Shootout at Batla ..... Indian Mujahideen and Delhi Police

http://t.co/PkuqKhG5GD

Batla House encounter: IM's chief bomb-maker's death led to lull in violence

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Jul 25, 2013, 10.20PM IST 

File photo of inspector Mohan Chand Sharma who was killed during the Batla House encounter in New Delhi in Sep 2008.

NEW DELHI: The Batla House encounter may have generated a lot of heat due to controversy about the manner of the operation, but it dealt a severe blow to the Indian Mujahideen's core striking force. It saw elimination of the group's chief bomb-maker, Atif Amin, which led to a lull of around 17 months in the outfit's terror run after September, 2008.

Vital intelligence inputs that led the Delhi Police to Batla House were used in subsequent raids to arrest of 40 IM's operatives from across the country.

Most of those arrested post-Batla House encounter was part of the IM's Azamgarh module that had carried out terror attacks in Lucknow, Faizabad, Varanasi, Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi during 2007-08.

Though the terror outfit re-grouped itself again and marked its presence by carrying out blasts in Pune's German Bakery in February, 2010, the fresh attack did not match the consistent intensity it had shown in pre-Batla encounter blasts.

Amin's role as the chief bomb-maker was taken over by Yasin Bhatkal during the IM's resurgence phase which saw emergence of the Maharashtra-Karnataka module under the direct command of the outfit's top leaders like the Bhatkal brothers - Riyaz and Iqbal - and Amir Reza Khan.

This module had its striking force which was recruited from Darbhanga in Bihar. All major attacks during 2010-13 were carried out by the module with Yasin Bhatkal being at forefront in carrying out almost all the blasts in Bangalore (April, 2010), Delhi (September, 2010), Mumbai (July, 2011), Pune (August, 2012) and Hyderabad (February, 2013).

Although the police of different states had arrested several members of the Darbhanga module and busted the IM's sleeper cells in Pune, Nanded, Hyderabad and Delhi, the outfit continues to be a force to reckon with. While its top leaders, including Bhatkal brothers and Abdul Subham Qureshi, are suspected to be in Pakistan, the rest of the members of the Azamgarh module like Ariz Khan who fled from the spot during the Batla House encounter on September 19, 2008, are holed up in Nepal. Mohammed Khalid, Bada Sajid, Shahnawaz and Abu Rashid are other members of the Azamgarh module who are still at large along with 10 other IM operatives.

Existence of the terror outfit came to notice for the first time when it sent e-mail to media houses before serial blasts in Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi) on November 23, 2007, but the Azamgarh module had carried out its maiden terror attack at Dasaswamedh Ghat on February 23, 2005.

The Delhi Police, which had been at forefront in cracking the Darbhanga module, in its dossier on the outfit had categorically pointed out that though the arrests dealt a sever blow to the IM, the terror outfit has the capacity to re-group after every clampdown.

The dossier - brought out after last year's Pune blasts — discloses that the IM, which was set up by the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI to project to the world that Islamic terrorism in India is indigenous in character and content, has "substantial corpus of money" having funding sources based in Kuwait, Riyadh and different cities of Pakistan.

It says the outfit's supply lines of explosives, detonators and micro chips are intact and it can attack anywhere in the country with as much ease now as it did during its peak in 2007-08.

Calling the IM a "start to finish jehad factory", the dossier highlights that the "innocuous religious platforms" in different cities, including Pune and Mangalore, are among various institutions which are the happy hunting ground for its fresh recruits. It specifically noted how the outfit had recruited its prized terror cadre Mansoor Ali Mohammed Peerbhoy - a techie who used to head the media unit of the terror group before he was arrested in 2008 — while he was studying Arabic at the Quran Foundation in Pune.............................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTMvMDcvMjYjQXIwMTEwMw==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

What can you expect from the ministry which once put 'jailed' criminals in the list of 'wanted' ? .... Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust had to face the embarrassment due to lousy (ministry of home) affairs

http://t.co/s08j5COUZa

Union home ministry's ‘error’ irks Sonia's trust

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Jul 25, 2013, 04.32AM IST 

'Negligence’ on the part of Union home ministry has embarrassed the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) — a non-profit institution having Congress president Sonia Gandhi as chairperson of its board of trustees.

NEW DELHI: It may well be a case of oversight, but the 'negligence' on the part of the Union home ministry has embarrassed the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) — a non-profit institution having Congress president Sonia Gandhi as chairperson of its board of trustees — since it erroneously figures in the list of the NGOs that did not file its statutory annual return for 2011-12.

Though the RGCT had filed its return for the year relating to receipt and utilization of foreign contribution, the ministry's website shows it among the list of defaulters, comprising 709 other such organizations in Delhi.

A RGCT official told TOI, "The Trust had filed its statutory annual return for 2011-12 on December 27, 2012. We don't know why the ministry keeps name of the organization in that list. It seems they did not update the website for long."

The ministry has, so far, not made public the annual report of the NGOs' affairs under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act for 2011-12, but recently put out a list (claiming it to be a new addition on website) comprising names of defaulters for the year.

As many as 17,719 NGOs from across the country figure in the list of organizations that have failed to submit their returns.

There is a provision of penalty if any organization which receives foreign fund fails to submit their return. Under this provision, non-furnishing of return up to 90 days after December 31 every year attracts a penalty of 2% of the amount received during the financial year or Rs 10,000, whichever is higher.

The amount of money the NGOs get every year as foreign contribution runs into thousands of crores. According to the 2010-11 FCRA annual report, 22,735 NGOs had received foreign funds to the tune of Rs 10,335 crore in that year with the highest Rs 2,016 crore being cornered by Delhi-based organizations, followed by Tamil Nadu (Rs 1,557 crore) and Andhra Pradesh (Rs 1,176).

The list of defaulters for 2011-12 shows, Andhra Pradesh (2,471) occupies the pole position, followed by Tamil Nadu (1,950), Uttar Pradesh (1,889), Maharashtra (1,856), West Bengal (1,275) and Karnataka (1,264).

Delhi had 709 such defaulters. The name of RGCT in the list certainly attracts attention as its board of trustees has big names like Sonia Gandhi as its chairperson and Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as its trustees.

Its website claims that the Trust, set up in 2002, works in close collaboration with the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, a sister organization and a think tank whose operations are aimed at influencing public policy, improving governance - local, national and international - and providing enlarged opportunities to the underprivileged and the deprived.................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTMvMDcvMjUjQXIwMTEwMA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

India and Bangladesh ..... something more on table for talks.....need to look beyond Chetia

http://t.co/nXqhVF5Hem

India, Bangladesh discuss ways to extradite Chetia

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Jul 18, 2013, 09.54PM IST 

NEW DELHI: Five months after both the countries signed an extradition treaty agreeing to deport each other's wanted criminals, India and Bangladesh on Thursday discussed the modalities of deportation of the banned outfit ULFA's general secretary Anup Chetia who has been in a Dhaka jail since 1997.

The matter was discussed on the opening day of the home secretary-level talks when a joint working group of both the countries also took a call on handing over two Bangladeshi criminals — Subrata Bain and Sajjad Hossain — in exchange for Chetia.

It is learnt that Chetia may be handed over to India any day after conclusion of the home secretary-level talks on Friday. The ULFA general secretary is likely to be handed over to the Assam Police which has been probing a number of cases against him.

It is expected that Chetia will first be brought here in an Indian aircraft that will be sent to Dhaka to hand over the Bangladeshi criminals Bain and Hossain. The duo was involved in attacks targeting the ruling Awami League leaders in Bangladesh. Bain is also an accused in the grenade attack on a rally of Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina in 2004. Hossain is currently lodged here in the Tihar Central Jail.

Sources said that the government would take lenient approach in treating the outfit's general secretary after his deportation to India.

They indicated that the Assam Police would not oppose Chetia's bail application once he is back and tried for pending cases in the court. He would be treated like other key ULFA leaders, including the outfit's chairman Arbinda Rajkhowa who has joined talks with the government. The Assam Police did not oppose bail pleas of eight senior ULFA leaders, including Rajkhowa, when they decided to join the ongoing peace talks with the government, they added.

Rajkhowa and others had been handed over to Indian agencies in a closely guarded operation on Indo-Bangla border in December, 2009.

"There will be more clarity on the modalities of Chetia's deportation once home secretaries of both the countries come face to face during concluding round of the talks on Friday," said an official, adding a joint statement is expected to be signed at the end of the two-day talks.

The joint working group, comprising officials of both the countries, also discussed a number of other issues on Thursday. While the Indian side raised its concern over pushing of fake Indian currency notes (FICNs) from the other side, the Bangladeshi delegation expressed its annoyance over incidents of border firings in which a number of civilians were killed by Border Security Force (BSF).

The 12-member Bangladeshi delegation, led by the country's home secretary C Q K Mustaq, also pressed for ratification of the 1974 land boundary agreement between the two countries to expedite the exchange of enclaves.

The issues concerning execution of various pacts — Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, Transfer of Sentenced Persons and Agreement on Combating Organized Crime and Illegal Drug Trafficking - were also discussed by the joint working group.....................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JS00vMjAxMy8wNy8xOSNBcjAwNjAz&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Need to break the network of child-lifters ............... 10 children go missing every hour in India

http://t.co/maALjZUuP5

Convert missing child plaint to FIR: Govt

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Jul 18, 2013, 04.52AM IST 

NEW DELHI: Amid reports of thousands of children going missing in the country every year, the Centre has asked states to convert each and every complaint regarding a missing child into a First Information Report (FIR) and initiate immediate investigation.

In its recent advisory, issued by the home ministry, the government also asked the police to presume the case of every missing child as either a case of abduction or trafficking unless the same is proved otherwise in the investigation.

Referring to a recent Supreme Court's direction in this regard that took note of the fact that 75,808 out of 236,014 children went missing during 2009-11 are still untraced, the ministry in its note sent to the states on June 25 advised that each police station in the country should have, at least, one police officer, especially trained and designated as a Juvenile Welfare Officer, to probe cases of crimes against children.

The apex court had on May 10 had come out with these suggestions while hearing a petition filed by an NGO, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, on the issue of missing children and trafficking. Highlighting that 10 children go missing every hour in the country, the petitioner had also pointed out how only 34,899 FIRs had been registered during 2009-11, leaving no hope for poor parents whose children go missing.

Taking note of these facts, the home ministry said, "In cases where FIRs have not been lodged at all and the child is still missing, an FIR should be lodged within a month from the date of communication of this order and further investigation may proceed on that basis".

It asked the states to forward the matter of a missing child to their respective anti-human trafficking unit if he or she is not recovered within four months from the date of filing of the FIR.

"It will enable the state to take up more intensive investigation regarding the missing child", said an official, referring to the advisory which is based on the apex court's May order.

The ministry asked the states not to stop the investigation even if child is recovered. The idea of further probe is to see whether there was an involvement of any trafficker.

The advisory asked the states to adhere to it "in letter and spirit" and asked the concerned authorities to monitor its implementation at the ground level to "eradicate any loophole within the system".............http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JS00vMjAxMy8wNy8xOCNBcjAwNzAw&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Twitter twist .... the micro-blogging giant reacts

http://t.co/RQREcsBS6d

Twitter blocks IM’s ‘real’ account

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Jul 12, 2013, 01.22AM IST 

NEW DELHI: Quickly acting on India's request, the US-based micro-blogging giant Twitter Inc. on Thursday suspended the twitter handle that purportedly belonged to the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM), and blocked another handle which its creator claimed to be the "real" account of the jihadi group.

"The account — @IndianMujahidin — is suspended for violation of the Twitter rule," said a senior government official.

A similar account which claimed to be a real account of IM — @IndianMujahidi1 - sprung up the moment the micro-blogging site blocked the first one.

The second account tweeted, showing continuation from the first one and gave a deadline of 48 hours (July 13) to attack Mumbai. The first account issued a warning via its tweet on July 6, giving a seven-day timeframe.

The new account even taunted by tweeting "Dekhte hai tum log kitne accounts block karte ho (let's see how many accounts you guys will block).

Though the company suspended the second twitter account as well, the opening of such a handle in the first place presented a unique problem linked with the social media that can be easily misused by mischief-mongers to foment trouble.

According to the Twitter Inc., the accounts are suspended for investigation. The company's rule — as stated on the micro-blogging site — says, "Accounts are generally suspended for violations of the Twitter Rules. We also may suspend accounts for investigation if we suspect an account has been hacked or compromised".

Suspension came hours after the handler of the first account fiddled with it and kept it alive by removing certain persons -- including the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba's (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed — from its list of 'following'.

Although the nature of the account presents inconsistency with the terror outfit's characteristics and appears to be pranksters' handiwork, the twitter handle has created flutter in the country's security and intelligence establishments.

Its claim on Bodh Gaya serial blasts may not be genuine, but the fact that the account generated its first tweet barely 16 hours before the incident forced the agencies on Wednesday to take it up with the US-based firm to find out the location that could have been used to upload the message.

Officials said even if it appears to be a prank, they cannot take it lightly until they ascertain it and reach a logical conclusion.

"The matter is still being probed. We have done some ground-works and the micro-blogging site also responded by suspending the accounts. Hopefully, we will get details from the Twitter Inc. soon," said the official...............http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDEzLzA3LzEyI0FyMDE0MDA=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom 

Twitter twist in IM's terror game .... proxy server and spoofing makeit difficult for cops to reach at mischief-mongers

http://t.co/cIOorf7iU4

Tweet owning up Bodh Gaya serial blasts traced to Pakistan

Mateen Hafeez, Vishwa Mohan & Bharti Jain,TNN | Jul 11, 2013, 01.06AM IST 

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Two tweets purportedly from Indian Mujahideen that claimed the terror outfit carried out the serial blasts at Bodh Gaya and warned about a plot to attack Mumbai by July 13 have been traced to Pakistan. The Twitter handle @IndianMujahidin sent out the warning to Mumbai on July 6. It followed that up by claiming responsibility for the explosions at the Buddhist site in Bihar in a tweet on July 7, almost 12 hours after the explosive devices placed inside the temple complex had gone off.

Sources in Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the home ministry in Delhi told TOI that the person using the Twitter handle @IndianMujahidin had uploaded the messages from somewhere in Pakistan. "Our probe has established that the tweets originated in Pakistan. We cannot pinpoint the exact city or location at this point of time since we have not got a detailed report from the microblogging firm," a senior source in Maharashtra ATS said.

The Pakistan origin of the tweets was also confirmed by home ministry sources and the Information Technology department in Delhi.

The handle remained silent for three days before getting active briefly on Wednesday. It went silent after "unfollowing" the chief of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) Hafiz Muhammad Saeed.

The July 6 tweet warned that the IM, an LeT-sponsored group which has been linked to a spate of terror attacks beginning November 2007, would attack Mumbai during the weekend. It signed off with an audacious warning that IM, which had struck Mumbai earlier, would attack the city again by July 13. "Hamara agla target Mumbai hai. Rok sago (sako) to rok lo. Seven days left," tweeted the IM account which introduced itself as the official account of the terror outfit, saying that its objective was to take revenge against India.

Sources, however, acknowledged that the location could not be precisely determined unless Twitter gets back with the information India has sought. "It could be a case of spoofing or using a proxy IP address. We cannot establish the exact IP address until the server provides us a detailed report. The preliminary report, however, suggests that the IP address is in Pakistan. We have sent a request to Twitter for the details," an ATS officer said.

Official sources said the tweets just could be a brag or a prank, but said they were constrained to investigate its origin. The fact that it put out its first tweet barely 16 hours before the terror strike has forced agencies to pursue the US-based social network site for details on the account holder's location.

The account also claims the support of D Company, a reference to the underworld empire of the 1993 Mumbai blasts accused.

The first tweet from the Twitter handle came at 14:02 hours on July 6. On July 7, at 18:32 hours, there was another tweet saying "9 dhamake humne karay" (We carried out the nine blasts).

Although IM has made a "rok sako to rok lo (stop us if you can)" taunt earlier also, sources said there were reasons to doubt the authenticity of this purported IM Twitter handle as "there are spelling mistakes." The introduction spells terrorist as "terriorist". Even the 'Indian Mujahideen' is spelt different as 'Indian Mujahidin' (unlike what IM emails used).

Past e-mails from IM have consistently stressed the Indian roots of the group in order to distract attention from the Lashkar's role. However, this particular account made no secret that it was following Twitter accounts of LeT founder Hafiz Saeed and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. Four others include Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Also, IM had so far used long emails to justify terror attacks as retaliation against alleged persecution of Indian Muslims and to hold out warnings. The 6 emails sent between 2007 and 2010 quoted from Islamic scriptures and were full of rants against Hindus and their faith. They were also replete with references to the Babri demolition, communal violence in Gujarat and other instances of alleged atrocities on Muslims in Maharashtra and elsewhere.

A home ministry official also pointed out that if the tweets were found to be genuine, this would be the first instance of IM using a public platform to claim responsibility. "Till now, IM has used only emails to claim responsibility for the blasts. These were sent to select media houses," the official said.

Initially, it was felt that the person operating the account used a proxy server that indicated a location in Canada.

"We are trying to gather details relating to identity and IP address used to register the account. Though it could be a fake handle created by an impostor, we have to rule out any genuine link to IM, more so as a tweet ahead of the blasts warns of an impending strike at Mumbai," a senior home ministry official told TOI.

He also warned against reading much into the tweet on Mumbai, as no terror group is known to give a seven-day notice to the agencies and public ahead of a strike.....................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDEzLzA3LzExI0FyMDAxMDI=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Twitter twist in war against terror

http://t.co/xLWRz5JbFG

Indian Mujahideen's 'twitter handle' still active, 'unfollows' LeT boss Hafiz Saeed

Vishwa Mohan & Bharti Jain,TNN | Jul 10, 2013, 10.54PM IST 

A security person with a sniffer dog inspecting the premises of Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya.

NEW DELHI: A twitter handle, purportedly belonging to a terror outfit Indian Mujahideen, has created flutter in the country's security establishments. It's claim on Bodh Gaya blasts may not be genuine, but the fact that the account generated its first tweet barely 16 hours before the incident forced the agencies on Wednesday to take it up with the US-based company Twitter Inc. to find out the location where it could be used to upload the message.

Interestingly, the twitter handle - @IndianMujahidin - which went silent after July 7 was used again on Wednesday. It was, however, this time not used to tweet something. The handler of the account did just 'unfollow' the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and went on silent mode again.

The fiddling with the account shows that someone must be still operating it from the location which is still unknown to the agencies.

Officials said even if it appears to be a prank, they cannot take it lightly until they verify it and reach to a logical conclusion.

"The matter is still being verified. We have done some ground-works and also taken up the issue with the Twitter Inc", said an official.

Since the person who might have opened the account used a proxy server pointing its location somewhere in Canada, the Indian agencies are verifying the details with the micro-blogging giant.

"We are trying to gather details relating to identity and IP address used to register the account. Though it could be a fake handle created by an impostor, we cannot rule out any genuine link to IM, more so as a tweet ahead of the blasts warns of an impending strike at Mumbai," a senior home ministry official told TOI.

The Twitter account appears to be created only recently. It has just two tweets so far. It claims to be the official Twitter account of Indian Mujahidin with the message "hamara maksad India se badla lena hai (our aim is to take revenge against India). Rock Sago To Rock Lo (stop if you can stop it) 7 days left".

Though "Rock Sako (not Sago) to Rok Lo" was used by the IM in its one of the six emails sent to media after series of blasts in different cities across the country during 2007-10, it could not mean much as everything (contents) relating to the outfit's emails had been extensively reported in the past.

It also claims support from D Company, a nomenclature commonly used for underworld empire of 1993 Mumbai blasts accused Dawood Ibrahim, and its motive is to take revenge with India. The first tweet from the Twitter handle dates back to 14:02 hours on July 6, and warns: "Hamara agla target Mumbai hai. Rock sago to rock lo (Our next target is Mumbai. Stop us if you can)".

On July 7, at 18:32 hours, there was another tweet saying "9 dhamake humne karay" (We carried out the nine blasts).

Officials here said there were reasons to doubt the authenticity of this purported IM twitter handle as "there are spelling mistakes". For example, the introduction spells terrorist as "terriorist". Even the 'Indian Mujahideen' is spelt different as 'Indian Mujahidin' (unlike what IM emails used). Second, past e-mails from IM have consistently stressed on its Indian roots, but this particular account follows Twitter accounts of LeT founder Hafiz Muhammed Saeed and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and four others including cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni. It 'unfollowed' Hafiz Saeed only on Wednesday evening keeping its 'following' list to five - a move which puzzled the agencies which have been keeping tab on the account.

Officials, however, warned against reading much into the tweet on Mumbai, as no terror group is known to give a seven-day notice to the agencies and public ahead of a strike.

A home ministry official also pointed out that, if the tweet is found to be genuine, this would be the first instance of IM using a public platform to claim responsibility. "Till now, IM has used only emails to claim responsibility for the blasts. These were sent to select media houses," the official noted.

Building super structure on the foundation of sand .... sorry state of internal security preparedness

http://t.co/YPqc4ll8aM

Exposed again: Sorry state of policing

Vishwa Mohan & Bharti Jain,TNN | Jul 10, 2013, 05.37AM IST 

NEW DELHI: Has the government built a super structure on the foundation of sand? The answer may be in the affirmative if one looks at the country's internal security preparedness. The serial blasts in the temple town of Bihar, Bodh Gaya, present a perfect example of this scenario.

The government had taken up several big-ticket initiatives to strengthen internal security infrastructure post-26\11, but it failed to contribute much to bring change at the level of local police which needs to respond first to any crime incident.

Be it creating NIA to investigate all terror cases, setting up NSG regional hubs, launching Rs 2,000 crore worth CCTNS project to connect over 14,000 police stations, operationalizing Rs 1,011 crore Immigration, Visa and Foreigners' Registration and Tracking (IVFRT) system or setting up NATGRID at the cost of Rs 1,100 crore for real-time information sharing, the efforts continue to elude results if one looks at the state of policing.

Had this not been the case, police would have prevented terror attacks, in Bodh Gaya on Sunday and in Hyderabad's Dilsukhnagar area in February as both Bihar and Andhra Pradesh had prior warnings of such strikes.

Both these incidents show that none of the initiatives at central level had worked as the first responders — Bihar Police and Andhra Pradesh Police — did not react on time due to lack of training, resources and manpower.

Such a situation really worries security experts and retired bureaucrats. They refer how the country faces huge police vacancy of over five lakh personnel. Though states had launched recruitment drives, the paucity of fund and misplaced priority kept the vacancy at more or less the same level during 2009-12. Home ministry figures show that the number of police vacancy has slightly increased from 5.03 lakh in 2009 to 5.39 lakh in 2012.

How would the big projects make the country secure when the states hardly have police personnel to man them?

"It's indeed a scenario where the super structure is coming up on foundation of sand. You cannot imagine securing citizens when the foundation (police station) is weak due to poor infrastructure and dearth of trained manpower," retired IPS officer Prakash Singh had told TOI recently while discussing country's internal security preparedness.

Singh, a former BSF chief, had agreed that the paucity of fund is one of the reasons. But, he had explained, "Why can't Centre fund the states to recruit and train police personnel? Had the Centre been sincere enough to improve the state of policing, it would have helped the states with finance, equipments and training".

Former Union home secretary G K Pillai too emphasized on recruitment and training. He said, "We are on the right track but police recruitment and training needs a quantum boost. Though police training infrastructure has improved, the attitude towards training is still wanting. No IPS officer wants to take up a training assignment as it is considered a punishment posting".

Pitching for police reforms, Pillai, whose tenure as home secretary had seen all big internal security projects on track, said, "Politicians need to adopt a neutral approach and not block police reforms just to retain control over the police".

Serving officials too have more or less similar views. A senior official in the cabinet secretariat agreed that not much has changed in terms of basic policing. He said, "Our preparedness to deal with terror has certainly improved since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. But the Central agencies can only act as a force multiplier....the primary responder to any terror attack remains the local police"......................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTMvMDcvMTQjQXIwMTYwMA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom 

Serial blasts in Bodh Gaya .. Nine bombs rock the temple town

http://t.co/IRHsbHWOKz

NSG takes whole day to reach blast site

Vishwa Mohan & Bharti Jain,TNN | Jul 8, 2013, 05.02AM IST 

NEW DELHI: Four-and-a-half years after the 26/11 attacks, when delay by an NSG team in reaching Mumbai gave the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) attackers a tactical advantage, the Centre still does not seem to have got its act together.

The NIA/NSG teams, supposed to reach Bodh Gaya by 10 am to carry out preliminary inspection of the blast sites and collect forensic samples, reached the temple town only late on Sunday evening due to wrong choice of aircraft in an emergency situation.

They left by an Avro, an ageing bird in the BSF fleet, on Sunday afternoon but had to return to Delhi midway when the pilot sensed that he won't be able to land at Bodh Gaya due to bad weather.

While some members of the team subsequently left for Patna by a commercial flight, some senior officers chose the other BSF aircraft, an Embraer, to fly to Patna around 5 pm. They landed in Patna and drove down to Bodh Gaya - losing crucial time before picking up forensic details from the blast sites.

Even the Embraer did not save time as it had to land in Patna because Gaya does not have night landing facilities.

Though officials here justified using Avro in the first place saying the Embraer was not ready to fly at that time due to minor maintenance requirement, they did not have answer why the NSG couldn't requisition a private aircraft during such an emergency situation.

Having burnt its fingers during the 26/11 attacks, the government in early 2009 empowered NSG to requisition aircraft, including private ones, to ferry its personnel. Though such requisition rights talk about emergency situation during terror attacks or any other internal security situation, officials felt NSG could have easily used a private aircraft on Sunday morning as post-blast investigation and collection of forensic details fall within the ambit of such situations.

Although the state police decided not to let people inside the temple complex or near the other blast sites to protect material/forensic evidence, the protection of such evidence depends on the weather condition. "Had it rained before they finally reached, crucial evidence would have been washed away, hampering post-blast investigations," an official said.

Maoists are out to sink you

http://t.co/qTJ783FnFe

Remain vigilant in non-core Red areas, Centre alerts states

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Jul 3, 2013, 09.23PM IST 

NEW DELHI: Apprehending more Jharkhand-type incidents as security forces are primarily engaged in core Maoist-dominated areas, the Centre on Wednesday sent an alert to all Naxal-affected states asking them to remain vigilant in 'non-core' areas. It feared that the ultras may break out from the main battlefield and carry out attacks like they did in Dumka district on Tuesday killing six cops including an SP.

Asking the states to intensify operations against ultras in 'core' areas, especially along inter-state borders, the Centre also advised them not to lose focus in other areas as Maoists are likely to go for more 'spectacular attacks' in such 'non-core' zones to boost morale of the cadre.

"It is also advisable to avoid losses in non-core areas and put pressure in core areas thorough continuous offensive against the Maoists in their stronghold," said an official, referring to a detailed note sent to the states.

The alert was sent after a brainstorming session in the home ministry over what went wrong in Jharkhand which is currently under central control due to President's rule in the state.

During the meeting, officials noted that local police had ignored inputs which were passed on to them on June 25 when Jharkhand Police and CRPF personnel launched a massive operation in the Maoists' stronghold including Latehar, Palamau, Garhwa and Chatra districts.

"The other districts were warned to remain alert as it was suspected that the ultras would try to target areas which remained out of the focus of the ongoing anti-Naxal operations," said an official.

It was noted in the meeting - attended by new Union home secretary Anil Goswami, Intelligence Bureau chief Asif Ibrahim and home ministry's advisor on anti-Naxal operations K Vijay Kumar - that the ultras, facing the heat in jungles of Latehar and Palamau, had sneaked into Pakur-Dumka zone which is not their 'core' area and attacked the police convoy.

"As part of their tactics, the Maoists would always look for districts which have, so far, remained out of the priority list of security agencies due to reports of relatively lesser number of Naxal activities in such areas. Pakur and Dumka districts are certainly in that league where the state had never deployed CRPF," the official said.

Incidentally, the state announced these two as Naxal-affected districts only on Wednesday - a day after the Maoists killed Pakur SP Amarjit Balihar.

In fact, Balihar had assessed that Pakur was a moderately Naxal-affected district. He had written in his report - available on Jharkhand Police website — that Maoists became active in Pakur only after the opening of coal mines in the mid-90s. "Their spread in the area is mainly for the extraction of levy from coal mines," Balihar wrote after joining the district.

His report, however, noted that the recent killing of social activist Valsa John by Naxals clearly showed that they enjoyed popular support in this area...................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JS00vMjAxMy8wNy8wNCNBcjAwNzAx&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Maoists' fire-powers remain intact ..... Did the IPS officer pay the price of his own mistake?

http://t.co/rRMbq3R1sV

Maoist violence down, but core strength intact: Govt

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Jul 3, 2013, 03.40AM IST 

An injured policeman being treated at a hospital after landmine explosion triggred by Maoists in Jharkhand on Tuesday. (PTI photo)

NEW DELHI: On the day Maoists killed six Jharkhandcops in an area not seen to be dominated by the ultras, the home ministry admitted that despite a decline in violence levels, the "the core armed capabilities of the CPI (Maoist) have not suffered any significant damage".

The ministry, in a note circulated to members of the consultative committee during its meeting on Tuesday, said the Naxals were expanding its area of influence besides upgrading military tactics.

Large budgets, deployment of paramilitary and police modernization programmes have been able to degrade the Maoist capacity to the extent hoped for by the Centre.

The home ministry said CPI (Maoist) is working "assiduously to extend its area of influence in eastern Chhattisgarh and Western Odisha... The outfit focused on organization consolidation, besides upgrading its military tactics".

The assessment offered a couple of hours before the Jharkhand incident accurately reflects failure of security agencies and state police in keeping pace with Maoists. The incident again exposed the vulnerability of security agencies, even in a state currently under the Centre's direct rule.

The usual explanations that Maoists are actually on the back foot following arrests or deaths of leaders and that strikes are intended to rally morale are sounding less and less convincing and the home ministry note contains some frank assessments.

Although the area of Tuesday's attack is not a part of the core Red zone, there is clearly no leeway for the police to relax its guard against Maoists due to its proximity to two Naxal-affected states — Bihar and West Bengal.

The minutes of consultative committee meeting - attended by home minister Sushilkumar Shinde and other senior ministry officials including the new home secretary Anil Goswami - convey the impression that nobody seems to have a real grasp of the Naxal situation.

The country has witnessed three major incidents - one each in Chhattisgarh (May 25), Bihar (June 13) and Jharkhand (July 2) - in the last 40 days which left 37 people, including senior Congress leaders of Chhattisgarh, dead.

Though the home minister during his address admitted that the Maoist threat was one of the gravest challenges for the country and pitched for two pronged strategy of security action and development to end this problem, the action on the ground does not seem to be effective..................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JS00vMjAxMy8wNy8wMyNBcjAwNzAx&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Will you need to leave your fingerprints with the telecom service providers to get new mobile SIM?

http://t.co/hzTsgaCDpU

Fingerprints may soon be needed to get SIM cards

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Jul 3, 2013, 04.30AM IST 

Govt is mulling the option of making it compulsory for cellphone service providers to take fingerprints or any other biometric feature of the subscriber.

NEW DELHI: Noting that even the mandatory physical verification system doesn't prevent SIM cards to fall into wrong hands, the home ministry has asked the department of telecommunication (DoT) to explore an option of making it compulsory for cellphone service providers to take fingerprints or any other biometric feature of the subscriber, akin to Aadhaar, before activating the mobile numbers.

The ministry, in its note to the DoT, suggested that the department may also maintain a central database comprising biometric features of all subscribers and opt for linking it with the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) for keeping those data at one place from national security point of view.

An official said the department would discuss the matter with all stakeholders including telecom service providers for devising an alternative system as it was noted that the existing ones (physical verification) was not happening in all cases due to sheer competition among retailers to sell as many SIM cars as possible.

Though the system of issuing SIM cards was tightened a bit after 26\11 Mumbai terror attack when investigators found that the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists had used Indian SIM cards which were procured by their local contacts on the basis of forged documents, it did not prevent its misuse.

The DoT had last year made it mandatory for a mobile service provider to physically verify an applicant before issuing a SIM card. But, the state police from across the country complained how the retailers give it a miss despite repeated warnings because they did not face strict action from the service providers.

"The issue was discussed even during the chief ministers' conference on internal security here last month when it was pointed out that how SIM cards were being procured by terrorists\criminals on the basis of forged documents in absence of retailers' and distributors' failure to adhere to the mandatory norms of physical verification," said an official.

The matter was recently also raised by the Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar, who on May 15 wrote to the home ministry, pitching for introducing a system of getting biometric details of subscribers before issuing SIM cards to them.

Kumar had reportedly complained that the cut-throat competition among the mobile service providers had led to laxity in carrying out the prescribed physical verification of an applicant. He pointed out that the distributors were making bulk sale of SIM cards to criminals which have serious implications for national security.

Citing a recent case in which the police had caught an unauthorized retailer who had sold 490 SIM cards on the basis of forged IDs, the commissioner had pointed that no worthwhile verification was being made due to illegal nexus of distributors and employees of the service providers.

Kumar also suggested that the DoT and TRAI should be requested to impose heavy penalties and exercise stricter control.

At present, pre-activated SIM cards attract a penalty of Rs 50,000 each in addition to an immediate disconnection of the mobile service.........................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JS00vMjAxMy8wNy8wMyNBcjAwNjAx&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

UK Disaster June, 2013 ...... DNA samples identified brave rescuers of the ITBP - NDRF team

http://t.co/snb6sezPjx

Govt sends DNA samples of IAF chopper crash victims to Hyderabad

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Jun 29, 2013, 09.51PM IST 

NEW DELHI: Wait of grief-stricken family members of the nine ITBP\NDRF rescuers, who died in an IAF helicopter crash in Uttarakhand, to receive bodies of the brave-hearts is getting longer. Unable to identify them, the government on Saturday sent DNA samples of the deceased's blood relatives to a central forensic lab in Hyderabad to establish the identities.

Bodies of seven of them are kept in a mortuary at Himalayan Institute Hospital, Jolly Grant, Dehradun while two others are yet to be retrieved from the crash site near Gaurikund in Kedarnath Valley. The ITBP has pressed a team of mountaineer, led by its DIG Prem Singh, to locate these two bodies.

"We have requested the Centre for DNA Finger Printing and Diagnostic, Hyderabad to give its report as early as possible so that the bodies can be handed over to the family members for cremation", said ITBP chief Ajay Chadha.

He told TOI that the report could be available within a week.

Bodies of 11 of the 20 crash victims have, so far, been handed over to the family members. Five of these 11 bodies belonged to that of the Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel, four to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and two to the ITBP.

Rescuers on the ground, meanwhile, rescued 1,459 persons including locals on Saturday. While the ITBP rescued 605 people, the 842 pilgrims were airlifted by the IAF from Badrinath. The IAF, which also airlifted last 12 pilgrims from Harsil, will continue its operations in the sector for the next two days. Twenty-two pilgrims including one doctor and one coordinator of the Kumaun Mandal Vikas Nigam of Adi Kailash Yatra are still stranded at Gunji who need airevacuation.

"From July 2, there will be a progressive de-induction of our aircraft and helicopters. But we will continue to deploy around 8 to 10 helicopters in the region for some time to come for emergency operations," said an IAF officer.

With the focus now being shifted to locals, the Centre has rushed a team of doctors, three truck loads of medicines, over 10 lakhs of chlorine tablets and even hundreds of body bags to Uttrarakhand. Around 1,600 body bags are being sent to the flood-hit state as family members of some of the victims are insisting to bring bodies to either Haridwar or Rishikesh or some other places for cremation.

"Total 1,100 bags for carrying bodies have been arranged through Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS). Additional 500 bags, procured by the ministry of health and family welfare, have also been sent", said an official statement of the ministry. It also claims that no outbreak of water\food\air borne or direct contact diseases has, so far been reported from the affected areas.

As a precautionary step, the decomposed bodies are gradually being cremated after preserving the DNA samples and taking photographs. These samples will later help in indentifying the diseased. Officials here said that no other post-disaster operation had ever seen collection of such a huge number of DNA samples in India for identification of bodies.

UK Disaster June, 2013 ..... Use of UAVs

http://t.co/s00XNfzVUM

Uttarakhand: Rescue forces asked to survey remote areas with UAVs to look for those left out

Vishwa Mohan & Deeptiman Tiwary,TNN | Jun 29, 2013, 04.16AM IST 

All rescue forces have been asked to scan the areas once again with the help of choppers and UAVs in the next two-three days to ensure that no one is left unattended in any far-flung area.

NEW DELHI: With locals struggling for food and shelter in flood-hit Uttarakhand, the home ministry on Friday asked Indian Air Force to keep additional choppers to supply essential commodities to remote areas and airlift excavators for clearing boulders and debris accumulated in Kedarnath.

Besides, all rescue forces - IAF, Army, ITBP and NDRF - have been asked to scan the areas once again with the help of choppers and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the next two-three days to ensure that no one is left unattended in any far-flung area.

"Boulders and huge debris have accumulated at Kedarnath and we are planning to carry excavators onboard special Mi-26 helicopters to clear the debris there," vice-chairman of National Disaster Management Authority M Shashidhar Reddy said.

After returning from the flood-hit state, Reddy on Friday said places where rescue operations have been carried out will be surveyed again through UAVs.

A report sent by local authorities to the home ministry showed that 2,375 out of the 22,000 villages in the state were affected by floods. Out of them, 1,636 have been connected so far while the rest are yet to be connected.

As the whereabouts of an estimated 3,000 persons are not known, the home ministry - which termed the overall situation as "under control" — wrote to all states and Union Territories "to verify details of missing persons from their states/UTs who had recently visited Uttarakhand".

An official here said Army, IAF, ITBP and NDFR personnel would be withdrawn from the rain-ravaged areas only when each and every pilgrim and local was evacuated. The forces will move out after state government officials and medical/paramedical staff reach the affected 2,375 villages in adequate numbers to take responsibility of relief and rehabilitation, he added.

The home ministry also asked the NDRF team to provide technical support and manpower to clear out debris in Kedarnath. The team will provide additional manpower and technical support to local administration for clearing the debris.

"A team in charge of medical preparedness is in Dehradun along with top officials of the health ministry. Fifty doctors are currently on standby to go to affected areas in the shortest time. Some may be even required to stay there for the next 2-3 months during the rehabilitation phase," Reddy said, adding that no report of any kind of epidemic had been received so far.

UK Disaster June, 2013 ...... locals left in the lurch for days while rescuers were busy air-lifting the pilgrims

http://t.co/ku686nELQd

Uttarakhand: Key rescue operations to end today, focus on rehabilitation of locals

Vishwa Mohan, Bharti Jain & Deeptiman Tiwary,TNN | Jun 28, 2013, 04.35AM IST 

Official figures show that while 1,04,095 people were evacuated till Thursday, nearly 2,500 people were still in Badrinath and would be evacuated by Friday evening.

NEW DELHI: Rescue operations in flood-hit Uttarakhand will end on Friday. With armed and paramilitary forces hoping to complete evacuation of the remaining 1,829 pilgrims in the next 24 hours, the focus on Thursday shifted to relief and rehabilitation of 'locals' who have largely remained unattended in the past 11 days since the disaster struck on June 16.

Moving to the next big task, state government officials along with medical support teams from the Centre have already started dropping in at different places in the rain-ravaged areas carrying relief material and essential medicines.

As per preliminary official estimates, 2,232 houses, 154 bridges and 1,520 roads have been damaged due to the disaster which affected at least 16 lakh people in four districts — Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Garhwal.

"We hope that the rescue operation will be completed by Friday. The biggest challenge for the authorities is to look after displaced people," NDMA vice-chairman M Shashidhar Reddy said on Thursday.

Echoing Reddy's concerns, home secretary R K Singh said, "Our priority now is to ensure regular supply of essential commodities and establish communication links with all inaccessible villages and rehabilitate affected people."

He added, "In case a village is cut off and there are sick and infirm in need of medical attention, we will have them evacuated. We will also look for all missing people."

Though the official figure of missing persons still remains at 344, authorities believe that this could be much more as different control rooms and state websites continue to get queries from relatives and well-wishers about the whereabouts of their kin.

The home ministry - which on Thursday termed the overall situation as "under control" — wrote to chief secretaries of all states "to verify details of missing persons from their states who had recently visited Uttarakhand".

Official figures show that while 1,04,095 people were evacuated till Thursday evening, nearly 2,500 people including locals were still in Badrinath and would be evacuated by Friday evening. All pilgrims from Harsil have been evacuated. Only 100-150 locals remain in Harsil who need to be evacuated to safer places. Army chief General Bikram Singh will visit Uttarakhand on Friday to review the situation.

A home ministry official here said Army, IAF, ITBP and NDRF personnel would be withdrawn from the rain-ravaged areas only when the last pilgrim was evacuated. The forces will move out after state officials, medical and paramedical staff reach there in adequate numbers to take responsibility of relief and rehabilitation, he added.




The Centre, meanwhile, sent a three-member team comprising health ministry officials to Dehradun to review the public health situation with state health authorities.

"The Indian Red Cross Society has deployed a two-member team to Uttarkashi and another team to Pithoragarh. The IRCS has provided seven truckloads of relief material that include tents, family packs, kitchen sets, blankets and lanterns," a statement by the health ministry said.

"No outbreak of water borne/food borne/air borne or direct contact diseases have, so far, been reported from affected areas," it added.

According to the ministry, the state government has sought specified quantity of 60 drug and non-drug items and three truckloads of these medical supplies had been delivered. On the state's request, 10,00,000 chlorine tablets are being procured by the ministry.

"These items would be delivered to the state in the next two days," an official said.

UK Disaster June, 2013 ..... over 5,000 people 'presumed' dead

http://t.co/Jo7QhUfHOh

Uttarakhand floods: Identifying the dead proving to be a daunting task

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Jun 27, 2013, 03.43AM IST 

The few photographs of the dead that have been put online by the Uttarakhand government are hardly even a fraction of the victims and in many cases features have been disfigured beyond recognition.

NEW DELHI: After saving most of those who survived the Uttarakhand floods, authorities are facing a daunting task in establishing identities of hundreds of bodies by way of photographs and DNA samples before consigning them to mass cremations.

The few photographs of the dead that have been put online by the Uttarakhand government are hardly even a fraction of the victims and in many cases features have been disfigured beyond recognition.

There is every possibility that the kin of the dead will have to deal with a statistic as they may not be able to make an identification.

Having concentrated in rescuing the living, authorities have not been able to pay much attention to bodies, many of which lay in the open or floated down the Ganga to be fished out in Haridwar or further downstream.

June 28 will mark the thirteenth day since the disaster, usually a significant date in terms of Hindu rituals performed after death. As many bodies will remain unidentified at the time of cremation, the government is likely to wait for a month before declaring a missing person as deceased.

The authorities are also banking on the pictures uploaded by relatives of missing persons on the websites of the state government, but matching these photographs with the ones in their possession seems equally difficult.

Though the state authorities have already started uploading certain basic details of the victims, officials believe that it is only a scientific-forensic test that will identify bodies.

In an interview to the TOI on Monday, Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna had said that 'tehsildars' will issue death certificates after a month. "If a person doesn't return in 30 days, the government will immediately release the compensation and not go by rules which state that you have to wait for seven years," he had told TOI.

An official said, "Team of medical staff has already collected DNA samples of most of the bodies. These samples will be preserved till the time their identities are established through matching it with the relatives. The local police have also finished the process of chronicling the details from legal point of view".

The Uttarakhand government has, meanwhile, put up a message board on the websites, asking relatives of the missing persons to provide them whatever information they can provide to trace them. The latest report put the figure of missing persons at 344.

The relatives of the victims had initially reported the missing complaints in thousands with Kedarnath - epicenter of devastation -- topping the list with 1,021 missing persons. Since the majority of them have already been traced, the total number now rests at 344.

"344 people are still missing. There are indications that the death toll may go up," said the NDMA vice chairman M Shashidhar Reddy, adding the rescue operation will, hopefully, be completed within a couple of days.

Reddy said efforts were being made to evacuate bodies under the debris - which are eight to ten feet high - in Kedarnath.........................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTMvMDYvMjcjQXIwMTYwNQ==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

UK Disaster June, 2013 ...... 20 brave ones lost their lives while saving thousands in the Kedarnath Valley

http://t.co/J6WYDNPxQV

http://t.co/wpbPzoMwI4

ITBP rescuers said goodbye to colleagues,were returning to camp

Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Jun 26, 2013, 01.56PM IST 

All these ITBP men who died were part of the first batch who had landed in Kedarnath area to rescue the pilgrims on June 16-17.

NEW DELHI: Fifteen out of 20 rescuers on board the ill-fated IAF MI-17-V5 chopper were the brave ITBP personnel who had just finished their mission on Tuesday and were heading for their camps so that a fresh batch of their colleagues could take their place.

But, fate had something else in store for them when they along with five Indian Air Force crew members sacrificed their lives after saving thousands of pilgrims in past nine days in flood-hit Uttarakhand.

Nine out of these 15 were part of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team. These nine ITBP men were posted with the NDRF on deputation.

List of missing ITBP, NDRF personnel

All these men were part of the first batch who had landed in Kedarnath area to rescue the pilgrims on June 16-17.

"They were returning after saving more than 20,000 lives of victims of disaster in Kedarnath area. The ITBP search and rescue teams are searching the area near crash site for survivors and bodies of martyrs", said ITBP spokesperson Deepak Pandey.

Out of these 15 personnel, six were from 8th ITBP Battalion (Gauchar). Since only 12 bodies have been recovered so far from the chopper crash site, the paramilitary force still count some of them as 'missing' keeping the hope alive amid the worst fear of losing all of them in the crash.

These ITBP personnel were from different parts of the country. While three of them were from Uttarakhand, others were from Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana and Karnataka.

An official said, "They all boarded the helicopter happily saying good bye to their colleagues on Tuesday afternoon as they were not supposed to join them. They had been there right there from day one, we had decided to replace them with other personnel for rest of the relief works", said a senior home ministry official.

He said, "Their act was truly an act of gallantry during peace time. Saving lives of thousands of persons in such a difficult situation was not an easy task".

Dead ITBP, NDRF men were first to reach Kedarnath

Deeptiman Tiwary, Vishwa Mohan & Bharti Jain,TNN | Jun 27, 2013, 04.07AM IST 

NEW DELHI: The 15-member ITBP-NDRF team feared dead along with five IAF personnel was one of the first to reach the Kedarnath temple site on June 18 after the deluge. And the last achievement they relayed back to the headquarters was, "Sir, we have also cleaned the temple of all the dead bodies, silt and muck."

Having evacuated every single survivor out of the valley, the nine-member NDRF and six-member ITBP teams were relieved of their duty on Tuesday after relentless rescue work over seven days where they lived, ate and slept with thousands of victims. Even under the nauseating stench of decomposing bodies and threat of contamination, they kept at their job.

Now, all that they leave behind is old parents forced to fend for a poor family, a young wife of just seven months of marriage and dilapidated homes that they promised to get repaired on return.

NDRF IG Sandeep Rai Rathore said, "They had worked tirelessly at the temple site sharing their own food with the victims and giving them medicines. They also cleared the area of all bodies to maintain the sanctity of the temple. In fact, only a day before the crash, they told me that they had even cleaned the temple as they did not like it with all the muck, silt and bodies."

For ITBP, it is an even greater loss given that the nine NDRF personnel were drawn from ITBP. Sources said some of the bright talents of the two forces were lost in the accident. It was this team that had played a crucial role in evacuation of over 20,000 pilgrims from Kedarnath valley. It was this team that had even caught some unscrupulous sadhus with over Rs 1.14 crore in cash suspected to have been stolen from the temple chest. It was this team that cleaned the site of bodies.

"It was their time to rest. Not rest in peace," said an ITBP official. The victims included NDRF's 48-year-old second-in-command Nitya Nand Gupta, a trained bomb expert and disaster management professional, who oversaw rescue operations in Kedarnath. ITBP sub-inspector Jayender Prasad, 55, who hailed from Tehri Garhwal and "looked at the rescue operation as a house chore", was decorated with 13 rewards and awards over his long career. Constable Sarvesh Kumar was a trained mountaineer from ITBP's Auli institute and "used his training to good effect".

"They were all well-trained and good boys. We are saddened, but our morale is still high. We will continue to rescue people," ITBP chief Ajay Chadha said.

For their families, the tragedy is difficult to surmount. NDRF constable Sanjeeva Kumar's cousin from Ballia in UP said, "He is the eldest in the family. We spoke to him on June 19 when he expressed concern about the house we are trying to build for the family. It was his dream to get his younger sister married into a good family. Everything has crashed with his death."

ITBP constable Jomon George's family in Alapuzha, Kerala, did not even know of their son's tragedy until it was flashed in the media. A neighbour of the family told TOI, "The family came to know through the media. It is shattered. We are told the force will officially inform the family by this evening."

Constable Sarvesh Kumar's family in Jhansi, UP, is beyond any consolation. "He was married only seven months ago. His wife is returning from her mother's house. Her life is ruined," Kumar's brother Arvind said.

There are still 26 ITBP personnel stationed in Kedarnath who will shortly be airlifted. But for them, it will be a sad farewell to Char Dham. Those who died had hugged them and said "goodbye". Little did anyone know it was their final one...........................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTMvMDYvMjcjQXIwMTYwNg==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

UK Disaster June, 2013 ..... rush to prevent outbreak of epidemic

http://t.co/lmrB8aRgV6

Uttarakhand floods: Epidemic looms as people complain of fever, diarrhoea

Deeptiman Tiwary & Vishwa Mohan,TNN | Jun 26, 2013, 03.43AM IST 

Authorities are now suspecting contamination of water resources in the area due to hundreds of decaying bodies spread across the valley.

NEW DELHI: The fear of an epidemic outbreak in flood-ravaged areas of Uttarakhand may be turning into reality as hundreds of people from local villages reported to medical camps set up by the forces complaining of fever, diarrhoea and vomiting. At least 128 people reported high temperature and gastro-intestinal infections in Ramnagar — a tiny village near Guptkashi in Kedarnath valley — through Monday and Tuesday. Three ITBP men engaged in rescue work in Kedarnath have also reported sick.

Authorities are now suspecting contamination of water resources in the area due to hundreds of decaying bodies spread across the valley.

Although medical camps set up by ITBP, NDRF and armed forces are already helping victims with medicines, the Centre is sending a high-level team comprising doctors and specialists to Uttarakhand to review public health measures.

Though the situation is not being seen by the government as alarming as no outbreak of water/air borne or direct contact diseases has been reported so far, cases of diarrhoea in areas such as Alwalpur (Haridwar), Udvi (Uuttakashi) and Chandrapuri (Rudraprayag) have been brought to the notice of local medical support teams. The government, however, claims to have managed them at "incipient stage" after picking up early warning signals.

The situation in Kedarnath is worrisome. "In the past two days alone, 128 people have reported water-borne diseases from one small village in Guptkashi. It seems the water in the area has been contaminated," an NDRF official told TOI.

Most of the victims are local villagers who depend on natural springs for drinking water. "There are so many bodies across the Kedarnath valley that it is not surprising that their decay is causing contamination of water. It needs to be contained now or we could have a bigger problem at hand," an ITBP official said.




To stem the contamination, forces are not only helping willing villagers to leave the valley even as government is rushing in medicines and chlorine tablets but NDRF is also assisting in mass cremation. "We have sent a team with specialized equipment such as cutters and pulleys to help state authorities extricate bodies from under the debris and cremate them," NDRF IG Sandeep Rai Rathore said.

Speaking of health concerns in affected areas, a home ministry official said, "Three central public health teams are already there. They have been coordinating with doctors and taking all required measures to prevent outbreak of any disease in a situation which is certainly quite vulnerable."

He said district units of Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) were conducting health surveillance in all affected districts. Eight additional teams were kept on standby, ready to move to the affected areas at short notice, he added.

Besides, a specialist from National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme has been placed with the state government for providing assistance on matters pertaining to vector borne diseases. Three teams for providing psycho-social support have been arranged from NIMHANS, Bangalore.

"Over 10,00,000 chlorine tablets are being procured by the ministry of health for the flood-hit areas in Uttarakhand", said the official..........................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDEzLzA2LzI2I0FyMDE1MDI=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

UK Disaster June, 2013 ...... worst is over .... it took seven days to bring situation under control

http://t.co/DOGwv1Q2dG

Uttarakhand: Only 6,000 people left to be rescued

Deeptiman Tiwary, Vishwa Mohan & Bharti Jain,TNN | Jun 25, 2013, 06.18AM IST 

 .....

Braving adverse weather as a fresh bout of rains grounded many rescue choppers, the armed and paramilitary forces still managed to evacuate 4,000 people to safer places using rope bridges.

NEW DELHI: After being at their wit's end for a week, rescuing over 84,000 survivors across flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, the authorities finally appeared to be in control of the situation on Monday with none of the 6,000 still stranded in a life-threatening condition.

Braving adverse weather as a fresh bout of rains grounded many rescue choppers, the armed and paramilitary forces still managed to evacuate 4,000 people to safer places using rope bridges. Even the 6,000 still stuck, mostly in Badrinath, are safe and equipped with enough food and shelter arranged by rescue forces.

"The worst is over now. All are safe in Badrinath, Harsil and Gangotri. Army, ITBP and NDRF are present there. It will take 2-3 days to finish the rescue work. Kedarnath valley is almost evacuated," Uttarakhand CM Vijay Bahuguna said.

Speaking of the rescue operations over the past few days, Bahuguna told TOI, "Initially we had small airplanes of the state government and then the big aircraft of the IAF arrived. We have evacuated about 4,000 people from Kedarnath and Gaurikund. Now less than 100 people are left in Garur Chatti. The choppers are constantly bringing people. From tomorrow, NDRF will start combing operations on foot. NDRF and Army jawans have reached everywhere. Wherever people are stranded, be it Kedarnath, Harsil, Gangotri, there is Army and civilian presence. There is man-to-man contact. It is not that they have been left to the mercy of nature. Now mobiles are working in Badrinath."

Despite climate-related hurdles, opening new trek routes and adding more rope-bridges over the Alaknanda, forces managed to rescue close to 4,000 people stranded in various parts of the Char Dham religious circuit.

Now, only 6,000 remain stuck in Badrinath, Gangotri and Harsil even as Kedarnath, worst affected by floods, has been declared clear of all pilgrims and locals. Only 50-odd sadhus and mule owners, some of whom were caught with money stolen from the temple chest, remain in Kedarnath in the custody of forces.

Though rains are forecast for the next three days and fresh landslides have already blocked some recently opened roads, authorities are not too worried as all stranded people have been reached and are being provided food, shelter and medical care.

To ensure quick evacuation by road as air operations remain suspended, ITBP has added two more rope bridges over Alaknanda. Close to 500 people were also evacuated from Govindghat by vehicles and taken to Rishikesh via Joshimath. The force also rescued 267 people from Maneri in Uttarkashi. About 150 people are still stranded there.

Army, meanwhile, rescued 1,375 people from Badrinath and Harsil, the only place where air evacuation was carried out in the morning. While 1,463 people were airlifted from Harsil by Army and the Air Force, 1,340 are reportedly still stuck there.

"Weather is expected to remain bad but there could be small windows for air evacuation. However, since people are now stranded in areas where trek routes and roads can be created we will continue evacuation on foot and through vehicles tomorrow and day after. BRO is already clearing some landslide sites," ITBP chief Ajay Chadha said.

Amid hope, there is also the gloom of dead bodies spread across the kedarnath valley. Although counting of the dead has not yet started, ITBP and NDRF have together found 394 dead bodies in the valley. Sources said some of those among the 50 Sadhus and mule owners left behind in Kedarnath were found to be carrying Rs 1.14 crore in cash apart from jewellery. While the cash is suspected to be belonging to temple, the jewellery seems to have been stolen from the dead, sources said.