in relief camps has also reduced from over 5 lakh to 2.3 lakh as on Monday.

Later, some BTAD members met Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde. It was the first meeting of people from that area with the minister since Brahma's arrest. Shinde is learnt to have told them to cooperate in restoring normalcy in the area. It was also decided to set up a coordination committee comprising members from all communities to improve relations.