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.