Crime Line

Naqi helped Bhatkal recce TARGETS

2012-01-24T09:01:00.000-08:00

DOWNED SHUTTERS: Naqi Ahmed’s leather-manufacturing unit in Badlupura, Byculla, wore a deserted look on Sunday

Massive Hunt Across 18 States Ends With Arrests Of Two 13/7 Abettors. Teams Fan Out To Nab Mastermind, Bombers

Mateen Hafeez & S Ahmed Ali | tnn

All the men accused for the 13/7 blasts have been charged with murder, attempt to murder, and crimes under the Explosives Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The three main accused, Indian Mujahideen founding member Yasin Bhatkal and two unnanmed bomb planters, remain on the run. Due to an alleged turf battle between the Delhi police and Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which the ATS has denied, the three reportedly escaped.

“Accused Naqi Ahmed had come to Mumbai in September-October of 2010 and was in the Mandanpura area,” said ATS chief Rakesh Maria. “He later assisted Bhatkal in doing recces of the targeted sites. Naqi and Nadeem Akhtar are the ones who stole the two scooters in which bombs were planted to go off at Opera House and Zaveri Bazaar. They also stole two motorbikes for future plans. We have recovered those two motorbikes. Moreover, the helmet of the Activa scooter's owner and duplicate keys were recovered from the duo,” said Maria. He added that while one scooter used in the 13/7 blasts was stolen from Khetwadi near CP tank, another was stolen from outside the Hurkisondas Hospital near Charni Road. Police said Bhatkal visited Mumbai in June and July, but later never returned to the Byculla residence of his accomplices.

“Naqi had given SIM cards, obtained on forged documents, to Bhatkal. In turn, Bhatkal had given Rs 1.5 lakh to Naqi to aid and assist the crime,” the ATS chief said. Sources in the ATS said the detonators were purchased from Delhi and the bomb was assembled at Byculla. “The bomb material was brought to Mumbai a few days prior to the blasts,” said a source. Maria said Nadeem was called to Delhi by Bhatkal, where he was given a packet covered in cloth and asked to hand it over to Naqi in Mumbai. The cloth packet allegedly contained the explosives, timers and detonators. Naqi gave this packet to the wanted accused.

“It was Naqi who helped Bhatkal get accommodation in Mumbai. They saw many places. Bhatkal rejected some flats and then agreed on Habib Apartments in Byculla. The deposit and rent were paid to the landlady by Naqi,” said Maria.

According to Maria, Bhatkal first met Naqi in Darbhanga. “There, Bhatkal indoctrinated young boys. Naqi and Bhatkal have been associated since 2008," said Maria. “Naqi first got himself enrolled in a gym near the blast sites and later enrolled a wanted accused in the gym. They chose the gym time of 7pm to 8pm to gauge the crowd on the streets,” Maria said.

Maria said a lead was obtained in this case in the last week of November 2011 and on December 2 an ATS team left for Darbhanga. He also hinted at the involvement of the underworld in Bihar.

PLACES OF INTEREST
HABIB APARTMENTS
The two unnamed bomb planters allegedly stayed at Habib Apartments, near Byculla railway station and down the road from Byculla police station. They reportedly showed the landlady Rubina Qureishi fake PAN cards to seal the deal. Yasin Bhatkal is said to have visited them at the flat. They disappeared in mid-December and never returned for their deposit because the police were closing in on them

ISLAMIA BUILDING
Naqi, Razi and Rafi have a leather shoe-making unit on the ground floor of Islamia Building in Badlupura, Byculla. The unit’s workers had been detained along with the owners on January 8, but they were subsequently released. The police had been camping there till Naqi’s arrest. The unit is being operated by Naqi’s brothers and workers

HURKISONDAS HOSPITAL
The police say that one of the scooters in which a bomb was planted was stolen from near Hurkisondas Hospital, near Charni Road

KHETWADI
One of the scooters in which a bomb was planted was stolen from outside a residence at Khetwadi, near CP Tank. The scooter was in the possession of a businessman’s employee when it was stolen a few hours before the blasts. He registered a case after the blasts

THE PROBE IN NUMBERS
4 police teams hunted through the CCTV images from 187 cameras for 29 days

The investigation was spread across 18 states 150 officers from the Mumbai police, plus others in Delhi, Kolkata and Bihar were involved

12,373 people were questioned and their statements taken

10 lakh was used to fund the Pune German Bakery, Delhi HC and 13/7 blasts

13/7 ARRESTED
NAQI AHMED
Naqi Ahmed Vasi Shaikh, aged 22, is a resident of Deora Bandhauli, in Darbhanga district, Bihar. The businessman has two leather units, one in Delhi and the other in Badlupura, Byculla, Mumbai. He and his brothers Razi and Rafi run a shoe-making business inherited from their father. Naqi, Razi and Rafi were detained on January 8, 2012 in Mumbai and Naqi was booked in a SIM card forgery case. Razi and Rafi were later released. Police allege that Yasin Bhatkal sent explosives for the 13/7 blasts from Delhi to Mumbai, where Naqi received them, and that Naqi stole one of the scooters in which a bomb was planted

NADEEM AKHTAR
Nadeem Akhtar Ashfaque Shaikh, aged 23, is a resident of Antop Hill, Mumbai, but originally hails from Deora Bandhauli, in Darbhanga district, Bihar. He was arrested on January 12 in the same SIM card forgery case Naqi was booked in. Akhtar is alleged to have ferried explosives from Delhi to Mumbai and stole one of the scooters that had a bomb

IN CUSTODY
HAROON NAIK
Haroon Rashid Naik, aged 33, is a resident of Mumbra in Thane, but originally hails from Beed, Maharashtra. Naik ran a cloth business in Kolkata and was arrested in a fake currency case in July 2011. A chargesheet filed by the ATS in November in that case says he travelled to Pakistan for arms training and wanted to avenge atrocities on Muslims across the world, including in Gujarat. The ATS claims the training was arranged and funded by Indian Mujahideen (IM) leader Riyaz Bhatkal. Police have not specified his role in the 13/7 blasts but he is expected to be held in a few days. He has been in Arthur Road jail in connection with the fake currency case

WANTED
YASIN BHATKAL Zarar Ahmed Siddipa aka Shahrukh aka Imran aka Yasin Bhatkal is a 30-year-old founding member of the IM. He hails from Bhatkal town in Karnataka and is
reportedly third in command in the IM. He is said to have masterminded several blasts across the country, including the 2011 Delhi high court blast, the 2010 German Bakery blast in Pune and the 2011 13/7 triple blasts in Mumbai. He is reportedly the chief financer who sent money through hawala for the 13/7 blasts. He visited Mumbai, arranged accommodation for the two other planters and is suspected to have planted the Dadar bomb

UNNAMED
The police have shown the Zaveri Bazar and Opera House bomb planters as unnamed, but sources in the security agencies say they were two Pakistanis named Waqqas and Tabrez. They stayed at Habib Apartments, Byculla, where accommodation was allegedly arranged for them by Bhatkal and Naqi. They were reportedly in possession of fake Indian PAN cards, which they had shown when renting the flat

The Times of India, January 24, 2012

Unnamed planters could be Pakistanis who lived in Byculla

2012-01-24T08:58:00.000-08:00

SUCCESS AT LAST? ATS chief Rakesh Maria (left) and DCP Pradeep Sawant at Monday’s press briefing

S Ahmed Ali & Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Monday claimed to have cracked the 13/7 triple blasts case, but remained tightlipped on naming two of the wanted men. Of the three men absconding in the case, only Indian Mujahideen (IM) founding member Yasin Bhatkal has been named. Sources said the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is not naming the two because it doesn’t want the Delhi police to get any credit, but local ATS bosses denied this.

Sources said the two unnamed wanted accused are the Pakistanis who were being watched by the Delhi police’s special cell in Mumbai in the last week of December. There were reports that a tussle between the Mumbai ATS and Delhi police led to a botch-up that allowed Bhatkal and the two Pakistanis escape being caught at Habib Apartments, Byculla. The Delhi police claimed the ATS spoiled the trap when it picked up their informer Naqi Ahmed. The ATS claimed the Delhi police were sleeping when the two Pakistanis arrived to return the house keys to landlady Rubina Qureshi.

“If (ATS chief Rakesh) Maria had taken the names of the two Pakistanis, then the Delhi police theory gets confirmed. So Maria called them accused A and B,”’ said a source.

Maria rubbished this, saying, “Our teams are on the job to get the absconders. I don’t want to hamper the investigations by giving out their names and details.” Maria said there was no botch-up and the ATS had got help from several other state police and central agencies. “Our teams visited 18 states, coordinated with the Punjab, Bihar, Kolkata and Delhi police. There was no fighting for credit as the media reported and I feel that competition is good. It should always be there or the hunger to crack the case would not be there,” said Maria.

REAL & FAKE MONEY
The ATS claims to have unearthed the trail through which the terrorists financed the 13/7 triple blasts. Police said that Rs 10 lakh were used to fund the Pune German Bakery, Delhi high court and 13/7 attacks. The police have frozen Naqi Ahmed’s and Nadeem Akhtar’s bank accounts and are investigating the accounts of their family members. Police said the money was forwarded from Dubai to Nepal to Bihar and finally to Mumbai. They alleged Rs 1.5 lakh of that money was paid to Naqi. The accused also used counterfeit notes to buy cell phones, SIM cards, tickets to travel from one city to the other and explosives.

The Times of India, January 24, 2012

Bihar’s terror tentacles grow

2012-01-24T08:57:00.000-08:00

S Ahmed Ali & Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Bihar’s Darbhanga district has come into sharper focus during the investigations into the 13/7 triple blasts, with investigators saying that much of the indoctrination, recruitment, financing and planting of the bombs occurred there.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Monday claimed it had cracked the 13/7 blasts case with the arrests of two men from Deora Bandhauli in Darbhanga district. Naqi Ahmed and Nadeem Akhtar have been arrested for aiding and abetting two wanted Pakistani nationals and Indian Mujaheedin (IM) founder member Yasin Bhatkal to carry out the blasts. In addition, the hawala money brought to Mumbai to conduct the blasts came through the Dubai-Nepal-Bihar-Mumbai route.

In a further Darbhanga connection, the six IM members, including Qateel Siddiqui, who were arrested by the Delhi police in November for the Chinnaswamy and Delhi high court blasts are all from that district.

Police said Yasin Bhatkal had met Naqi in 2008 through a common friend, Gayoor Jamali. Bhatkal had fled Karnataka after the Mumbai crime branch launched a manhunt for him following the arrests of 21 IM members.

An ATS official said, “While police looked for him in the town of Bhatkal in Mangalore, in Pune in Maharashtra and Azamgarh in UP, Yasin took shelter in the house of one Jamali in Darbhanga. Jamali later introduced Naqi to Bhatkal. Bhatkal then started recruiting unemployed youths in Darbhanga for the IM. Bhatkal sent selected youths to Pakistan via Nepal for arms training.”

While Naqi’s family members have been maintaining that Naqi was unaware of the 13/7 conspiracy and helped Bhatkal unknowingly, ATS chief Rakesh Maria said Naqi, who is from a well-to-do family, knew Bhatkal was a terrorist, helped him find a house in Byculla, and stole a scooter for him knowing it would have a bomb planted in it. “Not only that, Naqi and Nadeem had stolen two more twowheelers, which are likely to be used in future blasts. Naqi provided Rs 1.5 lakh to the two Pakistanis to rent the flat in Habib Apartments. We have idependent witnesses and evidence to corroborate this,” said Maria.

Nadeem allegedly went to Delhi, where Bhatkal handed him a packet covered in cloth to be given to Naqi, who in turn gave the same to the two Pakistanis who assembled the bombs. Naqi allegedly helped the Pakistanis do recces of the blast sites and enroll in a gym in Kumbarwada, a stone’s throw from Zaveri Bazar.

The Times of India, January 24, 2012

Tech helped trace suspects

2012-01-24T08:56:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez & S Ahmed Ali | TNN

Mumbai: Technology has played a major role in the probe into the 13/7 blasts. Four cop teams went through images from 187 CCTV cameras for 29 days before they zeroed in on the planters.

“Our staff worked for 696 hours on 187 cameras’ images that we obtained from various locations. Some images were highly damaged, while some had a lot of smoke, making it difficult to get leads. Our staff did not give up and worked hard,” said Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Rakesh Maria. At one point, the ATS almost lost hope. “Soon we got advanced software from a European company that helped forensic experts make the blurred images clearer,” he added. Face-recognition experts were used and cell phone tracking and other technologies were also employed.

According to Maria more than 150 officers from the Mumbai police, besides those from Delhi, Kolkata and Bihar, did investigations. Investigators interrogated 12,373 people and recorded their statements. “Our investigation was spread across 18 states…. Importance was given to tracing the financial trail, like who sent the Rs 10 lakh to execute the blasts, who received the money and how many people were taken into confidence to distribute the money,” said an ATS officer.

“We have obtained DNA from the room they stayed in. The police found that Naqi Ahmed and Nadeem Akhtar also visited the rented room in Byculla where the planters stayed,” said a source. The computer seized from the rented room contains incriminating files and information, according to police. A copy of the hard disk is being studied and the forensic laboratory will submit a final report in the next week, said the source. The ATS team included deputy commissioner of police Pradeep Sawant, assistant commissioners Ashok Kamat and Samad Shaikh, and inspectors Dinesh Kadam, Sukhlal Varpe and S Pawar.

THE 13/7 BLASTS
Date | July 13, 2011
Toll | 27 dead | 127 injured
Blast sites | Zaveri Bazar (6.54 pm) | Opera House (6.55 pm) | Dadar (7.06 pm)
Bombs | They contained a cocktail of TNT ammonium nitrate, nitrite and petroleum hydrocarbon, according to the final report of the Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory

The Times of India, January 24,2012

13/7 cracked, but big fish at large

2012-01-24T08:53:00.000-08:00

Naqi and Nadeem, 13/7 blasts accused, being produced in a court

Indian Mujahideen Did It, Says ATS; 2 Facilitators From Bihar Arrested

Mateen Hafeez & S Ahmed Ali TNN

Mumbai: More than six months after three bombs killed 27 people and injured 137 others in Mumbai, the state’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) announced on Monday that it had cracked the case. Two arrests have been made, while a third is expected in a few days. However, in a major disappointment, the arrests are only of the facilitators. The three main conspirators, mastermind Yasin Bhatkal and two bomb planters, have been named as wanted accused and are on the run. Those arrested are Naqi Ahmed, 22, and Nadeem Akhtar, 23, both originally from Darbhanga district in Bihar.

ATS chief Rakesh Maria said
the 13/7 blasts—at Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Dadar—were the handiwork of the outlawed Indian Mujahideen (IM). Police said Rs 10 lakh was sent to India via Dubai and Nepal and it was used to fund the 13/7, Delhi High Court and Pune German Bakery blasts. In addition, the 13/7 conspirators also used fake currency to purchase cell phones, SIM cards and so on.

After the ATS held a press conference in Mumbai to say it had cracked the case, some TV channels said the Union home ministry was baffled by the announcement and was upset that it hadn’t been informed about the developments. There were also reports that the home ministry said the cops were trying to cover up a recent bungle. However, home ministry sources emphatically denied these claims.

Both Naqi and Nadeem were already in custody in a SIM card forgery case. A third man in custody, Mumbra resident Haroon Naik, 33, is expected to be arrested in the 13/7 case in a few days. Naik is in custody in a fake currency case and has been at Arthur Road jail since July 2011. “These accused facilitated, aided and abetted the July 13 blasts. We will take Naik into custody soon,” said ATS chief Rakesh Maria during the press briefing.

Police teams have been dispatched to various places to trace the wanted accused. Aside from IM founding member Bhatkal, the police showed the other two absconders as simply accused A and B. However, sources said they are most likely Waqqas and Tabrez, the two Pakistani nationals who both the Delhi police and Mumbai ATS were tracking at Habib Apartments, Byculla, till recently.

TERROR TRAIL: THE POLICE STORY
THE ATTACK July 13, 2011 | Three blasts at Zaveri Bazar (6.54PM), Opera House (6.55PM) and Dadar (7.06PM) kill 27, injure 137

THE OBJECTIVE
To strike a blow against the Indian economy

THE MONEY TRAIL
ATS said Rs 10 lakh was used to fund the Pune German Bakery, Delhi HC and 13/7 attacks. Money was forwarded from Dubai to Nepal to Bihar and finally to Mumbai

THE PROBE
Search spanned 18 states. 150 investigators from Mumbai, plus others in Delhi, Kolkata and Bihar interviewed over 12,300 witnesses

UNNAMED
Police have not named the Zaveri Bazar and Opera House bomb planters but sources say they are two Pakistanis named Waqqas and Tabrez

THE ARRESTED
NAQI AHMED VASI SHAIKH (22) Businessman from Darbhanga, with leather units in Delhi and Byculla. He and his brothers were detained on Jan 8. Naqi was booked in a SIM card forgery case. Cops say explosives for 13/7 sent through Naqi and that he stole one of the scooters in which a bomb was planted
NADEEM AKHTAR ASHFAQUE SHAIKH (23) Also from Darbhanga. Stayed at Antop Hill. Was arrested on Jan 12 in the same SIM card forgery case Naqi was booked in. Is also alleged to have ferried explosives to Mumbai, and stolen a scooter

IMMINENT ARREST
HAROON RASHID NAIK (33) A resident of Mumbra. Ran a cloth business in Kolkata and was arrested in a fake currency case last July. ATS says he went to Pakistan for arms training, wanted to avenge atrocities on Muslims

WANTED
YASIN BHATKAL (30) Founding member of IM. Brain behind several blasts in the country. Funded, organized 13/7 blasts. Supected to have planted the Dadar bomb

The Times of India, January 24, 2012

‘IB kept ATS in dark about plan to nab 13/7 suspects’

2012-01-23T08:51:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: Did lack of cooperation between the country’s two elite investigation agencies—the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS)—result in Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Yasin Bhatkal alias Imran managing to give the sleuths the slip. It certainly appears to be the case if sources in the security establishment are to be believed.

In what appears to be a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing, a specialized unit in the city police silently helped the Delhi police in conducting the operation while the ATS, supposed to be the prime agency for probe into the 13/7 blasts, was completely clueless about the breakthrough, said sources.

According to sources, the Delhi police had been trying to zero in on Bhatkal since the third week of last November. While the Delhi police had kept IB officials in the loop, the latter, who visited Mumbai several times since the blasts, never informed the ATS.

“The IB played a double game here. While the Delhi police team had been camping in Mumbai since mid December with the IB’s knowledge, they (the IB) informed the ATS only on January 7 about the Delhi police’s operation,” said a police source.

When ATS officials learnt that the Delhi police was about to crack the case, they panicked and picked up Mohammed Naqi from Mumbai. “In fact, Naqi was flown to Mumbai by the Delhi police and was helping them with the case. He was asked to identify the IM operatives who were staying in a rented flat in Habib Apartments near the Byculla police station. Naqi was taken to ATS office and detained for two days before being shown as arrested in a petty case,” said the source.

Naqi’s detention and the presence of police personnel near Habib Apartments perhaps alerted the suspects who were to return to their rented flat, said the source. “The IB should have informed the ATS about the Delhi police’s operation in December itself. However, they did it at the last moment thinking they could be questioned later for not informing the ATS.”

The specialized unit in the city police, too, did not inform the ATS about the operation. The unit not only provided manpower to the Delhi police but also arranged accommodation for the team from capital in a Mumbai central building. Rubina Qureishi, the landlady of the flat rented by the suspects in Habib Apartments, stayed in the Mumbai Central building. “The Delhi police thought the suspects might call on their landlady and therefore stayed close to Qureishi to keep an eye on visitors to her home. Another team was posted near the suspects’ rented flat in Habib Apartments,” said the source. “The Mumbai police officers chose to help the Delhi police than the ATS.”

Moreover, the infighting within the state ATS is deepening. Old timers in the ATS said they feel neglected after an instruction from the higher ups. “We have been asked to hand over all the suspects to the Kalachowkie unit. When we go there, we are treated as second-class officers. Such treatment is demoralizing. A section of senior officers think that only the Kalachowkie unit is capable of detecting the case. It’s one of the reasons why there are so many groups within the ATS,” said an officer.

The Times of India, January 23, 2012

Naqi staff under ‘house arrest’

2012-01-21T08:48:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The leather bag manufacturing unit of Mohammed Naqi, who has been accused of cheating, has been converted into a fortress after the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) deployed personnel in huge numbers, putting all workers and his relatives under virtual house arrest.

Naqi was detained by the squad’s Maharashtra unit on January 8 and later booked for forgery. The personnel are allegedly using Naqi’s office as their own. “They are not allowing anyone to meet Naqi’s brothers, Razi and Rafi. We don’t know if they have any authority,” a source said. The team, equipped with a laptop and several cell phones, is doing its office work from the unit. “Even customers are facing problems. When someone comes, the personnel make inquiries. It’s affecting business,” the source said.

Naqi, remanded to police custody till January 23, allegedly provided shelter to Indian Mujahideen operative, Yaseen Bhatkal alias Imran, and two others who were initially suspected to be Pakistani nationals. The ATS claimed that Bhatkal along with the two carried out the July 13 blasts last year that killed 27 and injured scores.

The Times of India, January 21, 2012

Bhatkal’s aides worked in city for many months

2012-01-21T08:47:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Investigations into the escape of two suspected Pakistani nationals, who according to the anti-terrorist squad (ATS) planted two of the 13/7 bombs, has revealed that they worked in the city for several months. The first reportedly worked at a mobile phone repairing shop at Sewree and the other at a builder’s office in Nalasopara.

Security establishment sources said while the police lost Yasin Bhatkal, an important member of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), due to the infighting among police units—the Maharashtra ATS and Delhi police—the later was still on the case and claimed they will crack it soon.

Residents of Habib Apartment, where Waqas and Tabrez stayed for several months, were not aware of where exactly they worked. “The two told some of us that they were working in call centres,” said a resident. The police have found mobile numbers being used by the two nationals and with the help of them they found the call data records.

“The police are working on the numbers and are calling people whose numbers were found on their mobiles,” a source said.

The ATS is interrogating Mohammed Naqi to see if he had helped the two procure permanent account number (PAN) cards on fake documents. “He has not admitted to it yet. He could be given a clean chit in the terror case. However, we cannot take a chance and are exploring the case from all the angles,” said an officer who played a vital role in detaining Naqi.

But a major section of the police and security establishment is not convinced that Bhatkal dared stay near ATS headquarters even when he was much soughtafter. “The Delhi police had almost cracked the case but the ATS interference gave the culprits a chance to slip
away,” said an informer working on this case. He added that the ATS was picking up people and trying its best for a breakthrough.

A Naqi family member said he was being tortured in police custody. “My nephew (Naqi) is innocent. He did not know anybody called Bhatkal. We were told that he was arrested in a cheating case. We would like to know what he exactly wrong,” said Umar Farooque (52), Naqi’s uncle. “They (ATS officials) want him to confess to something he was never involved in,” Farooque said. The ATS denied the allegations.

The Times of India, January 21, 2012

ATS detains student in 13/7 blasts case

2012-01-20T08:44:00.000-08:00

Mohammed Taqi

Taqi’s Brother Had ‘Helped’ Bhatkal With Byculla House

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Desperate for clues after losing a 13/7 blasts suspect last month, the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) picked up an MBA student from Delhi and detained him for several hours. The student, Mohammed Taqi, is the brother of Mohammed Naqi, who had allegedly arranged accommodation for Indian Mujahideen operative Yasin Bhatkal alias Imran in Mumbai. Naqi is in police custody in a cheating case. Late on Thursday night, the ATS was camping at Taqi’s residence, interrogating him.

The ATS claimed that two bombs were planted by Bhatkal’s accomplices, Waqqas and Tabrez, while the third was planted by Bhatkal himself.

Sources said Taqi was picked up after he addressed a press conference with several civil rights activists in New Delhi on Wednesday. Taqi spoke about the agony and trauma his family had been going through in the last one month since it came to the police notice the Naqi had arranged accommodation for Bhatkal and his two suspected Pakistani accomplices.

Taqi was taken to his Shaeen Baug residence in Delhi, from where the ATS personnel took away a laptop, a memory card and several books. Naqi, whose leather bag unit in Mumbai has become the centre of investigation, faces cheating charges.

“We are probing if Naqi knew Imran’s real identity as Bhatkal,” an ATS officer said, adding that Naqi was under interrogation for over 10 days.

The Delhi police said Waqqas and Tabrez, who were thought to be Pakistanis, could be Indians. “They had permanent account number (PAN) cards issued from Patna and spoke fluent Hindi with a Bihari accent,” sources in the security establishment said. While no arrest has been made in the Mumbai triple blast cases, the ATS officers claim explosives used had been brought from Nepal, but they do not have concrete evidence.

The Maharashtra ATS claimed that before coming to Byculla, Bhatkal stayed in Deora Baudhauli village in Bihar, where he met Naqi. “Bhatkal met Naqi through a local, Qateel Siddiqui, and introduced himself as Imran. Bhatkal told Naqi that he wanted to go to Mumbai and was looking for cheap accommodation for himself and friends. Naqi assured him help. Naqi’s relatives, Mohammed Wasi and Mohammed Rafi, were detained by the ATS last week.

Police personnel posted at Naqi’s leather bag unit in Byculla are not allowing the media to speak to workers there. “We have a court order that no one should be allowed to meet these people. They are our witnesses,” an ATS assistant inspector said.

The Times of India, January 20, 2012

Wahab denies forgery

2012-01-20T08:34:00.000-08:00

Abdul Wahab

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Abdul Wahab (24) denied on Thursday that he had used forged documents to procure 14 SIM cards. “I purchased 14 cards but all were obtained with my voter ID card. If the forgery charge is true, show me proof,” said Wahab after his release from the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) lock-up in Mumbai.

Wahab, a second year mechanical engineering diploma student in Mohali, hails from Bihar. “The ATS has not told me or my family how I am involved in a cheating case. I procured the cards when mobile companies would offer various schemes. The ATS has seized all the cards,” he said.

Wahab along with room-mate, Qamar-e-Aalam, also from Bihar, was detained in Mohali and flown to Mumbai. The ATS has booked six persons in the case, including Mohammed Naqi, mobile phone dealer Mumtaz Shaikh, Aadil and Naseem Shahejahan Khan. While three have been granted bail, three are still in police custody. The police refused to reveal how the case was registered as cheating when the buyer took all the cards on his voter’s ID; the role of the other accused has also not been mentioned.

The youngest among nine siblings, Wahab is currently in Mumbai at his brother’s cap-making unit at Bhendi Bazaar. “Though I was not tortured, the ATS move has prevented me from appearing for three engineering papers. Can they give back my time now,” he asked. His college has now refused to admit him, but the ATS has promised him help.

“The police kept inquiring about several numbers, which were not stored in my phone, and insisted I should cooperate. If they want cooperation, they should have allowed me to see my phone to recall whose numbers those were,” said Wahab.

The Times of India, January 20, 2012

ATS to collect DNA samples from Byculla flat

2012-01-19T08:32:00.000-08:00

Habib Apartments in Byculla

13/7 Blasts Probe

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) is planning to collect DNA samples from a flat in a Byculla building where suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) commander Yasin Bhatkal stayed last year with two Pakistani nationals under the alias of Imran.

The ATS, probing the 2011 July 13 triple bomb blasts in Mumbai, was following certain leads in the case but lost track of the suspected bombers, including the two Pakistani nationals (Waqqas and Tabrez), in December.

There were reports that besides the two Pakistani nationals, who got a flat in Habib Apartments in Byculla, Bhatkal stayed there for sometime. “DNA samples will help verify if more than three persons had stayed in the room. The ATS is now taking help of the Kalina forensic science laboratory,” said sources in the security establishment.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the ATS is looking for a Delhi-based trader, identified as Irfan alias Aarif, in connection with the 13/7 blasts. The ATS has already arrested Aarif ’s nephew Naseem Shahejan Khan in a forgery case.

Sources said Khan was picked up from a wedding in Samastipur, Bihar early this month. “The ATS was, in fact, looking for Aarif but picked up Khan,” said a source.

Sources said the ATS team did not take help of the local police in Bihar and aroused the ire of villagers. When the ATS personnel tried to drag Khan into their vehicle, hundreds of villagers, suspecting that some people were trying to kidnap Khan, came after the sleuths with lathis. They chased the police vehicle on bikes and cars for about four kilometres. The ATS did not inform Khan’s family at that time about his detention.

Sources said Khan was subjected to torture in ATS’ Kalachowkie unit. The police wanted to know about the whereabouts of Aarif, who is suspected to have links with one Imran. However, it is still not clear whether Imran is the same person who the ATS suspects to be Bhatkal.

A few ATS personnel were posted outside Islamia building at Badlupura (Byculla) to guard the shop of an arrested cheating accused, Mohammed Naqi. The ATS believes that Naqi helped Bhatkal rent a flat in Byculla. It is also said that Naqi was unaware of Bhatkal’s real name and his activities. “Bhatkal was introduced to Naqi in Bihar by a suspect in the Delhi high court bomb blast case, Qateel Siddiqui, now behind bars. Naqi’s two relatives, Mohammed Wasi and Mohammed Rafi, “detained” on January 8, are released daily for two hours to change clothes and have food. During this period, an assistant inspector accompanies them.

Lalbaugcha Raja on IM hitlist? One of the six IM operatives arrested by the Delhi police has told the interrogators that two Pakistanis, Waqqas and Tabrez, had done recces of Lalbaugcha Raja pandal and were to carry out an attack there between September 1 and 11. The duo couldn’t do so due to heavy police bandobast. TNN

The Times of India, January 19, 2012

I knew Bhatkal as Imran: Bizman

2012-01-18T08:31:00.000-08:00

IM Perpetrated 13/7, Varanasi Blasts: Intel

Mateen Hafeez & Dwaipayan Ghosh | TNN

Mumbai/New Delhi: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) said it has established beyond a doubt that Waqqas and Tabrez, the two Pakistanis who lived at Habib Apartments in Byculla, planted the 13/7 bombs that exploded at Zaveri Bazar and Opera House. But the ATS is still unsure of the identity of the bomber who planted the bomb at a bus stop in Dadar on July 13, 2011.

Meanwhile, intelligence agencies said the Indian Mujahideen (IM) engineered both the 13/7 serial blasts in Mumbai and the December 6, 2010 attack at the Dashaswamedh ghat in Varanasi. “Local operatives provided logistical help to the IM to carry out the (Varanasi) blast,” said a Delhi police officer.

Mumbai ATS officials said IM leader Yasin Bhatkal alias Imran was living with the two Pakistanis at flat 53 in Habib Apartments at the time of the 13/7 attacks, but they aren’t sure if Bhatkal was the third planter. Tabrez and Waqqas kept living in the Byculla flat after the blasts, while Bhatkal shuttled between Mumbai and other places. He left Byculla for good only on November 26, the third anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, the ATS said. Tabrez and Waqqas left in December.

Mohammed Naqi, a Byculla businessman caught in a cheating case last week, allegedly helped the IM men get the accommodation. “Naqi says he knew Bhatkal only as Imran and took him to a real estate agent. We are still probing if Naqi was aware of Imran’s real identity,” said an officer. The ATS is unsure if the bombs were assembled at the Byculla flat or were brought there in ready condition, said sources.

Security sources said the Zaveri Bazar bomber can be identified in CCTV footage walking from the blast site to Mohammed Ali Road. While investigators said he is one of the two Pakistanis, they are tightlipped about who it is.

The police said the duo, along with Bhatkal, began renting at Habib Apartments in March 2011. “It is true that Yasin Bhatkal was present in Mumbai,” said an investigator. “However, the ATS was not sure of Bhatkal’s true identity as he was using the alias Imran. After the 13/7 blasts, the two Pakistanis stayed in the Byculla flat. Bhatkal would leave Mumbai often. He returned last towards the end of November and left the flat for good on November 26.”

An ATS official said, “The ATS knows the suspects’ roles, but we will not announce detection until we catch the culprits.” ATS sources said the two Pakistanis left the city in December and only Waqqas was supposed to return for their belongings and deposit. “We laid a trap since he was to come back. But he never returned,” said an ATS officer. Delhi police said Bhatkal had told the landlady he would return. The ATS has seized a computer, five DVDs, branded shirts and jeans from Flat 53. The flat has been sealed.

The Times of India, January 18, 2012

Delhi cops never contacted us: ATS

2012-01-18T08:29:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez & Dwaipayan Ghosh | TNN

Mumbai/New Delhi: The blame game for the alleged fi asco that ended with Indian Mu jahideen (IM) leader Yasin Bhatkal escaping has begun The Maharashtra Anti-Terror ism Squad (ATS) has denied that it scuttled the investigation and accused the Delhi police’s Special Cell of not informing the ATS about its operation in Mumbai as well as seeking to hijack the probe. The ATS in Mumbai claimed it had almost cracked the case, but the Delhi police wanted the credit.

Faced with criticism for not being able to solve the 13/7 blasts case, the ATS had gone all-out in the past two months sources said. It was hunting for Yasin Bhatkal, but was un aware that he had been visiting Byculla under the identity of Imran. While the ATS claimed Bhatkal fled Mumbai on No vember 26 last year, Delhi po lice said Bhatkal fled from Chennai before his hideout was raided and is still holed up somewhere in India.

The city ATS said the Delhi police had camped out in Mum bai hotels. “The Delhi police of ficials never contacted us,” said an ATS officer. “If they had some information, they should have shared it with us. It was a national security issue, but it seems they were concerned only about the credit.”

The cold war between the two agencies also arose because of the arrest of businessman Mohammed Naqi by the ATS in a cheating case. Delhi police said they had brought Naqi to Mumbai to identify Bhatkal The Delhi police claimed that Naqi’s arrest by the ATS in Mumbai alerted the IM sus pects. But the Mumbai police countered that Naqi was ar rested in January, long after the IM suspects fled. However, the Delhi police said on January 1 Bhatkal called landlady Rubi na Qureshi to tell her that he would collect the deposit from her when he visited Mumbai in another 12 days.

The Delhi cops said the ATS came to know of the call made to Rubina. On January 6, the ATS summoned her to ATS headquarters and asked her to keep them informed about Bhatkal. Meanwhile, before Naqi could reach Byculla, he was picked up by ATS.

The ATS said the Delhi po lice did not keep them in the loop and too many sleuths in the area had alerted the ac cused. ATS officials said the Delhi police should have con tacted them if they had any 13/7 information. “We fail to understand why the Delhi po lice are showing so much in terest in our case,” an ATS of ficer said. The state police feared the Delhi police want ed to pick up the suspects and conduct a press conference in Delhi to announce the case was solved.

The Times of India, January 18, 2012

Guj to Nashik & then a disappearing act

2012-01-17T08:28:00.000-08:00

IM MEMBER GIVES POLICE THE SLIP

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Another member of outlawed outfit, Indian Mujahideen (IM), who was being tracked by the Nashik anti-terrorism squad (ATS), appears to have vanished. The suspect, whose identity has not been disclosed, came from Gujarat to Nashik just after the blasts and fled the town only a fortnight ago. Cops, however, are not sure whether he is linked to the 13/7 blasts.

Sources said this suspect had been in Gujarat for several months before shifting base to Nashik. “He took a cyber café on rent and was reportedly running his activities from there. The Nashik ATS was on his trail but he managed to give them a slip,” the source said. The suspect, also part of a sleeper cell, was acting as the owner of the cyber café and several people would come to meet him there. “The police were trying to verify from the list of his visitors if they were part of the Indian Mujahideen group. However, it was too late for them.”

Sources further said that two to three weeks ago, the suspect approached the cyber café owner to inform him that he was suffering losses and could not run it any longer. He took away the hard disc of a few computers.

Doc summoned
One of the suspected Pakistani nationals who stayed at Byculla had approached an eye specialist in Mazgaon area after an eye infection. The police summoned the doctor to record his statement and later let him to go. The police had found the doctor’s number while going through the Pakistani men’s cellphone records. TNN

The Times of India, January 17, 2012

Phone records point to West Bengal

2012-01-17T08:26:00.000-08:00

BLAST HORROR: A Zaveri Bazar victim being taken to a hospital

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

The Delhi police have picked up the trail of a suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) member based in West Bengal. The person, identified as Haroon, had been using a BSNL phone to keep in touch with a suspect, who is believed to be Yasin Bhatkal alias Shahrukh. The latter was also using a Kolkata cellphone number.

The Delhi police, who were monitoring Haroon’s telephonic conversation, found his contact (the suspect) in Mumbai. However, they were not sure about the suspect’s identity. During that time, the Delhi police claimed to have busted an IM module and arrested six persons from Chennai and Bihar. The information gathered from their interrogation and Haroon’s conversation led them to the Mumbai man.

“Haroon has never been actively involved in any blast in the country. He is part of a sleeper cell that generally does the supportive job for other members. Most recruits do not know about them as well,” said a source.

It may be noted that the Maharashtra ATS had got in touch with the West Bengal police in July last year to find information about somebody holed up in Murshidabad. However, the ATS later lost interest in him. There are reports that the activities of that suspect were not monitored after a few weeks of the blasts. “Had the ATS been following the Murshidabad suspect, they would have definitely got some information,” said the source.

Haroon, who is originally from northern India, slipped out of the Delhi police’s radar and switched off his mobile as well, said sources. However, the information collected during phone-tapping helped the police to indicate another module in Mumbai. The West Bengal police was later alerted about Haroon but by then he had left the state. The Delhi police found that Haroon had made calls to some people whose contact details were found in the mobile numbers of a few IM members arrested in November last. Sources said the prolonged time spent in verification cost the ATS; they lost the IM module from Mumbai.

The Times of India, January 17, 2012

Another agent passed on trio to me

2012-01-17T08:25:00.000-08:00

TERRORISTS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD: (L) Habib Apartments near Palace Talkies at Byculla; (R) flat 53 which the terrorists rented

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Sultan Khan, the realty agent who finds himself at the centre of a controversy for providing a rented flat to two Pakistani nationals and a suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) commander, has told interrogators that another agent had passed on the three men to him.

The three suspects—Pakistan’s Waqqas and Tabrez, and IM leader Yasin Bhatkal alias Shahrukh alias Imran—stayed in Habib Apartments near Byculla railway station for almost eight months. “They came to me with the reference of some other agent. I work on a commission basis and introduced them to the flat owner, Rubina Qureishi. After they spoke to her, the deal was finalized,” Khan told the anti-terrorism squad (ATS). The three suspects fled the city in mid-December without informing the flat owner, the broker or the neighbours. The ATS, during a search of the one-roomkitchen flat, number 53, on Habib Apartments’ third floor, found several CDs and DVDs and is examining them. The content is not known.

The flat’s door displayed a name, Mohammed Istiyaque A Salam Qureishi. The rent of the 150-square-foot flat was around Rs 8,000 per month. This 80-year-old building houses several small and big flats with mostly salaried tenants. The three posed as call centre employees and would return at odd hours.

No neighbour had any concrete information about them. “We have been terrorized since we heard the blast suspects were staying here. We could not feel that they were so dangerous,” said a tenant. Another tenant said, “They would not interact with us and their door would be closed at all times.” No neighbour knew their names. “Why would we ask anyone their names if they did not want to interact with us? They would mostly leave one by one. We never heard any noise or argument from their room,” said an old woman.

Incidentally, Khan stays in the same building. When TOI visited his second-floor residence at around 2 pm, a woman in her mid-40s was offering prayers. “Khan is not at home,” she said and provided his business card. “Contact him if you want to talk to him,” she said.

The Times of India, January 17, 2012

Cops trace garage where scooter bomb was fitted

2012-01-17T08:19:00.000-08:00

The scooter is taken to the compound of an oil mill, which houses a lot of vehicle mechanic shops. A bomb is fitted into the scooter at the location, which is near Byculla police station

Investigators Remain Mum On Who Did Fitting Of Zaveri Bazar Explosive. A Mechanic Had Been Quizzed Earlier

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

The Zaveri Bazar bomb detonated in last year’s 13/7 blasts was fitted into a stolen scooter in the compound of an oil mill just a stone’s throw from the Byculla police station, according to police investigations. Three blasts were set off by terrorists on July 13, 2011, at Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Dadar, killing 27 people and injuring over 100. The oil mill is filled with garages and the Zaveri Bazar bomb went off in a scooter.

The state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), whose investigations into the case were meandering, was taken by surprise when a Delhi police team arrived in the city in late December. The Delhi police gave details about three suspects who were in Mumbai. While two were identified as Pakistani nationals Waqqas and Tabrez, the third was believed to be a top commander of the
Indian Mujahideen (IM), Yasin Bhatkal alias Shahrukh alias Imran alias Immu.

Instead of nabbing the suspects, the Delhi police and ATS preferred monitoring their movements. The three were reportedly staying on rent on the third floor of Habib Apartments, next to Palace Talkies in Byculla (East). The building is a couple of minutes from Byculla police station. Habib Apartments is at one end of the Byculla bridge while the police station is at the other.

“The three suspects landed in Mumbai early last year. They got in touch with a real estate broker, Sultan Khan, who also stays at Habib Apartments. Another tenant, Rubina Qureishi, had asked Khan to look for someone who could rent her apartment,” said a source close to the investigation. Habib Apartments is an old groundplus-three structure next to Byculla railway station.

“The trio approached Khan and took the room on a rent of around Rs 8,000 per month,” said the source. “They posed as call centre employees.” The ATS called Khan and Qureishi for interrogations.

The Delhi police came to know of the IM module in Mumbai in end-November, when they were tracking a mobile number that belonged to a suspected IM member in Kolkata. The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, fled Kolkata in November. In end-November, the Delhi police also arrested six IM men from Bihar and Chennai who gave statements regarding the module in Mumbai. The Delhi cops then came to the city.

All the three men staying at Habib Apartments in Mumbai remained clean shaven and spoke little to other residents in the building. The state ATS recently activated all its contacts in Mazgaon and Byculla to rent a room in Habib Apartments to monitor the suspects, but no room was available.

One of the three is suspected to have gone to the Khetwadi area on July 11 or 12 and stolen an Activa scooter. The scooter was taken to the oil mill, which is filled with garages, near Byculla police station and given for repairs. “This is where a bomb was fitted into it,” the source added.

A garage mechanic who spoke to the suspects about a defect in the scooter had been earlier summoned by the ATS and his statement recorded. He was cleared from suspicion then. When asked who fitted the bomb into the scooter, the police did not reply.

The ATS had been tapping a mobile number being used in Mumbai, 9433524***, which had been issued in Kolkata. This number, different from the one tracked by the Delhi police, is suspected to have been used by Imran alias Bhatkal. Surprisingly, the police were unsure if Imran was Bhatkal. The number, obtained on fake documents, is now switched off. “ATS officials were in the process of verifying if Imran was Bhatkal, but by then he and his accomplices fled the city,” said a source.

On the day of the blasts, all three suspects are suspected to have carried one bomb each and headed to the different locations, said sources. They returned before the blasts.

During their stay in Byculla, Imran left and returned to Mumbai several times, but was never tracked by the police. He allegedly engineered the Delhi high court blast, took part in the German Bakery blast, the Ahmedabad blasts and other attacks.

SHADOWING DEATH
HOW INVESTIGATIONS REVEAL THE 13/7 BLASTS MAY HAVE BEEN PERPETRATED & THE TRAIL THAT LED TO A BYCULLA BUILDING

A man suspected to be Yasin Bhatkal and two Pakistanis rent a flat in Byculla in April-March 2011 and do recces of Mumbai

On July 11 or 12, the IM men steal a Honda Activa scooter from Khetwadi near Grant Road and take it to Byculla

A bomber rides the scooter to a spot in Zaveri Bazar. Two other tiffin bombs are also planted, one in a dustbin in the Opera House area and the other on the roof of a bus-stop in Dadar

On the evening of July 13, the bombs explode. The final death toll at Opera House is 15, Zaveri Bazar 11 and Dadar 1. Over a hundred are injured

In November, six IM men held by Delhi cops speak of a Mumbai cell. The cops also track a Kolkata number, which indicates an IM cell in Mumbai

The three men staying at Byculla get wind of the Delhi arrests and flee Mumbai some time in mid-December

The Times of India, January 17, 2012

13/7 bomb was assembled near Byculla police stn

2012-01-17T08:18:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Investigations show that one of the three 13/7 bombs, the one that was exploded at Zaveri Bazar, was fitted into a stolen scooter at a garage just a stone’s throw from Byculla police station. Police say the Activa scooter, stolen from Khetwadi on either July 11 or 12, was taken by the Indian Mujahideen terrorists to the garage, which is in the compound of an oil mill.

Shockingly, the probe shows that the three IM men, including leader Yasin Bhatkal, were living under the nose of the Byculla cops even after the attacks and fled Mumbai only after a Delhi businessman was detained by the ATS around January 8 or 9, 2012. The state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had even been tapping a mobile number, 9433524***, which Yasin Bhatkal is suspected to have used in Mumbai and which was apparently obtained using fake documents in Kolkata. The 13/7 blasts claimed 27 lives.

Did ATS botch up Bhatkal arrest?
Prafulla Marpakwar & S Ahmed Ali TNN Adetention made by the state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) around January 8 or 9 is being blamed for botching up the Delhi police’s chance to nab Indian Mujahideen leader Yasin Bhatkal, who escaped after news of the detention leaked. However, home minister R R Patil denied any botch-up and backed ATS investigations into 13/7. P 3

The Times of India, January 17,2012

‘13/7 bomber’s trail gone cold’

2012-01-15T07:58:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The movements of the suspected Zaveri Bazar bomb planter, who had driven into the area on a scooter, have only been traced till Mohammed Ali Road in south Mumbai. The bomber’s trail has gone cold and cops are nowhere near cracking the case.

The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) has no further leads about the suspect’s whereabouts, said sources.

“The bomb planter is about 25 years old. He had driven an Activa scooter with an RDX bomb fitted to it into the area. He parked the scooter and left. We tracked him after going through hours of CCTV footage. His face couldn’t be seen clearly in some of the initial footage. The grabs we went through later showed him clearly. The suspect knew the area well and walked through Pydhonie with ease. We traced his movement up to Mohammed Ali Road, but lost his track after that as there were no CCTV cameras,” said a source in the ATS.

The scooter used to plant the bomb belonged to a Gujarat trader who claimed his vehicle had been stolen. One of the trader’s employee, Arjun Chaudhray, was detained for a month but subsequently released. Three powerful RDX bombs planted at Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and in Dadar exploded on July 13, 2011, killing 27 and injuring hundreds.

The ATS, which has interrogated over 1,500 people so far, is yet to make a breakthrough in the case. While there is no official confirmation about the outfit responsible for the blasts, the ATS claims it’s the handiwork of Indian Mujahideen (IM).

Source said the planter’s photo has been shown to almost all IM suspects, including those who are lodged in jails and those who are out on bail. “We have not detected the case yet and are working on it,” said ATS chief Rakesh Maria.

The Times of India, January 15, 2012

Alistair Pereira may be taken to Taloja prison

2012-01-14T07:56:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Alistair Pereira, whose three-year imprisonment was upheld by the SC on Thursday, may bekept attheTaloja jail along with more than 200 convicts. Pereira, who killed seven persons in a road accident, has not surrendered before the court.

Pereira wasconvictedby the Bombay HC in the 2006 hit-andrun case. The SC cancelled his bail and directed him to undergo his remaining jail term. The court passed the order on a special leave petition filed by Pereira challenging the Bombay HC order convicting him. “As a procedure, he will have to surrender before a court which will send him to the jail authorities. He has not been brought here yet,” said Surendar Kumar, IG (prisons). Kumar added that they may send Pereira to Taloja jail where 200 plus convicts are already serving their term. Taloja jail is about 50 km away from Mumbai. However, there are chances that he may be sent to the Nashik central jail from where he had filed the bail application a few years ago.

Taloja jail houses most of the dreaded criminals. Several hardened criminals were shifted from the Arthur Road jail to Taloja jail which is spread over 77 acres of land. “Earlier, we would send the convicts to Pune’s Yerawada jail. However, after the construction of Taloja jail, we send the convicts to Taloja jail. Pereira will have to work in the jail factory like other convicts.

Former MLA and gangster, Arun Gawli, arrested for murder in April 2008 under the stringent MCOCA, was lodged in the Arthur Road jail but later shifted to Taloja jail along with his cronies. The most recent transfer to the Taloja jail is that of extradited gangster Abu Salem. The jail authorities shifted Salem from Arthur Road to Taloja for “security reasons”. Salem was allegedly assaulted by D-gang member Mustafa Dossa sometimes ago.

The Times of India, January 14, 2012

Cops bust SIM card racket, 1 held

2012-01-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

4,931 CARDS SEIZED

S Ahmed Ali & Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Crime Branch (CB) Control Unit and the Dongri police have busted a racket where cellphone SIM cards were issued on forged papers. Police suspect the involvement of service providers.

A former SIM card dealer, Mohammed Asim Razzaque Turk (24), was arrested and 4,931 SIM cards, a laptop, four mobile phones and Rs 36,000 cash were seized. Turk has been booked for forgery and breach of trust. Cops are likely to invoke other sections after obtaining technical evidence.

Police inspector Rakesh Sharma and his team raided Saeed Manzil at Dongri and found Turk with several SIM cards, forged documents and customers’ photographs. “The seized cards belong to Airtel, Idea, Uninor, Cheers, Vodafone, Loop and Reliance,” police said. “Turk used to approach dealers and promise them 5,000 customers. Dealers provide discounts or incentives if the number of customers is large,” said DCP Manohar Dalvi.

Then, Turk would buy verified documents of customers from retailers at the rate of Rs 3 per copy, make several photocopies of the forms, change the photographs and names and then submit them to the dealers. The dealers would pay Turk Rs 80 per SIM card. Turk would then refill these SIM cards for Rs 10 each. After activation, he would get huge sums from the dealers.

The police are probing whether the SIM cards were given to Turk in connivance with service providers to show an increase in sales.

Shafqat Usmani, a SIM card retailer and owner of Day Night communication in Mumbai, said that such cards are mostly given to retailers by the companies. “Firms promise incentives and lucrative offers on selling maximum number of SIM cards. In most cases, we have seen that the companies fill the customer application form and simply ask the retailers or the distributors to sell the cards. Sometimes, the distributors send activated cards to the retailers and ask them to collect necessary the documents,” said Usmani.

A retailer said that a delegation of SIM card dealers had met department of telecommunication (DoT) officials and described instances where SIM cards were activated on tendering forged documents. “As per the TRAI rule, it is the service provider’s duty to verify the documents of a SIM card holder within seven days of activation. However, firms ask retailers to do so,” said Amjad Khan, a distributor.

Police sources said Turk was also involved in selling cards for changing mobile portability. “Several people sell activated SIM cards to STD and ISD owners on fake papers and ask them to return the card with Rs 10 or Rs 5 as balance. Later, they use the same mobile balance to change the service provider. They get a commission of Rs 100 for changing one SIM card’s portability. Mobile companies, in most cases, do not verify whether the card is still functioning after changed portability. They are concerned with their increasing number of customers only,” added Khan.

The Times of India, January 13, 2012

Three get bail in 13/7 case

2012-01-12T07:53:00.000-08:00

Mumbai: A local court on Wednesday granted bail to three youths, who were picked up for questioning in the 13/7 terror attack. The youths were granted bail on a surety of Rs 15,000 each. The ATS also dropped charges of forgery and criminal conspiracy from the case.
The accused, Qamar-e-Aalam Shaikh, Abdul Wahab and Naseem Shahejahan, were arrested for procuring 16 SIM cards from Mumbai on forged documents. The court has ordered the three youths to present themselves at the police station every week.— Mateen Hafeez

The Times of India, January 12, 2012

Mumbai police plan new squad to fight terror

2012-01-11T07:52:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: After forming a Quick Response Team (QRT) and setting up a National Security Guard (NSG) hub in the city, the police now plan to form a Response 10 squad. The squad, police commissioner Arup Patnaik said, will be the first to respond in terror or crisis-like situations.

“The NSG and QRT are there to respond to terror attacks. But the first response should come from the local police station. Response 10 will coordinate with all agencies and reach an affected spot within 10 minutes,” Patnaik told an annual crime briefing.

Currently, all five regions in the city police have a QRT team, each comprising 48 specially trained commandos. After the deadly 26/11 terror attack in the city, which killed 166 people and nine terrorists, terror-fighting equipment, arms and ammunition have been provided to the city police. The QRT commandos conduct mock drills every week and they have to reach any spot within seven minutes. But the police chief did not elaborate on the new squad’s requirements.

On the 13/7 triple blasts probe, Patnaik said, “The case has been transferred to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). But we are very much part of it. It’s a case against the nation and we are trying to get information about the culprits. There is no joint investigation in the case. The entire probe is being taken care of by the ATS.”

Besides this, the police are focusing on tackling fake currency. “Last year, we seized US dollars worth nearly Rs 5 lakh. During investigations it was found that the dollars were being manufactured in Pakistan. Fke Indian currency notes worth Rs 74 lakh were seized in police operations,” said Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner of police (crime). The police have registered 46 cases of fake currency in 2011.

The Times of India, January 11, 2012

Cell by next month to trace stolen vehicles

2012-01-11T07:51:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: The city police plan to form a dedicated cell to trace stolen vehicles. Motor vehicle thefts have increased by 13% in 2011, compared to 2010 and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) are favorites for thieves, as is the colour white. Police said many of these vehicles are sold off in Nepal.

“Our emphasis will be on solving motor vehicle thefts. We will form a dedicated cell to trace stolen vehicles by next month,” said Himanshu Roy, crime branch head. He added that an analysis of stolen vehicles has shown that in 90% cases the vehicles are white.

Police commissioner Arup Patnaik has instructed personnel to register car missing cases as thefts. The police said most cars stolen in Mumbai are sold off in rural areas in other states. Taveras, Qualis and Boleros and Scorpios top the list of stolen vehicles. Four cars stolen in Navi Mumbai were used in the Gujarat bomb blasts in 2008, he said.

Motorcycle thefts have also increased drastically and the thieves targeted mainly the Pulsar, Splendour and Passion models.

“We are also talking to vehicle manufacturers as to why these car and bike models are easier to steal,” an officer said.

In the July 2011 triple bomb blasts, a scooter parked near Zaveri Bazar on which a bomb was reportedly fitted, was stolen. “All police stations have been alerted about such thefts, and we are conducting meetings with the motor vehicle theft unit. Motor vehicle thefts will soon be curbed,” the officer said.

The Times of India, January 11, 2012

10 youths picked up in 13/7 case

2012-01-11T07:49:00.000-08:00

ILLEGAL SIM PROCURING

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) probing the 13/7 serial bomb blasts case recently picked up ten youngsters from Badlupura area near Byculla. The youths are being detained by the ATS’s Kalachowkie unit and are being questioned about the 13/7 blasts and the illegal SIM card procuring case.

Among the 10 detained are brothers Mohammed Rafi and Mohammed Wasi, who own a leather bag manufacturing unit. Their eight employees are also being questioned.

The three men detained last week by the ATS will be
produced before the Mazgaon court on Wednesday. “They were produced before the court and sent to judicial custody till January 24. The court will be hearing their bail application on Wednesday,” their lawyer, advocate Khalid Azmi, said. Though the youths were initially questioned for their suspected role in their July blasts, they were later booked in a forgery and cheating case.

“The ATS has assured the families of these arrested youths that it won’t oppose their bail,” said Mahemoodul Hasan Hakimi, an activist who has been coordinating with the families. Minister for minority affairs, Arif Naseem Khan, has also spoken to the ATS chief about the youths, Hakimi added. The trio, Qamar-e-Aalam Shaikh, Abdul Wahab and Naseem Shahejahan, was arrested for procuring 14 SIM cards from central Mumbai on forged documents. All three are engineering students from Bihar.

Mohammed Rafi and Mohammed Wasi also belong to Wahab’s home town in Bihar. “We don’t know why they have not been released yet,” said Hakimi.

The Times of India, January 11, 2012

Cops looking for cashier who stole 4cr from firm

2012-01-11T07:48:00.000-08:00

MISSING SINCE DECEMBER 21

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The D B Marg police are looking for a 34-year-old cashier who allegedly stole Rs 3.87 crore in cash from the foreign exchange firm he worked for in south Mumbai.

The owner of the firm, Rajesh Himatlal (54), said that the accused, Dilip Deshmukh, has been with the firm, NL Forex Limited, for the last 16 years. “We are trying to trace him. He is not at his home in Nalasopara,” said an officer. Sources said the cops are trying to find him by tracking his cellphone location.

The theft took place between December 1 and December 21. “The theft was noticed only when the company was doing its audit,” said DCP Anil Kumbhare. “The RBI had an audit on November 30, following which currency of different countries was stored at the firm’s Grant Road office. Last month, Himatlal asked Deshmukh for the locker keys. Deshmukh handed over the keys and since then, has been untraceable. The owners found out about the theft only on December 21,” said an officer.

The police are also recording the statements of other employees and checking CCTV camera footage to check if the money was stolen in one go or over a period of time.

The Times of India, January 11, 2012

Cops fund slum children’s education in Antop Hill

2012-01-09T07:37:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Antop Hill police areon an education drive. Personnel from this police station identified 18 students from various slums who dropped out of school and are either working to support their families or are unemployed. They have now been admitted to a night school.

Shamsher Pathan, incharge of the police station, said, “We first did a survey about dropouts in our jurisdiction. We called them and their parents to the police station and counselled them. They then agreed to continue their studies.” He added that some parents had tears in their eyes after the police personnel told them that they would pay all the fees and provide uniforms and stationery. “We don’t want these children to become drug addicts or roam aroundlike many unemployed youth do. So, we contacted the office bearers of Allana Municipal night school. The school authorities were also forthcoming and these 18 students have started going to school,” Pathan added.

The boys have been admitted to class V to class VII. “We aim that these students at least pass class X or XII. We will later see if we could help them find jobs. As of now, we have given them some books and notebooks. Next week we will be distributing uniforms to them,” said Pathan. He added that these boys are being given training in Urdu, Marathi and spoken English. “We are also trying to contact some shop owners who could employ these students so that while learning, they can earn as well,” he said.

TheAntop Hill policehave roped in an educationist, Saleem Alware, who is visiting the school to check the students’ academic activities twice a week. “We are hoping to get the results soon. We patrol the entire area so we know about many children who quit studies and do not work, leading to fights at home due to financial crisis,” a police officer added.

mateen .hafeez @timesgroup .com

The Times of India, January 9, 2012

Trio arrested by ATS gets clean chit in 13/7 case

2012-01-09T07:35:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: The three youths picked up from Punjab and Bihar, after the police suspected their involvement in the 13/7 blasts in Mumbai, have been given a clean chit in the terror case. However, they will remain in police custody as they are facing charges of forgery and criminal intimidation.

The ATS last week arrested Qamar-e-Aalam and Abdul Wahab from Punjab and Naseem Shahejahan from Bihar after it was found that they had bought more than 14 SIM cards on forged documents. “We have not found anything to prove their role in the Mumbai blasts case. But procuring more than a dozen SIM cards on fake papers does raise an alarm. They also do not seem to have links with the suspected IM operatives caught in Delhi,” a senior ATS official told TOI. “They bought the SIM cards before as well as after 13/7. The shop owners in central Mumbai who sold the cards were also summoned.” A source said the officials suspected that the three could have been involved in the terror act as they had bought 14 SIM cards but their own mobiles were switched off a few days before July 13, 2011.

The youngsters, sent to police custody till Tuesday, are mechanical engineering students and were supposed to appear for exams just two days after they were rounded up. When UP and Bihar residents met ATS chief Rakesh Maria on Friday, he assured them that injustice would not be done. The officers have requested the boys’ families not to speak to the media.

The Times of India, January 9, 2012

‘Probe ’07 SoBo accident again’

2012-01-06T07:19:00.000-08:00

The driver arrested said he was not the real accused but was asked to be the fall guy

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The family of Shabbir Dharamsey, who died in an accident on Marine Drive in 2007, has urged the court to order reinvestigation since they believe the driver arrested in this case is not the real accused.

On March 23, 2007, Dharamsey (44) and his wife Nadia (42) were going to have ice cream after dinner when a speeding car rammed into their scooter. Nadia was flung from the scooter and landed on the bonnet of the car. Her hair got entangled in the car’s windscreen and she was dragged by the car till her hair broke and she fell on the road.

WhileNadia was rushedtoBombay Hospital, Dharamsey was found after half an hour. He died after being taken tohospital.Nadia wasin ICUwith multiple injuries, including a brain haemorrhage, a broken spine, pelvic fractures, a fractured skull, pierced lungs, liver injury and internal bleeding. She was unconscious for 15 days.

Faraaz, their son, said that they suspect that Farhan Mansoor Ahmed, who was arrested for the accident, was not the real accused. “My mother had clearly seen four teenaged boys in the car. The accused were replaced with fake ones after the accident,” said Faraaz. Dharamsey’s lawyer, Kalpesh Patil,saidthey werehoping thecourtwill order the police to reopen the case.

On November 21 last year, Ahmed filed an affidavit in the court saying he was notthe real accused.“Atthetimeof the accident, I was working as a personal driver. My boss called me to Marine Drive police station and stated that a minor accident had taken place and if I take responsibility for the accident, his younger brother, who actually caused the accident, would be saved. On humanitarian grounds, I agreed to take the responsibility and I was arrested,” Ahmed stated. “I was released after 12 days and then came to know that a man had died in the accident. I have been dragged into court proceedings which I don’t understand since I am not literate enough to understand these legal issues. I want to say that I was not at the wheel when the accident took place,”Ahmedstatedin the affidavit. He has named someone else who, according to him, was at the wheel at the time of the accident.

The Times of India, January 6, 2012

Trio grilled on 13/7 blasts booked in docu forgery case

2012-01-06T07:07:00.000-08:00

FAMILIES IN DARK

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The anti-terrorism squad (ATS), probing the 13/7 serial bomb blast cases, booked the two engineering students from Bihar and their friend, Naseem Shahejahan, for procuring more than 10 SIM cards on forged documents. These youngsters have been remanded in police custody till January 10.

The police booked Shahejahan (20), Qamar-e-Aalam Shaikh and Abdul Wahab. They were first picked up along with their two roommates, Tanveer Aalam and Mohammed Ashraf. Tanveer and Wahabwereinterrogated at Kharar police station in Mohali by an ATS inspector, Kedar Pawar. Another team picked up Shahejahan from Bihar.

Wahab’s brother, Aaftab Alam, told TOI, “I had been searching for my brother and finally found him at ATS’s Kalachowkie unit. The police did not tell us the details of the case Wahab has been booked in.” According to Alam, the ATS also suggested that they not to inform the media as it may “defame” the family.

NoATS officer waswilling to comment on the case. “I did not pickthem up,”saidPawar. Alam further said that the police have told them that Wahab will be produced before the court on January 10. Shaikh’s father, Shakir Hussain, is still hunting for his son. “I went to Mazgaon court
on Thursday to find if the police had produced my son before the court so that I could talktohim andfindoutthedetails why he had been detained. However, I came back empty-handed,” said Hussain. Shaikh was studying in Mumbai but could not afford the fees. “I sent him to a college in Mohali and paid Rs 85,000,” said Hussain.

The ATS is yet to make a breakthroughin the13/7serial blast cases.

The Times of India, January 6, 2012

EOW moves court to cancel fraud firm COO’s bail

2012-01-05T03:33:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The economic offences wing (EOW), which is probing the multi-crore Speak-Asia fraud, has moved the sessions court for the cancellation of bail granted to the company’s chief operating officer, Tarak Bajpai. The police said that Bajpai failed to furnish sureties within the stipulated time and had not been visiting the EOW office.

Bajpai (36) and nine others were arrested in July last year for cheating investors (also known as panelists). “Bajpai and Rajeev Mehrotra, technical head for the SpeakAsia portal, were admitted to Thane’s Jupiter Hospital after they complained of health problems. While the co-accused in the case were taken into custody by the Hyderabad police in another case, these two disappeared and did not attend the court since then,” said an EOW officer. The fraud, as per EOW records, has crossed the figure of Rs 2,276 crore so far.

“The court, while granting bail to Bajpai, had asked him to attend the investigating officer/office every week. Moreover, he was given bail on Rs 3 lakh in cash. However, the court had asked him to furnish personal sureties from Mumbai, Thane and Panvel within eight weeks. He neither appeared before the investigators nor did he furnish the personal surety so far. Hence, we have approached the court for the cancellation of his bail,” said the officer. The police further said that Bajpai was avoiding cooperating with the police. Meanwhile, Mehrotra has approached the Supreme Court asking to quash an FIR against him in a Hyderabad police station. He has also challenged the cancellation of his anticipatory bail application by a Hyderabad court.

The other accused, Shaikh Rais Latif (32), assistant for daily portal operations and incharge of regular pop-ups, and Ravi Janakraj Khanna (44), finance accountant, who were also arrested, are also not attending the EOW office. “We are planning to move the court for cancellation of their bail as well,” said the officer.

SpeakAsia Scam: SpeakAsia started an online service under which each investor (panelist) would be given two surveys a week to complete on an annual fee of Rs 11,000. If the investor successfully completed all the surveys, he or she would be entitled to Rs 52,000 a year.

The Times of India, January 5, 2012

Two youth picked up from Punjab, grilled on 13/7 blasts

2012-01-05T03:31:00.000-08:00

Mumbai: Two youth, aged 19 and 20, were picked up from Mohali in Punjab by the Maharashtra ATS and brought to Mumbai. It is learnt that the duo was grilled about the July 13 blasts of 2011 in the city. Qamar-e-Aalam Shaikh and Abdul Wahab, both residents of Darbhanga in Bihar, were interrogated at Kharar police station in Punjab before being brought to Mumbai.

Shaikh is a first-year BTech student while Wahab is pursuing a diploma in mechanical engineering. Their two roommates, Tanveer Aalam and Mohammed Ashraf, were also detained by the Kharar police but subsequently released.

Ashraf, who was released on Tuesday, told TOI, “Neither did the cops told us why we were being detained nor did not show us their IDs.”

Mohali SSP Gurpreet Sing said he was busy and would talk about the youth later. Senior ATS officials did not respond. Sources said the youth were questioned in a forgery and cheating case registered in Mumbai as well. TNN

The Times of India, January 5, 2012

Focus on IM man’s Pune terror ‘link’

2012-01-03T03:27:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) is likely to bring one of the six suspected members of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) to Pune this week. The suspect, Qateel Siddiqui, is at present lodged in a jail in New Delhi.

The Delhi police in the first week of December arrested Mohammed Adil alias Shoeb, Siddiqui, Irshad Khan, Gauhar Khomani, Gayur Jamali and Abdur Rehman. Police claimed the six were involved in the blasts at Chinnaswamy stadium, German Bakery and Jama Masjid. The ATS is clear about Siddiqui’s role in a case. An ATS officer said, “Siddiqui is not involved in Pune’s German Bakery bomb blast but we want to bring him for questioning in connection with the Dagduseth temple case where a bomb was planted.” While Siddiqui took part in planting a bomb near the temple, he was not part of the bakery blast case module, said ATS chief Rakesh Maria. The ATS had arrested only one person, Mirza Himayat Baig, in connection with the German Bakery blast. The police are now trying to establish a link between the bakery blast and the temple bomb-planting case.

Siddiqui and Baig were involved in ferrying the consignments carrying bombs to various locations in Pune like the German Bakery and the Dagduseth Halwai Ganapati temple-.While the blast at the bakery went as planned, the attempt at the temple failed. Siddiqui rushed to Mumbai and threw the explosive that was meant to go off at the Pune temple into the sea at Worli, the police said.

The Times of India, January 3, 2012

Police monitor revellers via CCTVs

2012-01-01T03:22:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: As the year 2011 drew to an end, 20 closed circuit television cameras, which the police had installed at the Gateway of India, trained their eyes on the nearly one lakh revellers. This time, the CCTVs were being used to track not just potential terror suspects but also eveteasers and inebriated citizens intent on flouting the law.

“We also erected watch towers at key locations. Footage from the CCTVs will be monitored by police personnel who will be connected to the other staff on the field through a wireless system,” said a senior police officer.

While Mumbaikars celebrated, around 40,000 men and women in khaki—including senior police inspectors—patrolled the streets till 3am, after which they monitored the law and order situation from their respective police stations. At crowded public spots like Juhu Beach, female constables and officers in plainclothes mingled with citizens to ensure that women were not
harassed.

“Even the quick response team commandos were in position to reach any trouble spot within five to seven minutes if required,” said a police official.

Meanwhile, the state excise department personnel conducted raids at Thane, Navi Mumbai and several other parts of Mumbai, and arrested over half a dozen people for selling spurious imported liquor. The excise department seized spurious liquor worth Rs 5 lakh on Saturday. “We are verifying whether these liquor bottles were to be used in some party or were to be sent to some bar. These suspects were unable to furnish any license or document to prove the legality of the liquor,” said a source from the excise department.

The Times of India, January 1, 2012

No encounter stains on khaki in 2011

2011-12-31T08:53:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

The year ends on a positive note for Mumbai Police: it is the first year since 1991 without any ‘encounters’.

The absence of even a single encounter death in 2011 is in sharp contrast to the situation a decade ago when 94 encounter killings took place.

Since 2001, the city police gunned down 272 suspected gangsters and terrorists. The Chhota Rajan gang was crippled as 97 of its members were killed in encounters, the Dawood Ibrahim gang lost 46. Police records show only seven gangsters were killed in 2010. “As most dreaded gangsters have either been killed or fled the city, there is no need for stern action (like encounters) against petty criminals,” said a senior crime branch official.

But a major reason why 2011 has been encounter-free is because encounter specialists had their wings clipped as the courts took a tough stand against such killings. Over the years, mumbai Police lost several cops responsible for the infamous killings. Three inspectors — Vijay Salaskar, Pradip Sharma and Praful Bhosale — were credited with 99% of the encounter killings. But while Salaskar was killed during 26/11, Sharma was arrested in connection with a staged encounter and Bhosale held for the suspected encounter killing of blast accused Khwaja Yunus. Bhosale, though, was later cleared of charges and reinstated. Two other cops were not so lucky. Sachin Waze was suspended and later resigned from the force, while senior inspector Arun Borude, on the run after being accused of a minor’s rape, allegedly committed suicide in December 2010.

“During the 90s and early 2000, the underworld had forced the police to take the extreme step of killing them. Dozens of businessmen, developers and film personalities were killed for extortion and the gangsters tried to create panic among everyone. However, timely police action crippled the gangs,” said a policeman. A senior officer added, “Encounters are not pre-planned. At least four suspects who were injured in encounters were rushed to hospitals and were saved.”

While encounters have been on every year since 1991, the decade began with the killing of four youths in their early 20s, near Patwardhan Garden, Bandra. Police claimed they were planning to kill Ashutosh Gowarikar, director of Lagaan which released that year, and the film’s lead actor Aamir Khan, at the behest of gangster Abu Salem.

The most controversial recent encounter was of Ramnarayan Gupta alias Lakhan Bhaiyya, in 2006. Senior inspector Pradip Suryavanshi is in jail in the case.

In 2008, an 18-year-old youth, Mohammed Imran, was killed in an encounter in Powai along with one Chandrakant Sahni. The crime branch claimed the duo was planning to kill a developer. Imran’s family said he was mentally challenged, but the crime branch claimed it had “recordings” of his conversation with Sahni, who they said was a gangster.

The Times of India, December 31, 2011

ATS sleuths double as paanwallahs

2011-12-30T08:52:00.000-08:00

HOT ON TRAIL OF THREE 13/7 SUSPECTS

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) is hopeful of making a breakthrough in the 13/7 serial blasts case. The sleuths have started keeping round-theclock watch on two persons from Govandi and one from Mumbra for their suspected involvement in the blasts.

It is learnt that following a tip-off by some informants, ATS sleuths—disguised as p a a n-b i d i shop owners—are monitoring the trio’s activities closely. Three RDX bombs exploded at Opera House, Zaveri Bazar and near Dadar station on July 13 this year, claiming 27 lives and injuring over 100.

The ATS officers were tightlipped about the move. “We are close to making a breakthrough in the case. Commenting on it at this juncture may ruin our probe,” said an officer. Sources said that one of the two persons from Govandi is a class XII dropout while another is an undergraduate. Sources avoided any sharing of information about the Mumbra resident.

It is learnt that the suspects’ phones are being tapped while their movement and the people they are meeting are also being examined. They have previous criminal records, said a source. A police team has also taken a room on rent in Govandi near the suspects’ residences to monitor their activities.

This is the second time the agency is hoping to crack the case. Earlier, after it found that the scooter used to plant a bomb at Zaveri Bazar was stolen, the ATS had activated all its informants to trace the bike thieves. However, after several weeks of restless probe, the ATS could not find the thieves. In case of the Ahmedabad blasts in 2008, the Mumbai crime branch had made a breakthrough by arresting a car thief, Afzal Usmani from Govandi. Usmani was suspected to have stolen four cars from Navi Mumbai which were later used to plant explosives in Ahmedabad and Surat. Usmani’s arrest was followed by the arrest of the 20 others whom the police claimed were Indian Mujahideen members.

The Times of India, December 30, 2011

11 excise squads to curb smuggling of illicit liquor

2011-12-29T08:50:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez| TNN

Mumbai: The state excise department has arrested 50 people over the past 20 days for manufacturing and selling spurious liquors worth Rs 40 lakh. In a bid to rein in such people and to keep the smuggling of spurious liquor at bay, the department has formed 11 special squads to keep a hawk’s eye before the New Year’s Eve.

“We are working hard to gather intelligence and have activated our informants’ network as well. The department is monitoring the activities of suspected spurious drug/liquor manufacturers as well as sellers,” said Mohan Varde, superintendent of state excise. “Our staff is also gathering details on history sheeters and suppliers on the Goa, Daman and Diu borders.” Talking about a recent raid at Grant Road, Varde said, “We have recently seized 84,000 litre spurious imported liquor. They were being smuggled into the city and sold as imported liquors.” The department is also scanning the records of bootleggers and if they are found involved in making spurious liquor, they will be booked under the Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949.

Though they are working overtime, Varde added, the department was plagued by the shortage in manpower, which posed a great hurdle in conducting raids. “We have only 66 personnel to cover half the city. Sometimes, it becomes difficult to gather information about illicit drugs, medicines, narcotics or liquor being smuggled and sold in the city,” admitted Varde.

150 booked for drunk driving
On Wednesday night, the traffic police booked 150 motorists for drunk driving. Of them, 63 have been sentenced to simple imprisonment. A special crackdown against drunk drivers, which started on Christmas Eve, will end on the New Year’s Eve. This December 31, the local police will also assist the traffic cops in the drive. TNN

The Times of India, December 29, 2011

Cops may go soft on jail stir

2011-12-28T08:49:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: The state government is not keen on taking action against protesters who are part of the Anna Hazare campaign. Senior police officials say that arresting protesters may create a problem as most of them are students or are employed. “A police case could create a problem for them in future,” said an officer.

On December 24, TOI had reported that the police planned to detain and release the protesters. “Until they do not commit a crime, why would we arrest them?” asked Rajnish Seth, joint commissioner of police (law & order). Seth said they had deployed police personnel in and around the MMRDA grounds to handle the situation.

The anti-corruption activist urged people across the country to court arrest on December 30 if the government doesn’t pass a strong bill.

If the protesters insist on a jail bharo, they could be taken to the police ground at Kalina or the nearest police station. “Converting the MMRDA grounds into a police prison could be difficult since there will be a problem of food and other things as well,” said an officer. There is a plan to convert the MMRDA ground into a prison. However, a decision on this has not yet been taken. Under the Bombay Police Act, the police can declare any area as a jail and detain people there. “Protesters could be detained and their names, addresses and other details will be taken before they are released,” said the officer. So far, 17,646 people have registered for the jail bharo agitation.

THE CITY POLICE ACT
Section 68: A person is bound to conform to the reasonable directions of the police
Section 69: It gives the police powers to restrain and remove anyone for reasons of security and law & order

SPOT SECURITY
Bomb detection and disposal squad teams | 2
Emergency exits | 6
Fire extinguishers | 16
Metal detectors | 16
Round-the-clock ambulances services

The Times of India, December 28, 2011

Fraud firm spent 100cr on realty, cars

2011-12-26T08:47:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Office bearers of alleged fraud firm Speak-Asia had invested around Rs 100 crore in commercial galas at prominent shopping malls in the city, flats in posh buildings and cars. This was revealed during the probe on the firm across across several nations.

An officer from the economic offences wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police said that the properties were bought over the past one year. “We have identified the properties in over a dozen buildings and shopping malls. In some buildings, the flats cost over Rs 12-13 crore. The accused also used the money to buy costly vehicles. Two Mercedes cars have been seized and we are planning to seize more,” the officer said.

The police say that they don’t want to disclose the properties at this stage. “We are securing these properties. Once the process is completed, we will request the court to attach them,” the officer added. The officer was reluctant to talk about the locations and names of the buildings and malls where Speak Asia office bearers own properties.

The EOW, which is probing the alleged multi-crore fraud case, said that a red corner notice had been issued against Manoj Kumar Sharma, the Indian chief of the firm. “We received information that Sharma had transferred huge sums of money from India to the United Bank of Singapore, and from there to Latin America,” said Rajvardhan Sinha, additional police commissioner, EOW.

While nine persons were taken into custody by the police of various districts and states in the country, the company’s chief operating officer (COO), Tarak Bajpai, managed to jump bail and has disappeared. “Bajpai is still at large,” said Sinha.
Bajpai told police he was a flight lieutenant before joining the multi-level marketing business in 2004. Police sources said that some of the accused still pretend to be victims and had even filed writ petitions in the Bombay High Court and Supreme Court stating that their business was completely legal.

“However, we have informed the court that a case has been registered against the company and that they have duped lakhs of people,” said Shelke. The police said that the alleged fraud took place between March 2010 and May 2011.

A police officer said that in such cases, the investors can also be booked under the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978 since they are essentially gambling.

Online Fraud On A Bigger Scale
Private firm Speak Asia started an online service under which each investor (panelist) would be given two surveys a week to complete on an annual fee of Rs 11,000. If the investor successfully completed all the surveys, he or she would be entitled to Rs 52,000 a year.

The fraud took place between March 2010 and May 2011. During this period, the company had duped over 24 lakh investors. The amount that investors were scammed out of has gone up to Rs 2,276 crore. Red corner notices have been issued against the office-bearers of the company.

The Times of India, December 26, 2011

Malegaon suspect filed 702 RTI queries in 5 yrs

2011-12-26T08:44:00.000-08:00

Farog Makhdoomi (centre) got 50 lakh pages of RTI answers

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Unani doctor Farog Makhdoomi, a 2006 Malegaon bomb blasts suspect, had filed 702 right to Information (RTI) applications during his fiveyear imprisonment in various jails in the state. Makhdoomi, now 38, was released on bail along with six other accused last month. He received 50 lakh pages of RTI answers and references while in jail.

The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) had claimed that Makhdoomi, son of a schoolteacher, was one of the prime conspirators in the blast conspiracy. However, claims by the ATS fell short during the course of investigation after Swami Aseemanand, member of a right wing outfit, confessed to his involvement in the blasts. A medical practitioner by profession, Makhdoomi kept filing RTI applications on various issues like food in the jails, Islamic banking, reservation for Muslims, Sachar commission, Mishra commission, the Indian system of medicine, distant education, etc.

Makhdoomi said, “My first RTI application was about the jail canteen’s food. Edibles worth Rs 40 were being sold for Rs 140. When I tried exposing the corruption in the Arthur Road jail, the then superintendent made our lives miserable.” He added that he did not receive a reply when he asked for the procedure followed for filling up the vacancies at the Malegaon civil hospital. The residents of Malegaon had been demanding that victims of the blasts should be given preference when there are vacancies at the hospital. He has also obtained the records of the detention of a co-accused “which prove that he was detained and kept in custody illegally”.

In February this year, Makhdoomi appeared for the PhD Entrance Test. Having completed his Bachelor of Unani Medicine degree in 1997, Makhdoomi studied for his MA in Urdu while in custody in 2009. He has been securing a first class so far and passed the PhD entrance as well. While in prison, he did his post graduate diploma in disaster management through IGNOU. He was also appointed the coordinator for distant education by the jail authorities and helped 80 inmates appear for various examinations.

Speaking about his applications, he said, “The state textile ministry, with funds of Rs 1,100 crore, announced plans for textile parks in 11 cities but ignored Malegaon, which is the second largest textile centre in the state. I realized this through my applications.”

The Times of India, December 26, 2011

166 ‘Hajis’ go missing in Saudi Arabia - Part Of Begging Racket?

2011-12-24T08:43:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: As many as 166 pilgrims, who went to Saudi Arabia on pretext of Haj, are missing. These 166 are suspected to be Indian beggars who go to the holy city for begging in the guise of Haj pilgrims. Their mastermind, Sharful Haque, a resident of West Bengal, was arrested earlier by the Kolkata police.

The disappearance was reported to the Central Haj Committee of India when the 166 pilgrims did not report to the airport in Jeddah. “They are suspected to be beggars and part of a huge racket,” said Dr Shakir Husain, chief executive officer of the Central Haj Committee. He added there was no information about the whereabouts of the 166 pilgrims who belonged to Murshidabad in West Bengal.

“We have written to the head of the West Bengal Haj Committee, asking about the approval of these beggars’ applications. Our office has informed the chief secretary of West Bengal,” added Husain. Sources said the doctors who issued medical certificates to such beggars could be grilled during the police probe. An inquiry has begun in the Haj Committee of India. Husain said these beggars go do not even stay in the quarters allotted to Haj pilgrims in Mecca and Madinah. “It was the duty of the State Haj Committee to identify such people and stop them,” said Husain.

Three months ago, the Haj Committee officials found at least a dozen people who had used different photographs on the passports but their names were the same on the previous passports. Some of them had new passport numbers as well. “When a few beggars were detained in Saudi Arabia, they spilled the beans about the racket and mastermind Haque. The Council General passed on this information to the Haj Committee and Haque was arrested in Kolkata while trying to board a flight,” said sources.

BS Mubarak, Consul Haj in Jeddah, said whoever is identified staying in Saudi Arabia illegally is sent to their respective countries. “We have identified around 30 people who were involved in activities that are not fit for Haj pilgrims and sent them back to India.”

The Times of India, December 24, 2011

MLA’s ‘aide’ held for duping trader of 34L

2011-12-23T08:42:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The L T Marg police on Thursday arrested a 39-yearold man for posing as Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) MLA Bala Nandgaonkar’s personal assistant and cheating a diamond trader of over Rs34lakh.

The accused,Kailash Singh, told the complainant that the MLA’s daughter was getting married and he wanted to buy diamond jewellery. The MLA’s daughter is nine years’ old.

“Singh had worked with some jewellers and knew many of them. In this case, he approached one of his acquaintances, Naresh Jain, and told him that Nandgaonkar’s daughter was to marry and he wanted to buy some diamond ornaments for her. Jain took Singh to another diamond trader, Viman Jain, at Opera House. Viman gave diamond ornaments worth over Rs 2 crore. A few days later, Singh returned the jewellery except a diamond necklace worth Rs 28 lakh,” said the officer. He added that Singh later took diamond-studdedbanglesworthRs6.53lakh.

When Singh did not return, thetrader triedcalling him,but Singh did not pick up his calls. Later, Singh told him that Nandgaonkar was busy with the wedding and the payment would be made only after the ceremony.

Nandgaonkar said, “I don’t knowwho Singhis.Heis not my PA.Moreover,thetrader should have verified Singh’s credentials with me or the police before handing him over jewellery worthcroresof rupees.”

The Times of India, December 223, 2011

Fraudsters use ACP’s ID to buy SIM card

2011-12-22T08:41:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: An assistant commissioner of police (ACP) recently found that his documents had been wrongly used for a cellphone connection. The officer, who is currently attached to the city crime branch’s computer and data wing, learnt about the fraud when a mobile bill was delivered at his residence.

“The bill amount (Rs 86) was not high. However, it’s a serious offence as someone used my documents to procure the SIM card,” the ACP who did not wish to be named said.

According to the officer, he received a call last month from a girl who identified herself as Sapna and informed him about some schemes on internet connection. “A few days later, someone came to my house and collected my photo and a copy of my identification proof. I paid Rs 500 to avail of the scheme,” said the ACP.

The bill showed that at least 63 calls were made till December 8. “The bill had my name and address printed on it. I called up on the number printed on the bill and found that it belonged to a businessman in Kandivli who identified himself as Kothari. He told me that he has been using the number and had submitted his documents,” the officer said.

Last year, the city police found that around 28,000 SIM cards, belonging to various mobile companies, were issued on fake documents.

The Times of India, December 22, 2011

Ishrat case: CBI team to visit Malegaon

2011-12-21T08:38:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The CBI team probing the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case will soon visit Malegaon. After shooting Ishrat and three others, the Gujarat police in 2004 claimed that the 18-year-old along with another deceased had stayed at a Malegaon hotel and they were part of a Lashkar-e-Taiba module.

The Gujarat police had then said that Ishrat and another deceased Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai had stayed in Hotel Radhika where they hatched plans for anti-national activities. The police had alleged that those killed in the encounter were on a mission to eliminate Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.

It will take some time to decide on the arrest of the suspects. “The special investigation team inquired into the case for almost two-and-ahalf years. We have got some papers from them. However, we have to start our investigation afresh and ascertain everyone’s role,” said a police source. “The initial documents are in Gujarati. We have to translate them to understand and then fix a direction for the investigation as per the evidence,” the officer said.

“First we have to see why the police personnel believed that Ishrat was a terrorist. Did they have any reliable information about her involvement anywhere? Once we get answers of all these questions, we will decide the further course of action,” the officer added.

The Times of India, December 21, 2011

Squad to tackle minorities’ plaints

2011-12-19T07:12:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Maharashtra police have formed special squads in all districts to deal with the minority community. The squads will compile reports on the minority community’s problems, alleged atrocities and pay more attention to its complaints.

State police sources said the squad will co-ordinate with the inspector (community) in all police stations in a district on a daily basis for complaints of harassment or atrocities. The squads, said sources, are now collecting reports of such cases. “These are being updated on a daily basis and will be sent to state police headquarters on a monthly basis,” said a police source. Police sources said the move follows repeated complaints of illegal detentions and harassment of suspects’ families. It is also learnt that the reports will be sent to the central government for reference since complainants at times approach the Union government as well. “These reports will then be forwarded to the state minorities commission,” said a policeman.

The special squad is also in charge of preparing reports on ill-treatment of children and women. “Though there are several helplines for children and women, this system will definitely benefit them,” said the officer.

In many cases, members of the minority community have alleged police atrocities. For instance, after the 13/7 blasts in the city this year, Faiz Usmani, a Govandi grocery shop owner detained by the crime branch, died in police custody. While police said he was suffering from blood pressure and other health-related problems, his wife alleged police torture. A state CID team is probing the case.

“Even during riot-like situations, the minority community complains of bias in maintaining law and order. Such complaints will be taken on record and a proper report will be compiled,” the source said. However, no decision has been taken regarding action against cops accused by the minority community.

The Times of India, December 19, 2011

Man held for cheating developer of 6.5cr

2011-12-17T07:11:00.000-08:00

Rajshri Mehta & Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The economic offences wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police on Friday arrested Fortbased developer Homi Patrawala for allegedly duping suburban developer Ashok Mohanani of the Ekta Group of Rs 6.5 crore over the purchase of a bungalow plot at Khar. Police investigations revealed that Patrawala allegedly misrepresented the identity of the original plot owner and siphoned the money from the Fort branch of a co-operative bank.

In his complaint to the Kherwadi police, Mohanani said he was approached by Patrawala, owner, Snowgold Constructions Pvt Ltd, with an offer for a 202 sq m plot ‘Arun Bhavan’ belonging to one Sushila Jadhav (75) with whom he claimed to have signed a letter of intent to transfer and assign the property. In September, Mohanani reached an agreement with Patrawala, involving purchase of shares of Patrawala’s company for Rs 1.93 crore and paying Rs 6 crore when the property was transferred in his name.

A preoccupied Mohanani signed an agreement to sub-lease the property in April without the family being present, as Patrawala told him he had given the family a pay order for Rs 6 crore.

Patrawala kept delaying the registration of the deed, saying the Jadhavs wanted time to vacate. Mohanani happened to meet Jadhav and asked her what the issue was, and Jadhav said she had no agreement with Patrawala’s company. Worried, she filed a case against Mohanani, who then complained to joint police commissioner Himanshu Roy.

The Times of India, December 17, 2011

Group for legal aid to 11/ 7 suspects

2011-12-16T07:09:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: After securing bail for the 2006 Malegaon blasts suspects, a Malegaonbased group is planning to provide legal assistance to suspects in the 11/7 train blasts and the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul cases.

“We believe that those arrested in the arms haul case have been framed by the police,” said advocate Irfana Hamdani, one of the legal cell members of the Kul-Jamaati Tanzeem.

“Several 11/7 train blasts accused asked us to provide legal help,” he added. T h e g r o u p was formed in 2006 after the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) picked up seven youngsters from Malegaon for allegedly executing four bomb blasts in the powerloom town.

In May 2006, the Maharashtra ATS claimed to have seized RDX, 16 AK-47 rifles, 3,200 live cartridges, 50 grenades and other ammunition near Aurangabad, Malegaon and Ankai village. The police arrested 21 people and said they belonged to the outlawed SIMI.

Similarly, the ATS probe into the 11/7 train blasts caseisfacing questions.The ATS arrested 13 persons alleging they belonged to SIMI and plantedseven bombs in local trains on July 11, 2006. However, two years later the Mumbai crime branch claimed the Indian Mujahideen was behind the blasts and arrested 21 suspected members.

The Times of India, December 16, 2011

‘My father is not a conspirator’

2011-11-17T06:52:00.000-08:00

A REUNION TO REMEMBER

Mateen Hafeez & Rebecca Samervel | TNN

Mumbai: “All our relatives have gathered back home in Malegaon to welcome my son. We are just waiting to take him back as soon as he comes out,” said Iqbal Makhdoomi, a senior citizen and father of Dr Farog Makhdoomi, waiting for the gates of the Arthur Road jail to open up on Wednesday.

His son was one of the seven 2006 Malegaon blasts accused who walked out of the Arthur
Road and Byculla prisons on Wednesday after being granted bail on November 5.

The seven men came out of the two jails around 5.30pm, much to the delight and relief of the scores of people who had gathered outside. The area around the Arthur Road jail was particularly crowded, with family members of the accused jostling for space with media personnel and curious passersby.

The families had been persistently making the 300-km trip from Malegaon to Mumbai to attend court hearings, never losing faith. On Wednesday, too, that persistence showed as the 63-year-old Iqbal waited outside the jail. Iqbal, a retired schoolteacher, has spent most of his of
provident fund money and pension fighting for his son’s release.

Taking time off from school, 13-year-old Osama, who was only eight when his father Raees Ahmed was arrested in 2006, jumped with joy on seeing his father and hugged him. “Our family members have been offering namaaz since morning and my mother has cooked lots and lots of special food.” “No one in our hometown sees my father as a conspirator and I believe he has been falsely implicated by the police,” he added.

Jamil Masiullah, brother of Shabbir Ahmed, said: “We have renovated our house, changed carpets and installed huge lights. We are excited and very happy.”

Fighting off tears, Masood Ahmed, brother of another accused, Dr Salman Farsi, said: “The residents of our town stood by us. We are thankful to the people of Malegaon.”

The Times of India, November 17, 2011

5 yrs on, 7 walk out of jail

2011-11-17T06:46:00.000-08:00

WHIFF OF FREEDOM: The seven blasts accused were greeted with hugs, tears, smiles and sweets by family members, friends and other well-wishers on Wednesday evening

FREE FOR NOW, BUT LONG WAY TO GO: We Want Our Dignity & Five Years Back, Say 2006 Malegaon Blasts Accused After Being Released On Bail

Mateen Hafeez & Rebecca Samervel | TNN

Wednesday, 5.30pm. Seven men walk out of two Mumbai jails after having spent five years in dark, dingy cells. Free for now, the seven are greeted with hugs, tears, smiles and sweets, as the wait finally ends for them as well as the dozens of people who have lined up to meet them outside the prison gates.

The seven, arrested in 2006 after being accused of planning and executing the Malegaon serial bomb blasts, were recently granted bail by a MCOCA court. “We were framed. We want our dignity and five years back,” a statement by the released men said. The anger at the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) was also evident, with the seven men later alleging that the agency had been biased in its probe.

On September 8, 2006, four bombs went off in Malegaon, killing 31 people and injuring 297.

On Wednesday, six of the accused—Salman Farsi, Mohammed Zahid, Raees Ali, Shabbir Masiullah, Noor-ul-Huda and Dr Farog Makhdoomi—were released from the Arthur Road prison, while Abrar Ahmed stepped out of the Byculla jail.

Two other persons—Mohd Ali Shaikh and Asif Bashir Khan alias Junai—were also granted bail by the MCOCA court, but they would continue to remain behind bars as they are also accused in the 11/7 serial train blasts.

Following their release, all seven men were keen to reach home. But they also knew that the battle was far from over. “I am happy that we have been released. But I will find peace only after I am discharged from the case,” said Farsi, tears in his eyes.

“We want our dignity back. We want an answer as to why the police framed us,” maintained Raees Ali. Zahid said, “The police showed me as a planter, but I was 500 km away from Malegaon. The truth is coming out now.”

“I will be relieved when we are acquitted,” said Masiullah.

One of the key questions raised was regarding the ATS’s claims on the involvement of Zahid, an imam from a Yavatmal mosque. The ATS said he planted a bomb in Malegaon and left for Yavatmal the same day. “The distance between the two towns is around 1,000 km. How can you travel 1,000 km in just 12 hours on a state transport bus? The ATS said Zahid was in Malegaon that day and planted the bomb, while more than 250 Yavatmal residents filed affidavits saying Zahid was in Yavatmal on September 8, the day of the blasts,” argued a resident.

Around 500 residents of Malegaon, including politicians, religious leaders, activists, friends and family members of the accused, had been waiting outside the jails, especially Arthur Road, since Wednesday morning. The area around Arthur Road jail witnessed traffic snarls after Jamiat Ulama-E-Maharashtra members assembled to welcome the freed men. Personnel from the N M Joshi Marg police station and the crime branch were called in for bandobast duty even as two armoured vehicles were stationed outside the jail.

Soon after their release, the seven men were taken to the jamiat’s office near Bhendi Bazar. “I am thankful to Allah for this success,” said Gulzar Azmi, general secretary, of the jamiat’s legal cell. “Innocent youths were framed by the ATS and kept in prison for five years.” He also announced that compensation would be sought for the time spent behind bars.

The ATS, then headed by Krish Pal Raghuvanshi, had initially investigated the case and the CBI later took over the probe. The ATS had arrested the nine men claiming that they belonged to the banned SIMI and aided a Pakistani in executing the blasts. The case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency after the probe took a dramatic turn following Swami Aseemanand’s confession that a saffron group was behind the blasts.

The jamiat said it was waiting for the NIA’s progress report.

Minority affairs minister Arif Naseem Khan and Malegaon’s Kul Jamaati Tanzeem had been meeting P Chidambaram and Sonia Gandhi, demanding the release of the nine accused.

BLASTS & AFTER
SEPT 8, 2006 | Four RDX bombs go off in Malegaon, killing 31 people and injuring 297
DEC 21, 2006 | ATS files a 4,500-page chargesheet. Case is handed over to CBI the same day
NOV 5, 2011 | MCOCA court grants bail to nine accused
NOV 16, 2011 | Seven walk free, while two others remain in jail as they are accused in 11/7 blasts

THOSE WHO WALKED OUT ON WEDNESDAY
Noor-ul-Huda 24
Shabbir Masiullah 34
Raees Ahmed Rajjab Ali 35
Salman Farsi 40
Farog Makhdoomi 40
Mohd Zahid Abdul Majeed 35
Abrar Ahmed Saeed 35

TWO WHO REMAINED IN PRISON*
Mohd Ali Shaikh 45 and Asif Bashir Khan alias Junai 40

*Both were earlier arrested in the 11/7 train blasts case

The Times of India, November 17, 2011

RTI: ATS cop sent money to Malegaon blast accused

2011-11-14T07:39:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: A police constable attached to the Nashik unit of the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) had sent money on three occasions to one of the accused in the 2006 Malegaon bomb blasts in Byculla jail, a RTI query showed. The blast accused, Abrar Ahmed, had turned approver when he received the money but later turned hostile.

Gulzar Azmi, general secretary (legal cell), Jamiat-ul-Ulema, a socio-religious organization, had filed the RTI. In their reply, Byculla jail authorities said that constable Sadashiv Abhimanyu Patil had sent Rs 1,000 each three times between August and November 2008. The trial concerning the blasts that killed 31 people is underway in court.

The Byculla jail authorities in their reply mentioned Patil’s address as 14/501, police headquarters, Gangapur Road, Nashik, from where the money order was sent to the blast accused. Patil disconnected the telephone line when this correspondent disclosed his identity.

Ahmed’s bro complained to court about constable
Mumbai: The state antiterrorism squad’s Nashik unit had investigated the Malegaon blasts case initially and submitted a chargesheet against nine accused. A CBI team which took over the probe also endorsed the ATS findings.

Following petitions by Malegaon residents, another CBI team began the probe afresh and indicated that those arrested may not be involved. By then the National Investigating Agency (NIA) took over and recently told the court that it has no objection in granting them bail.

The court ordered their release on November 5 once they fulfilled the bail conditions. Abrar Ahmed, now 42, had mysteriously disappeared after the September 8, 2006 bomb blasts outside a mosque and in a residential area. Four bombs, made of RDX, were planted on bicycles in Malegaon. After his disappearance, Ahmed’s elder brother, advocate Jaleel Ansari, filed a habeas corpus plea in the special MCOCA court. On the court’s order, the Nashik police produced Ahmed before the court in December 2006. Ahmed, who owned a battery and inverter shop, is accused of conspiracy, assembling and planting the bombs.

Abrar, in an affidavit, in 2009, alleged that he was offered lakhs of rupees to become an approver. “As family members, Ahmed’s relatives would send money to him through money order. But why was a constable, attached to the ATS sending money? For the ATS Ahmed was a terror suspect, so why would the police send money to a man who has been termed as a conspirator, a bomb maker and a planter? A thorough inquiry should be done in this matter to find out who exactly was behind this?” said Azmi, the RTI applicant.

The then ATS chief, K P Raghuvanshi, said he wasn’t aware of the development.

Advocate Ansari said he had earlier complained to the court about Patil. “This constable would come to meet my brother in jail. After Ahmed turned hostile, Patil met him in jail and threatened him with dire consequences.”

He added, “After I complained to the court, an inquiry was set up and the jail authorities were instructed not to allow Patil to meet Ahmed,” said Ansari. A senior police officer said he was not aware about the outcome of this inquiry.

The Times of India, November 14, 2011

2 accused stay in custody over train blasts case

2011-11-12T03:39:00.000-08:00

MALEGAON BLASTS

S Ahmed Ali & Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Although the nine suspects arrested in connection with the 2006 Malegaon blast case were granted bail by the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) earlier this week, the Mumbai crime branch on Friday said two of the suspects — Mohammed Ali Aslam
Shaikh Aziz and Asif Khan —would remain in custody as they are wanted in another terror related case. Ali and Khan are also accused in the 11\7 Mumbai serial train blasts case.

Ali is an active member of SIMI and in 2005 and 2006, had sent few SIMI members to Pakistan for arms training. “We had arrested two persons Shabbir Mushirullah and Nafiz Ahmed Ansari, residents of Malegaon in Nashik and Govandi in Eastern suburbs in this case. Moreover, they were associates of Indian Mujaheedin founder member Riyaz Bhatkal,” said the police.

The Times of India, November 12, 2011

Bribery-accused top postal officer suspended again

2011-11-09T03:25:00.000-08:00

M S Bali

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Manjit Singh Bali, who was appointed as chief postmaster general of West Bengal on November 4 after an 18-month suspension, was suspended on Tuesday by the department of telecommunications (DoT).

In February 2010, Bali (59), then the chief postmaster general of Goa and Maharashtra, was suspended after he was caught by the CBI for accepting a bribe of Rs 2 crore.

“A departmental inquiry has begun against Bali (a 1978 batch Indian Postal Service officer). DoT issued his suspension order at 2 pm on Tuesday,” said a source from the general post office.

The order stated: “He (Bali) shall not leave the Kolkata headquarters without obtaining prior permission from the competent authority.”

Bali had challenged his February 2010 suspension at the central administrative tribunal (CAT), which ordered his reinstatement on November 4 this year.

The government is likely to challenge the tribunal’s order in court.

An officer of the Central Bureau of Investigation said: “We had told the tribunal that he would influence witnesses and so opposed his reinstatement.”

According to the CBI, former Mira-Bhayandar corporator Rita Shah had approached Bali on behalf of a builder in January 2010 for an NOC to develop a 2,000 sq mt Thane plot worth Rs 4 crore. Bali’s NOC was required as 25% of the land was to be used for a post office.

A CBI officer said that Shah got a call from Arun and Harsh Dalmiya of the Watermark Financial Consultancy, Nariman Point, asking her to meet them at their office. “There they demanded bribe on Bali’s behalf. When Shah met Bali again, he confirmed the demand. Shah then approached us (the CBI), which recorded on camera Bali’s visit to the plot accompanied by the Dalmiyas.

“When Shah went to the Dalmiyas’ office with the money, we apprehended the father-son duo accepting it. At the same time, we told them to play along till Bali was trapped. So, Harsh Dalmiya called up Bali and told him that the money had been received. Bali asked him to hand over the money at a restaurant at Badhwar Park in Cuffe Parade. We caught Bali red-handed accepting the money stuffed in a black bag.”

CBI Caught M S Bali Accepting 2 Crore
FEB 24, 2010 | M S Bali, chief postmaster general of Goa and Maharashtra, is arrested, along with two others, for accepting a bribe of 2 crore

FEB 25 | CBI raids Bali’s residence and recovers 34 lakh in foreign currency, seven high-end laptops and 45 bottles of imported liquor

FEB 26 | Bali is suspended

FEB 27 | CBI finds Bali owns properties in Faridabad, Panchkula, Dwarka, Bhopal and Gurgaon, collectively valued at 1 crore. CBI also discovers 22 bank accounts belonging to Bali containing 26 lakh

NOV 4, 2011 | Bali is reinstated and appointed chief postmaster general of West Bengal

NOV 8 | Department of telecommunications issues suspension order, institutes departmental inquiry

The Times of India, November 9, 2011

Lawyers of accused made 60 trips to court in 5 years

2011-11-06T03:24:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: “This was our 60th trip to the Mumbai court. Each time we came to the city, we hoped we will be successful in getting the accused out of jail,” said advocate Nihal Ansari, a lawyer in the legal cell of Jamiat-ul-Ulema (Maharashtra) on Saturday after the nine youths arrested in the 2006 Malegaon blasts case got bail.

The Jamiat, the Malegaon Kul Jamaati Tanzeem, an NGO, and the residents of Malegaon had been closely following the blasts case. “We stood united and proved the ATS theory wrong,” said Irfana Hamdani, another lawyer. The lawyers played a major role in securing bail for the nine youth, who they insisted had no role to play in the blasts.

“To prove our point, we had compiled a 380-page factfinding report and submitted it to the first CBI team. However, the CBI did not consider it. Later, we submitted the report to Union home minster P Chidambaram and the NIA. The NIA has been taking our help since it took over the probe,” said advocate S S Shaikh.

Jaleel Ahmed, an advocate and brother of one of the accused, Abrar Ahmed, said his son was kidnapped and beaten up by the ATS in 2009. “We have registered a case with the Nagpada police against the police personnel,” said Jaleel.

The Times of India, November 6, 2011

Are loopholes in ATS investigation showing?

2011-11-06T03:23:00.000-08:00

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

The bail granted to nine Malegaon youth has left the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) red-faced. Malegaon residents have, over the course of the case, cast doubts over the ATS probe.

The ATS had invoked MCOCA against these accused. “The police had 180 days to file a chargesheet. The agency did it in just 54 days. We don’t understand why the ATS was in a hurry to file it earlier. This raises serious questions on their probe,” said Maulana Abdul Qayyum, a member of Jamiat-ul-Ulema, which bore the legal expenses.

Abdul Malik Bakra, an activist, said the ATS did not even submit the complete forensic and voice sample test reports along with the chargesheet.

K P Raghuvanshi, who was the then ATS chief, was not available for comment.

One of the questions raised is regarding ATS’ claims about involvement of Mohammed Zahid, an imam from a Yavatmal mosque. The ATS said he planted a bomb in Malegaon and left for Yavatmal the same day. “The distance between the two towns is around 1,000 km. How can you travel 1,000 km in just 12 hours in a state transport bus? The ATS said Zahid was in Malegaon on that day and planted the bomb, while more than 250 Yavatmal residents filed affidavits saying Zahid was in Yavatmal on September 8, the day of the blasts,” said a resident.

Thirdly, the police said a Pakistani national, Muzammil, had come to Malegaon and assembled the bombs. But ATS could not provide further information on his visit. Police said that 45 bombs were manufactured in Malegaon. “Surprisingly, they could not recover a single bomb,” another activist said.

Moreover, when the Malegaon blasts took place, Shabbir Masiullah, one of the arrested accused, was already in Mumbai police’s custody, residents said.

2006 MALEGAON BLASTS

September 8, 2006 | Four RDX bombs went off in Malegaon, killing 31 people and injuring 297. The bombs were planted on bicycles and exploded between 1.45pm and 1.55pm. The first three went off outside Hameediya mosque in Bada Qabrastan and the fourth exploded at Mushawerat Chowk in central Malegaon. The bombs contained RDX, ammonium nitrate, nitrite and oil fuel.

December 21, 2006 | The ATS filed a 4,500-page chargesheet against the suspects. The case was handed over to the CBI the same day

PROFILES OF ARRESTED ACCUSED

Noor-ul-Huda (24) Occupation | Labourer Charge | Bomb planter at the mosque

Shabbir Masiullah (34) Occupation | Owner of a battery shop Charge | Conspirator

Raees Ahmed Rajjab Ali (35) Occupation | Masiullah’s brother-in-law, partner in Masiullah’s battery unit Charge | Conspirator and bomb planter

Salman Farsi (40) Occupation | Unani doctor Charge | Conspirator

Farogh Makhdoomi (40) Occupation | Unani doctor Charge | Conspirator

Mohd Ali Shaikh (45), earlier arrested in the 11/7 train blasts case Occupation | A Govandi resident, labourer Charge | Supplying RDX to Malegaon accused

Asif Bashir Khan alias Junai (40), earlier arrested in the 11/7 train blasts case Occupation | A mechanical engineer from Jalgaon Charge | Supplying RDX

Mohd Zahid Abdul Majeed (35) Occupation | Imam Charge | Planter

Abrar Ahmed Saeed (35) Occupation | Powerloom unit owner Charge | Planter

The Times of India, November 6, 2011

2006 Malegaon blasts: Bail for all 9 accused

2011-11-06T03:20:00.000-08:00

MOMENT OF JOY: Activists and lawyers celebrate after the nine blasts accused get bail on Saturday

Mateen Hafeez & Rebecca Samervel TNN

Mumbai: Nine persons accused in the 2006 Malegaon serial blasts that left 31 dead got bail on Saturday. The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad had arrested them claiming that they belonged to the banned SIMI and aided a Pakistani in executing the attacks. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which took over the probe after Swami Aseemanand’s confession that a saffron group was behind the blasts, did not oppose bail.

NIA reviewed evidence after Swami confessed

Although nine people have been granted bail for the 2006 Malegaon blasts, two of the nine accused, Shaikh Mohammed Ali Alam Shaikh and Asif Khan, will remain in custody because they are also accused in the 11/7 Mumbai train blasts case.

Special judge Yatin Shinde of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 each and asked the nine to furnish one or more surety. Defence lawyers requested that they be allowed to furnish cash surety in a bid to hasten their release in time for Eid on Monday. The judge declined this request.

The ATS had charged the nine with helping a Pakistani, Muzammil, in carrying out the blasts. They had said Muzammil had travelled to Malegaon with RDX to assemble the bombs, three of which were planted on the premises of the Hameediya mosque and a fourth at Mushawerat chowk. The bombs went off late in the evening on September 8, 2006, when Muslims had gathered at cemeteries for Shab-e-Baarat prayers, killing 31 and injuring 297.

“In all fairness, in the interest of justice after due deliberation a decision was taken on the basis of the facts and circumstances not to oppose the bail application of all nine persons,” special public prosecutor Rohini Salian told the court on behalf of the NIA.

The NIA did not file a report in the court, saying investigations were not over yet. However, it submitted that after the revelations by rightwinger Swami Aseemanand, who was arrested in the Mecca Masjid blast case, it had reviewed the evidence collected by previous investigating agencies—the ATS and CBI—and also collected fresh documentary and oral evidence.

The 2006 blasts case was first investigated by the ATS followed by the CBI. Both accused the nine youngsters—Noor-ul-Huda (24), Shabbir Masiullah (34), Raees Ahmed Rajjab Ali (35), unani doctors Salman Farsi and Farog Makhdoomi, Mohammed Ali, Jalgaon mechanical engineer Asif Bashir Khan alias Junai, Mohammed Zahid Abdul Majeed, and Abrar Ahmed Saeed (35)—of the blasts. Following Aseemanand’s confession about his associates engineering the attacks, a second CBI team looked into the case and said the accused were not involved. Now, the NIA is pursuing this theory.

Since the saffron angle cropped up, residents of Malegaon have been meeting the Prime Minister, the Union home minister and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to emphasize that the youths had been framed. “It’s an Eid gift for all of us,” said Maulana Abdul Hameed Azhari of Malegaon after the bail order.

The township celebrated the news with crackers. “The ATS had wrongly booked these boys and we have been agitating for the past five years,” said S S Shaikh, a senior advocate.

The Times of India, November 6, 2011

Sadhvi kin to approach court for her safety in jail

2011-11-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: A relative of the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast suspect, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, will approach the special MCOCA court on Friday to demand protection for her at the Byculla women’s prison. This comes after a suspected Nigerian female drug peddler allegedly abused Thakur and fought with her jail mate.

The application will be moved by advocate Ganesh Sovani on behalf of Thakur’s brother in-law, Bhagwan Bhai Jha. Thakur has been in jail since November 3, 2008. Jha’s application states that African female undertrials lodged in the same jail had created a ruckus on the premises and had gheraoed Thakur and manhandled her jail inmate Rita Jaiswal on October 27. It added that Thakur was repeatedly abused and heckled as well.

The application further stated that when the matter was reported to the jail authorities, even they could not overpower over the African inmates, who were physically much stronger than them. “If the jail authorities send police personnel to sort out the issue, then these African female undertrials try to undress themselves and scream and shout,” Jha stated in the application.

Jha believes that the court may seek a report from the superintendent of Byculla Jail about the incident that took place on October 27, and direct jail authorities to take appropriate steps for the security of Thakur and Jaiswal. The application further stated that a year-and-a-half ago, an undertrial had physically assaulted Thakur.

Assault, fighting and brawls among the jail inmates is not a new thing in city prisons. In April this year, Maria Sussairaj— who was arrested for TV executive Neeraj Grover’s murder—had entered into a scuffle with a South African female drug peddler inside the Byculla prison. The woman constable who intervened was injured. Maria was later acquitted by the court in the murder case.

Sources from the jail said a routine search of all the inmates was on. This practice is carried out in all barracks and cells in jails across Maharashtra. Maria was talking to some other inmate when the South African inmate allegedly pushed her. They had a heated argument before they caught hold of each other, said the source.

The Times of India, November 4,2011

Training, intelligence must accompany COSTLY CCTV BLANKET

2011-11-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

Experts Say Police Force Must Learn To Use Rs 600-Cr System, Remain Sceptical If Expense Will Curb Terror, Other Crimes

Vijay V Singh, Mateen Hafeez & Linah Baliga | TNN

The state hopes the 5,000 Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras it will install at a cost of Rs 600 crore will boost policing efforts in a city that has frequently been ravaged by terror and seen a rising crime graph. However, security experts are sceptical about how much of a deterrent the cameras will be to terrorists and say that even after an attack the images may not help detection. On non-terror-related street crime, there is a mixed response, with
sources saying CCTVs might help prevention, but cops fail to solve cases even after getting the suspects’ images.

With respect to terror, security experts said what is far more important is to invest in a proper intelligence network, which would get inputs from not just the police, security establishment and informers, but also from the public, businesses, companies, private security agencies and so on.

A security expert said a dedicated team has to monitor the CCTVs, but city police sources admitted it would be difficult to maintain an advanced monitoring system with dedicated personnel. An intelligence officer, speaking of existing CCTVs, said, “As of now, the police keep watching just to see if the cameras are working. Most police personnel are not bothered to check what is on screen. Unless, the police are trained, the CCTVs won’t help.” A zonal deputy commissioner of police said, “ CCTVs will help only if there is proper monitoring of the camera, real-time evaluation of footage and coordination between police units. Maintenance is also an issue.”

A private expert who has helped the police solve cases, asked why the police were unable to trace the Zaveri Bazar blast suspect despite having footage. “A strong human intelligence would be more effective than cameras,” he said. “If the government is serious, it should first create the infrastructure required to monitor the visuals and train the policemen.”

A security expert said intelligence networks help in the US. “Having police all over the city will not have any impact because of ‘alert fatigue.’ The same is the case for those who monitor CCTVs,’’ he said. CCTVs may help, but a huge investment is not the solution. “It’s okay to have CCTVs at some crowded places, but we should have fusion centres, like in New York, where there is public-private participation. Every stake holder is involved in the security. In the US, private security guards join hands with the police at crowded areas, like malls,’’ he said.

Local police usually don’t monitor existing CCTVs in real time. They get details from various sources and then ask technical experts to rewind the CCTV footage. An officer said, “Another issue is that criminals are aware of the CCTVs and hide their faces.”

Talking about prevention, an expert said, “If a suicide bomber with a backpack is seen at a station, mall or market, the control room may have only seconds before it informs the local police, who can stop the detonation. Is that system being put in place?” After a blast, CCTVs do not necessarily make investigations easier. The June 2007 Haymarket bombing in England saw officials trolling through 90,000 CCTV tapes before they identified the Mercedes.

In Khar, locals installed their own CCTVs after the crime rate spiked. Home minister R R Patil inaugurated a system, sponsored by the Khar Residents’ Association, near Khar railway station on June 2010. Citizens also installed CCTVs on Khar Pali Road, 13th Road and in Shirley Rajan village. A year later, some residents say the CCTVs have not helped.

“We submitted CCTV footage from areas where street crimes were taking place. Where there was a house break-in, two suspicious people were seen walking up the road and looting office computers. But the police were unsuccessful in nabbing them,” said Aftab Siddique, a Khar activist. He said the prime suspects were distinctly seen on the CCTV footage.

But, some police said CCTVs would help if they are connected to police stations. “They would reduce crimes like chain snatching, bag lifting and vehicle theft. If the area is under coverage, the camera will be a deterrent,” said Vishwas Nangre-Patil, additional CP, Zone IX, west region. “Recently, six cell phone thieves were nabbed based on CCTV footage,” he said.

CAM CAPTURE? NOT QUITE
In the February 13, 2010 bomb blast at Pune’s German Bakery, the CCTV cameras did provide some leads, but most of the images from the bakery’s cameras were damaged and difficult to decipher. The images of a suspect planting a bomb beneath a chair was seen. The ATS identified the suspect as a student, Samad Bhatkal, and picked him up from a Karnataka airport after he arrived from Dubai. Bhatkal was later found to be the wrong man and released

In the July 13, 2011 triple blasts in Mumbai, the police recovered some CCTV images and prepared sketches of the suspect, but this didn’t help find him

MUMBAI EYE THE STATE’S PLAN TO MONITOR THE CITY
Install dense network of 5,000 CCTV cameras across city

Cameras will be at sensitive areas, prominent religious places, important government buildings (courts, police stations, Mantralaya), railway stations, areas around airport, crowded streets, busy SoBo areas, places facing terror threat, etc Cost will be nearly Rs 600 crore
Ten bidders have emerged as frontrunners
Bidding ended recently and the winner should be announced by the end of November. Thereafter, it will take six to eight months to complete the project

CCTVS ARE ALREADY OPERATING IN MANY PARTS AND BUILDINGS OF THE CITY

TRAFFIC CAMS | The traffic police have installed about 100 CCTV cameras at important junctions to monitor vehicular traffic. Most of the cameras are in south Mumbai, at Haji Ali, Metro Cinema, CST, Mantralaya, Churchgate and so on
SUBURBAN AREAS | Suburbs like Bandra, Khar and Vile Parle have CCTVs installed in some public areas
CONSULATES | Diplomatic missions with CCTVs include the Americal Consulate, Afghan Consulate, Israeli Consulate, UAE Consulate & Saudi Arabian Consulate
SOBO MARKETS | After the 13/7 blasts, the police helped several businesses install CCTV systems. 132 cameras were installed in Mangaldas Market, 142 in Thakurdwar Market and 60 at Kalbadevi’s ball-bearing market
POLICE STATIONS | All police stations in south Mumbai are under surveillance
GOVT CAMS | The Bombay high court, sessions court, Mantralaya and chief minister’s residence are among those monitored
SEA LINK | There are six CCTV cameras on the Bandra-Worli sea link
BANKS | All banks and most ATMs have CCTVs
TOLL NAKAS | Each of the city’s five toll nakas will have 10 to 12 cameras within 2 months
OTHER AREAS | The World Trade Centre and many private businesses in the city, including shops, have installed CCTV systems

The Times of India, November 2, 2011

Cops aim to make fraud firm case chargesheet watertight

2011-11-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The economic offences wing (EOW), which is probing the multi-crore SpeakAsia fraud case, will take some more time to file a chargesheet against the culprits. The police have
completed 90 days of investigation and will file the chargesheet in November.

Police officials who are investigating the case said that it is a huge case and the investigation is spread over several cities. “We are going through a lot of documents and gathering evidence. Some arrests were made three months ago and we are preparing the reports. Our aim is to file a watertight chargesheet,” said inspector B P Shelke, chief investigator.

So far, eight persons have been arrested in Mumbai. While seven were taken into custody by the Hyderabad police, the company’s chief operating officer (COO), Tarak Bajpai, managed to jump bail and has disappeared. Bajpai told police he was a flight lieutenant before joining the multi-level marketing business in 2004. The firm started an online survey in which each person would be given two surveys a week to complete on an annual fee of Rs 11,000. If the investor successfully completed all surveys, he would be entitled to Rs 52,000 a year.

The police said that the fraud took place between March 2010 and May 2011. “During this period, around Rs 1,000 crore was transferred from India to the United Bank of Singapore. The money was later transferred to Abu Dhabi. We are getting reports on the money trail,” said an officer. However, the police said that the banks where the accounts for this company were opened should have monitored the financial transaction of a new company. “Every month, Rs 80 to 90 crore was transferred outside the country and none of the accounts belonging to this new company was monitored. It’s surprising,” said the officer.

The police suspect that some of the accused involved in the fraud were also part of other multi-level marketing frauds. “We are getting information about them as well and we will pass on such inputs to the investigating officers,” the officer added.

While some of the panelists have returned money to their investors, the police suspect it is because of the pressure the panelists are under. “We heard some of the panelists are returning money but it’s more because they are afraid of police action or due to relationships with the victims,” he said.

The Times of India, November 2, 2011

‘NIA won’t oppose bail for accused’

2011-11-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

2006 MALEGAON BLASTS

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Union home minister P Chidambaram on Monday announced that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will not oppose the bail plea of the nine accused arrested in the 2006 Malegaon bomb blasts case.

Meanwhile, NIA officials on Monday informed the special MCOCA court in Mumbai that it would file additional chargesheets against the nine accused on November 4. It will also file its statement on the same day on the bail application of the accused, all suspected SIMI members. “As far as the NIA is concerned, they are not opposing the bail. Whether the bail will be granted or not, it is not for me to say,” Chidambaram told reporters. Asked whether the move not to oppose the bail meant that the nine people arrested by the ATS were innocent, Chidambaram said, “No, until any other person who is involved is actually found and chargesheeted and until the old chargesheet is revised, we can’t come to any conclusion. The investigation is covering the other directions as well.”

He added, “The NIA has concluded that it is no longer necessary to keep them in judicial custody and, therefore, the NIA will not oppose the bail.” All the accused are in Arthur Road prison since their arrest in 2006.

MCOCA judge Y D Shinde adjourned the hearing till November 19. After Swami Aseemanand’s confession, which pointed to a right-wing group’s involvement, the accused filed bail pleas. Aseemanand was arrested for his alleged role in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blasts. “From the confession, it is clear that those responsible for the 2006 Malegaon blasts are persons far removed from the current accused,” they said in the bail plea.

The Times of India, November 1, 2011

QRT men roped in to maintain law and order

2011-11-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

SECURITY FIRST

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The quick response team (QRT) commandos, meant to control the situation after any terror attack, will be deployed to maintain law and order during the Chhat Puja celebrations on Tuesday.

The city police have decided to take help from the QRT, state reserve police force (SRPF), tear gas units, special branch policemen in plainclothes and other security agencies.

“We want the Chhath processions to be peaceful. There won’t be any law and order problem,” said deputy commissioner of police, Nisar Tamboli.

This comes in the wake of Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leaders locking horns with Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam following his statement in Nagpur last Sunday that north Indians can, if they choose to, bring Mumbai to a halt.

All police stations in the city have been asked to beef up security in their areas and be prepared to tackle any riot-like situation. The five police regions in the city have a team of 75 QRT commandos each.

“Maximum police bandobast will be made at the Juhu beach, where devotees gather in large
numbers every year on the occasion of Chhath Puja. Our men in mufti will also be deployed there to gather intelligence,” said a police officer.
mateen .hafeez @timesgroup .com

The Times of India, November 1, 2011

Hasan Ali suffers paralytic stroke, ignored by jail authorities: Lawyer

2011-10-30T11:12:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Billionaire tax evader Hasan AliKhan,currently housed attheArthur Road jail, suffered a paralytic stroke on Thursday in his highly guarded special cell.Hislawyer,Ishwar PrasadBagharia, alleged that Ali was not provided any medicaltreatmentby thejail authorities.

Bagharia plans to move an application before a court on Monday in this regard.He,however,does not plan to attend the hearing, adding that he will wait for thecourt’sdirectionsin the matter.

“My client is dying in prison. Let him die. We want him to die,” quipped Bagharia sarcastically.

Terming the jail officials corrupt, he said, “All the jail officials are hand in glovewithJJhospital authorities. Why is Ali being given such shoddy treatment?” Hasan Ali has been kept at the Arthur Roadjailsincehis arrest.

When contacted, jail officials said that Ali has not suffered a paralytic stroke and that he was fine. On Saturday morning, Ali was taken to JJ Hospital. “He was brought to the hospital for various blood tests. He has been coming to JJ for thelasteightdaysbuthas notbeen admittedtothehospital yet,” saidDr Ashok Rathor, acting dean,JJHospital.

Bagharia, on the other hand, alleged that jail records were being manipulated toshowthatofficialshavebeen taking Ali tothehospital regularly.

“Due to the paralytic attack, his face has been left disfigured. The corrupt jail authorities are not doing anything to save him. We have sent a notice to the jail authorities and will be filing an application beforethecourt,” he added.

However, Bagharia claimed that he won’t appear in courton Monday. “My junior willbe going tothecourt,butwill not argue the case. Let the court decide the course of Ali’s treatment. It’s up to the court whether it allows his treatment or not,” Bagharia said.

The Times of India, October 30, 2011

Bail plea of blast accused on Mon

2011-10-30T11:10:00.000-07:00

’06 MALEGAON BLASTS CASE

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: With the bail hearing in the 2006 serial blasts case in Malegaon to be held on Monday, relatives, friends and supporters of the nine local youths arrested for their alleged role in the attack are hoping that they get relief this time.

Several residents have been agitating against the arrests right from the beginning. “We do not believe the police theory that these boys (all Muslims) engineered the September 8, 2006, blasts. The ATS has wrongly framed them in the case just because they were suspected to be members of the outlawed outfit, SIMI. Now we are hoping that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is getting factual information about the actual culprits who have not been arrested so far,” said a member of the legal cell which is representing the nine accused.

During its investigation, the NIA found that the accused were wrongly implicated in the case and that rightwing groups are allegedly responsible for the blasts.

The bail application was filed before the MCOCA court and will be heard on Monday. Earlier, a CBI special task force which probed the case for two-and-a-half months this year had also indicated that the men were not involved in the blasts case and were wrongly implicated in the case by the ATS.

The Times of India, October 30, 2011

125 tourists rescued from boat off Elephanta

2011-10-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

Falguni Banerjee & Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Nearly 125 tourists, including women and children, were stranded off Elephanta island for nearly one hour and 45 minutes, when their boat broke down while they were celebrating Diwali on Thursday.

They had boarded the Al-Hamd at 6.15 pm on their way back to the Gateway of India. A few minutes later, the boat stopped mid-sea, and after much arguing, the captain admitted that it had developed a technical snag. The boat started drifting from the route with the wind and as it turned dark, the boat began tossing around furiously with the high tide.

Some who where stranded did not want to recount the horrifying experience. “We only have our stars to thank,” said a relieved Rahul Sadhu, a resident of Nagpur. “When the boat did not start after 30 minutes, we realized that the staff aboard were not qualified, and we began making desperate phone calls. To our sheer bad luck, there was no network. After much delay, a passenger got through the police helpline, which forwarded the message to the coastal police.”

By then, it was 8 pm and after an agonizing wait, a patrol boat of the Mumbai police located them and arranged an alternative rescue boat. They reached the Gateway at 9.30 pm.

“The boat operators at Gateway did not respond to our frantic calls. The boat had no life-jackets, hooters or helpline numbers, nor was there any food and water. We got worried after it became dark. Nobody was responding to our calls. The children got cranky and were scared,” Sadhu said.

Another passenger, Mugdha Bhatawdekar, said, “For long, the driver did not admit that the boat had developed a snag. Fishermen on nearby boats could not hear our shouts for help.”

Major Uday Kumar, who was stranded with his family, said, “Only a small bulb was burning in a corner. We located the operator’s number on the ticket but nobody responded. There were nearly 30 children on board. How careless can the authorities be?”

Another passenger, Pillai Balachandran, said, “Our mobile phones were not functioning. The boat had no communication or safety systems. The staff were illiterate, clueless and arrogant. Why did it take the police so long?” Two families missed their flights due to the incident.”

DCP (port zone) Tanaji Ghadge said soon after he received a message about the boat, he sent the Indrayani and Bombay 1 boats with over two dozen personnel from the Yellow Gate police station. The personnel, all trained swimmers, provided help to the stranded passengers, he said. The police have sought documents from the boat owner for verification.

The Times of India, October 29, 2011

Butcher murder: Accused will also be booked for suicide attempt

2011-10-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

MOTIVE UNCLEAR

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The JJ Marg police has not arrested, Shaukat Ali, a mutton distributor, for killing a 55-year-old man. Ali, who tried to kill himself, too, after the murder is recuperating at the JJ Hospital.

Now, the police are planning to book him for attempt to commit suicide as well.

On October 20, Ali killed Jameel Qureshi with a knife around 4.15 pm at the latter’s shop in Surti Mohalla, near JJ junction. Locals caught Ali trying to flee the scene. “There were no injuries on Ali’s body while he was trying to flee. But in a span of 15 minutes, he stabbed himself in his abdomen and his intestines were severely damaged. There were some cut marks on his chest as well,” said a police officer.

“The knife has been seized. The chemical analysis report will show if the knife contained the blood of both Ali and Qureshi,” said the officer. Ali, who was admitted to the ICU in a critical condition on that day, has been shifted to a general ward. “Ali is still in the hospital and will soon be arrested,” the police said. Qureshi, a resident of Nauspora in Bandra, is survived by a wife and seven children. The motive of the murder is yet to be established.

The Times of India, October 29, 2001

Fraud firm investors vent ire on cops

2011-10-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

Investors of Symbiosis Gold Trade firm, also mired in controversy, outside the Esplanade Court on Tuesday

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Investors of SpeakAsia, labelled as a dysfunctional firm by the police, have been accusing the media and the police of trying to tarnish the company’s name, cops say. According to the police, investors still believe that the company would have paid up the amount due to them had there been no police action.

Some panelists of the company, who still believe that the company is functional, have been
sending emails, SMSs and calling this correspondent and have been either requesting or
threatening him to not write reports on the issue.

“However, those who are posing as panelists and still trying to dupe unsuspecting investors will be dealt with strictly,” said Rajvardhan Sinha, additional commissioner of police, economic offences wing (EOW), on Tuesday. SpeakAsia, an online survey firm, has been accused of duping lakhs of investors of crores of rupees.

The police have so far arrested eight accused, most of them being the office bearers of the firm. Tarak Bajpai (36), chief operating officer (COO) of the company, was granted bail by a Maharashtra court. He later applied for anticipatory bail in a Hyderabad court in connection with a similar case. However, he disappeared soon after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected. The accused are facing cases in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Raipur, Jabalpur, Uttar Pradesh and other places.

“More than 200 complainants have approached us so far. These so-called spokespersons have earned a lot of money and are now trying to mislead people by telling them that there is no police case against the company. We will take legal action against these panelists if they continue luring investors,” added Sinha. EOW teams from several states are looking for Bajpai. According to Sinha, the police has found out that the online surveys were ‘compiled’ in Mumbai.

“They hired a person to compile surverys, which were later given to the investors, who were told that reputed firms had given out contracts for the surveys, which is false and misleading,” a police officer said. He said that the person who prepared surveys for SpeakAsia would get Rs 15,000 for several assignments and that this amount was later increased upto Rs 1 lakh.

A police officer said that in such cases the investors should also be booked under the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978 since they are essentially gambling.

The Times of India, October 26, 2011

SpeakAsia COO bail may be cancelled

2011-10-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

EOW TO MOVE HIGH COURT

— Mateen Hafeez

Mumbai: The economic offences wing (EOW) of the city police will move the Bombay high court to cancel bail granted to fraud investment firm SpeakAsia’s chief operating officer Tarak Bajpai. He was granted bail in August but did not attend court hearings.

Bajpai (36), who was admitted to Thane’s Jupiter Hospital, jumped bail and has been missing for the last couple of days. “We are trying to trace him, but in vain,” said an officer.
The EOW has appointed special public prosecutor Pradip Gharat to represent the prosecution. The enforcement directorate is probing the role of moneylaundering agents as well.

The Times of India, October 25, 2011

Fraud firm COO disappears while on bail

2011-10-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

Tarak Bajpai

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The chief operating officer (COO) of fraud online survey firm SpeakAsia has jumped bail. “Tarak Bajpai (36) has disappeared and we don’t know where he is,” said an officer.

Bajpai was first arrested by the Mumbai economic offences wing (EOW) along with other co-accused in the multicrore scam. The men were then arrested by the Thane police in a case registered there. Bajpai complained of health problems and was admitted to Jupiter Hospital on bail and was operated upon.

In the meantime, the Andhra Pradesh police took the remaining accused into custody and took them to Hyderabad. “At that time, Bajpai was in the hospital,” said the officer. Upon his discharge from the hospital, Bajpai, through his lawyer, approached the Hyderabad court seeking anticipatory bail. “He was not present during the hearing and his anticipatory bail application was rejected,” said the officer.

SpeakAsia, floated in 2010, allegedly duped people by posing as a survey company. Investors, also called panelists, were given usernames and passwords to be used on the company’s now defunct website upon payment of Rs 11,000. Each panelist was given two surveys to complete in a week. Investors were promised Rs 52,000 if they completed 100 surveys in a year.

According to the police, SpeakAsia transferred Rs 1,000 crore from India to Singapore and that the fraud amount could be over Rs14,000 crore going by the number of investors. Investigations have revealed that the online survey firm duped over 24 lakh investors across the country.

The company’s head office is in Mumbai and not Singapore as reported earlier.

The other men arrested with Bajpai are the portal’s technical head Rajeev Mehrotra, Shaikh Rais Latif (32), an assistant for portal operations and in-charge of regular popups, accountant Ravi Janakraj Khanna (44), senior panelist Deepankar Sarkar, financial advisor Sanjeev Danda and one of the directors, Rahul Shah.

EOW has seized two Mercedes belonging to the firm’s Indian chief and panelist, Manoj Kumar Sharma, who is currently in Dubai. “We found more than 175 accounts in various banks with a collective balance of over 150 crore. All of these have been frozen. The two seized cars are valued at Rs 1.30 crore. We are looking for the company’s properties and will attach them with court’s permission,” said an officer.

The firm’s international chief, Harinder Kaur, is at large. “Red corner notices against seven office-bearers have been issued. We are coordinating with other police agencies to arrest them,” the officer added.
mateen .hafeez @timesgroup .com

SPEAKASIA A WEB OF DECEIT
Tarak Bajpai, chief operating officer of fraud online survey firm SpeakAsia, was first arrested by the Mumbai economic offences wing along with other co-accused in the multi-crore scam
The men were then arrested by the Thane police in a case registered there. Bajpai was admitted to Jupiter Hospital where he was operated upon
In the meantime, the Andhra Pradesh police took the accused, except Bajpai as he was still in hospital, into custody and took them to Hyderabad
After being discharged from the hospital, Bajpai, through his lawyer, approached the Hyderabad court seeking anticipatory bail. The court rejected Bajpai’s anticipatory bail plea

The Times of India, October 24, 2011

‘Terrorists now using satphones’

2011-10-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Struggling to fight terrorism, the Union home ministry this week issued a confidential note to security agencies in the country warning them abouttheuseof satellite phones of service providers like Thuraya, Iridium and Inmarsat.

The one-page ‘secret’ fax read: “Satellite phone services are not permitted in India. However, unauthorized handlers of Thuraya, Iridium and other satphoneoperatorshave been found using these connectionsillegally.Footprintsof Dubai-based Thuraya, Iridium, Inmarsat (originally InternationalMaritime Satellite Organization) are available in India.Itissuspectedthatsome terrorist group is using these phones.”

Tata provides Inmarsat servicesin India throughitslocal earth station in Dighi, Pune. The department of telecommunication (DoT) has been informed abouttheuseof illegal satphones by individuals in the country, and it is exploring ways to monitor and jam them.

The note that instructed monitoring of activities of terror suspects in the country was sent to additional chief secretaries and director-generals of police of all the states, commissioners of police and all anti-terror wings in the country.

Only mobile phonescan be tracked, but infighting within security agencies is also to blame, as each agency uses its own network to track suspicious signals. A retired Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) official had stated that most agencieswerebusy monitoring each others radio signals rather than focusing on their job or sharing information withother agencies.

The satellite phones, commonly used by the defence forces and governmentsecurity agencies, are now being used by terror outfits. Pakistani terrorists had been in touch with their Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) handlers through Thuraya satellite phones to ensure that there was no record of their conversations, in the 26/ 11 attacksin Mumbaiin 2008.

A satphone, similar to a mobile phone,seizedfrom MV Kuber, a fishing trawler,is part of evidence before the SupremeCourt.The10terrorists who travelled from Karachi in Al-Hussain and then shifted to Kuber after reaching Indian waters had been using the Thuraya service (phone number +8821655526412).

Security agencies authorized to monitor phone calls have now noticed an unusual silence and almost no contact being made across the border. A senior intelligence officer said they had for sometime been suspecting that the terroristshad movedto voiceover internet protocol (VoIP), which helps delivery of voice and multimedia data over the Internet.

CELL PHONES VS SATELLITE PHONES

• The basic difference between cell phones and satellite phones is that the former are dependent on networks of terrestrial cell antennas, while the latter use orbiting satellites

• Satellite phones are normally operated through Inmarsat, for which the land earth station in India is near Pune

• Services to satellite phones used by terrorists in the Mumbai attacks were provided by Thuraya, which covers 99 countries, including India

• These phones can keep conversations classified, so one need not worry that his/her call can be monitored

The Times of India, October 20, 2011

Alert on Naxal threat to blow up city airport

2011-10-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) and other security agencies received a terror alert this week, warning that a separatist Naxalite body engaged in insurgency activities was planning to breach the perimeter wall of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
The attackers would be using pentaerythritol trinitrate (PETN), a highly powerful plastic explosive, the alert said.

The Times of India, October 20, 2011

Women thrash fraud firm MD

2011-10-19T10:40:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The police faced a tough time in protecting Rahul Patil, the managing director of Symbiosis Gold Trade, who allegedly duped thousands of investors across Maharashtra. A group of investors, mostly women, began hitting Patil with chappals when he was brought to the Esplanade court on Tuesday. Patil has been accused of cheating over 530 investors.

The police arrested Patil last week and had brought him to court for further remand. Economic offences wing (EOW) officials on Monday arrested Patil’s office manager, Sheila Rajan Rathore alias Jenny (29) in the same fraud case. On Tuesday, soon after the policemen brought Patil out of the court premises after producing him there, a group of women approached Patil and began hitting him with chappals. “Give our money back!,” they demanded. Of the Rs 86 crore invested in Patil’s multi-level marketing firm, the investors were repaid Rs 74 crores. “Patil has not paid the remaining Rs 12 crores to investors,” said investigating officer Vinayak Chavan of the EOW.

The investors include Air India employees, nurses, policemen, journalists, doctors and engineers. Patil promised to double the investment in one year. “I retired from the railways in 2009. I had got my provident fund amount and invested around 2.50 lakh in the scheme. I got only two instalments. Patil had promised a return of 10% profit on the investments,” said J N Sanghya, an investor.

Patil was arrested after being on the run for over one and a half years. Patil had alleged that the underworld was threatening him and he needed time to repay the amounts. He shut down his four offices in Mumbai and disappeared. He had appointed commission agents, who would get Rs 200 for enrolling a member. Patil, along with his brother, had started the company in 2001.

The Times of India, October 19, 2011

Woman CEO of MNC busted for cybercrime

2011-10-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Cybercrime is perceived as the province of depraved men. But a disturbing trend has come to light of late. Increasingly, women are resorting to online tactics to achieve some nefarious end.

Recently, the woman CEO of a multinational corporation’s India operations was detained by the police for cyber-harassment of a co-worker in HR —also a woman.

The CEO, aged 43, posted derogatory remarks about the HR executive, aged 39, on a consumer website to malign her. She described the victim as a sex pest who eyed young men newly recruited into the company and was also “having a good time with a former employee”, said an officer with the police’s cyber crime investigation cell. The CEO was traced through the IP address from where the posts were made.

“In her police complaint, the victim, who is incidentally unmarried, told us that someone was posting comments about her character, or lack thereof, and that she was described as someone who frequently slept with her colleagues and ‘spoiled’ them,” said a police officer. “She said it all started when she found a change in the way her colleagues perceived her, so much so that she found it difficult to work with them. It was only when her friends and well-wishers asked her about the online posts that she realized what the matter was. She told us she was taken aback and did not know how to react.”
CEO was jealous of colleague’s rise through the ranks
Mumbai: The woman CEO of an MNC’s country operations was recently detained by the police for cyber-harassment of a colleague. She would post on a website derogatory remarks about the colleague, who is an HR executive. The police sought from the website the internet protocol address from where the posts were submitted. “It was found to originate from an apartment in a residential complex in Goregaon. When we reached there, we were shocked to find that the house belonged to the CEO of the firm where the victim worked,” the officer said. “Initially, the CEO was not cooperating. She even accused us of harassing her and said we should conduct our probe in the ‘right direction’ rather than ‘roam here and there’. But we had technical evidence. When we confronted her with it and emphasized that the IP address belonged to her own PC, she surrendered. Her husband, who is in a senior post in a private firm, seemed helpless.”

The CEO broke down at the police station. “She found herself in front of the victim, who she could not look in the eye. She even had tears,” the officer said.

“In a written apology, she said she was jealous as the victim was getting quick promotions. So, she started writing the online posts, the website being one that is commonly visited by private companies, including her own, to do background checks on potential recruits. She wanted the management to take note of the posts and initiate action against the victim.”

The Times of India, October 17, 2011

Women suffer cybercrime in silence

2011-10-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

Only Six Of 800 Police Complaints In The Last Nine Months Got Translated Into FIRs

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Women are often silent victims of crime. Cybercrime is no different. Though an increasing number of cybercrime victims are women, very few come forward to lodge FIRs. “Of late, more of such women are becoming open about their experiences. However, when it comes to filing an FIR, they seem to chicken out. Our cybercrime investigation cell receives hundreds of complaints, but if they don’t translate into FIRs, what good are they?” said a police officer.

In the last nine months, the cell received around 800 complaints, most of them from women; but only six complainants lodged FIRs. “In cases of cyber harassment, we normally carry out a preliminary probe considering the sensitivities involved. But once the identity of the offender is established, the complainant prefers not to pursue the case. Without an FIR, the police cannot put the law in motion and make arrests,” the officer said. “Take this case, for example. A woman employee of a private firm complained of receiving an obscene email. Our investigation revealed the sender to be a woman friend of hers who posed as a man. We tracked the sender down but had to close the matter there as the email’s recipient did not want to file an FIR.

“We understand that the sender was her friend. But given the nature of the email’s contents, she should have filed an FIR. The sender created a fake email account. She then asked the victim, who is married and has a child, if she was being sexually satisfied by her colleagues. The sender also wrote that ‘he’ would give her ‘full satisfaction’.”

A cyber cell officer said women victims are scared of their names being published in newspapers if they lodge FIRs. “They think this would tarnish their image. A common complaint we get from women is nude photos of them being uploaded. Such photographs are clicked when a relationship is in its prime. Later, when it sours, the ex-partner uses the photos for revenge. Our appeal to victims is to come forward and lodge FIRs.”

WEB SAFETY
Never share passwords, even with your boyfriend or girlfriend. Avoid having common email accounts Do not reply to emails of unknown origin Do not share old or intimate pictures with new online friends Never click or reply to unknown emails Attend classes, if need be, to become tech-savvy If you are planning to launch a website, approach a reputed registrar to get your domain name registered. Many registrars follow sloppy procedures, permitting unverified data transfers Get the domain name locked Register a trademark to protect your domain name from theft Buy all top extensions (.com, .co.in, etc) for your domain name to prevent against theft and your web traffic being misled Restrict access to your admin email account The best way to secure your email account against spam bots is to host it on your personal domain. Email accounts on popular mail services are always at risk of being hijacked Create your password with a string of alphabets and numerals to make it strong. Change it frequently

The Times of India, October 17, 2011

Classmate hounds girl using group ID

2011-10-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: This is a case that illustrates the perils of using group email IDs. Sometime ago, an information technology engineer from VJTI complained to the police about receiving an offensive email from her college friends that described her private parts and her sex life.

The police’s cyber cell conducted a probe and found that the email account belonged to 60 students of her batch. “The group comprised 10 girls and 50 boys. Who among them sent her the email? The needle of suspicion fell on almost everyone in the group,” said a police officer. “More emails followed, each more unsavoury than the preceding one. They also contained expletives. We first got a list of all 60 users of the email account. Then we traced the IP address of the sender and zeroed in on him.

“This classmate had a crush on the victim, but was ignored by her. It was a case of jealousy; he sought revenge. But then he had never spoken to the victim about his feelings for her; so how would she know? Still, he did not like her interacting with other male students. “So what does he do? Harass her… We found that he had sent the emails from his laptop. We found the emails in his outbox.

“During questioning, he confessed to the crime. He told us that he found the girl’s attitude humiliating. Perhaps more humiliating for him was to face his father at the police station.”

The Times of India, October 17, 2011

Killer of two HC advocates says he has no regrets

2011-10-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

Aslam Shaikh he was ill-treated and humiliated by his sister, an advocate

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Aslam Shaikh (50) told the police on Friday that he did not repent killing his sister and their nephew, both Bombay high court advocates, on October 8, as she would spend Rs 7,000 on food for birds and Rs 5,000 on milk for the cat, but would not give him any money.

Aslam, who has been sent to police custody for 15 days, said Fahmida’s “ill-treatment” forced
him to take that drastic step.

Terming Aslam as a be c h a ra, J J Marg police station in-charge Khanderao Patil said he was often humiliated and ignored by Fahmida (60) and her nephew Arsh aka Shera (27). “We found the two murdered on Monday afternoon. Fahmida’s throat was slit open and the body had 17 stab injuries, while Shera’s had nine. No property, documents or valuable were stolen. The killer did not touch two Blackberry phones too. The room was locked from outside,” assistant commissioner of police Ravi Thakur said.

Fahmida’s youngest brother, Iqbal (46), is in Arthur Road jail for an extortion case, while Aslam was in Meerut. “We informed Aslam that his sister had been killed. He did not show interest in claiming her body and told us to hand it over to some relative. It surprised us. However, he came to Mumbai and we picked him up from Mumbai Central railway station,” said Thakur.

Patil said, “Aslam came at around 2 am, went to the roof of her house, removed the asbestos sheet and entered from the drawing room. Fahmida was asleep in the bedroom. He first slit her throat and then began attacking her. Hearing her screams, Shera woke up and tried to help but
he did not survive the knife attack.”

After killing the two, Aslam cleaned up the room, locked it from outside and left back for Meerut. “Aslam said the three rooms (approximate cost: Rs 1.20 crore) owned by Fahmida and another flat in Mumbra belonged to their father. However, Fahmida did not give him a single room and paid him only Rs 50,000. Last year, when Aslam’s family wanted to come to Mumbai to attend Shera’s wedding, she only permitted him. He had been humiliated, which enraged him,” Patil added.

The Times of India, October 15, 2011

Kin detained in Nagpada double murder

2011-10-14T10:23:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Aslam Shaikh, the brother of deceased Bhendi Bazar lawyer Fahmida, who, along with her nephew Arsh, was found murdered on Monday afternoon, arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday to claim the bodies of his kin. But after hours of sustained questioning, Shaikh was detained for the murders by the JJ Marg police. He is expected to be arrested on Friday.
Police suspect Shaikh was upset as Fahmida had transferred her properties in Arsh’s name. “Shaikh, who claimed he had arrived from Meerut, could not provide evidence for his journey. Fahmida hadn’t given him a share of her property, which enraged Shaikh,” a source said.

The Times of India, October 14, 2011

CBI clears 2 of oil pilferer’s kin in Manmad burning

2011-10-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

Addl Collector Sonawane Faced Several Allegations Of Bribery, Says Chargesheet

Santosh Sonawane & Mateen Hafeez | TNN

The CBI has exonerated two members of the family of prime accused Popat Shinde in the chargesheet the agency has filed for the January 25 murder of Malegaon additional collector Yeshwant Sonawane. The agency has also alleged that Sonawane was involved in bribery and extortion and had an arrangement with oil pilferer Popat.

Sonawane was murdered by the oil mafia because his relationship with Popat had deteriorated, says the CBI. While the police had accused 11 people in its FIR for the sensational murder, two of them, Shinde’s son Vikas and brother-in-law Deepak Borse, have been cleared by the CBI, which recently filed chargesheets in the Manmad magistrate’s court and Nashik juvenile court.

While the Manmad police’s earlier FIR said that Sonawane was killed by the oil mafia after he detected pilferers robbing fuel outside a dhaba, the CBI chargesheet says Sonawane had called Shinde to the dhaba. Shinde said he was busy with rituals following a death in the family, but Sonawane insisted. Shinde then went to the dhaba with his son and two others and killed Sonawane. The CBI alleges that Shinde committed the crime in a fit of rage and due to past enmity.

TOI reported on January 28 that Popat had told the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) that he was being harassed for bribes and that the arrested men told police that Sonawane’s aides were taking bribes.

The CBI says that a tanker belonging to Popat was seized on May 10, 2010 for violating the Essential Commodities Act. The matter had been pending with Sonawane. Popat on August 27, 2010 complained to the ACB, Nashik, that Sonawane demanded a bribe of Rs 1 lakh to release the tanker. The amount was brought down to Rs 75,000. The ACB tried thrice on August 30 and 31 to nab Sonawane red-handed with the money, but failed.

The police had initially arrested 11 people, but Popat, who was also burnt in the incident, died on January 31 in JJ Hospital, Mumbai. Of the remaining 10, the CBI has charged seven — Rajendra Shirsat, Machhindra Suradkar and Ajay Sonawane for murder, and Haqqani Khan Rabbani, Imran Khan and Tausif Altaf Shaikh for rioting, criminal conspiracy and black marketing. The seventh person is Popat’s minor son Kunal, 17, who faces murder, rioting and black marketing charges in the juvenile court. Along with Vikas and Borse, Sitaram Bhalerao is not named in the CBI chargesheet.

Meanwhile, Yeshwant’s elder brother, Sham Sonawane, who is with the Nashik rural police, said the family is not interested in following the case. “Ever since the incident, neither my wife nor my sister-in-law are keeping well. Thus we have decided to not watch TV or read the papers,” said Sham.

“People keep enquiring, which only adds to the stress. I too try to remain out of it. Popat Shinde and Yeshwant may or may not have been acquainted. The investigations may go in any direction. No one knows what transpired between the two as both are no more,” he said.

After the initial Rs 25 lakh received as compensation from the state, the Sonawanes said they got nothing, including Yeshwant’s salary and pension. Sham said, “We are paying installments for the flat from the interest got from the Rs 25 lakh we deposited.”

BURNT ALIVE
JAN 25: Additional collector (Malegaon) Yeshwant Sonawane is burnt alive by the oil mafia in Panewadi, Manmad city, Nashik district. Police register an FIR in which Sonawane’s PA Raju Kale and driver Kailash Gawli are the main complainants
JAN 25-26: 11 are arrested for murder. Black marketing charges are later added
JAN 27 TO 31: Reports emerge that prime accused Popat Shinde’s relatives and the arrested men tell police that Sonawane and his aides were collecting bribes
JAN 31: Popat, who was also burnt in the melee, dies at JJ Hospital, Mumbai. 10 accused remain FEB 2: Home minister R R Patil says the CBI will be asked to begin a probe
FEB 11: The Manmad police invoke the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the case
APR 8: Jagan Pimple, Rajesh Batolia and Dheeraj Yewale, who have been added as accused by the police for black marketing, move the Bombay high court seeking quashing of the FIR against them and challenging the application of MCOCA
OCT 11: CBI files chargesheet accusing only four initially named by police of murder. Three are named for rioting and blackmarketing and three have been let off

ACCUSED BY POLICE FOR MURDER & BLACK MARKETING:
Popat Shinde (prime accused); Kunal, 17 (Popat’s minor son); Vikas, 19 (Popat’s son); Ajay Sonawane, 25; Imran Khan, 25; Haqqani Khan Rabbani, 49; Deepak Borse, 32 (Popat’s son-in-law); Raju Shirsat (Popat’s employee); Machhindra Suradkar; Sitaram Bhalerao; Tausif Altaf Sheikh

FOR BLACK MARKETING:
Jagan Pimple, Rajesh Batalia, Dheeraj Yewale

CHARGED BY CBI FOR MURDER: Rajendra Shirsat, Machhindra Suradkar, Ajay Sonawane, Kunal Shinde*
FOR RIOTING, CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY & BLACK MARKETING: Haqqani Khan Rabbani, Imran Khan, Tausif Altaf Sheikh, Kunal Shinde*
FOR BLACK MARKETING: Jagan Pimple, Rajesh Batolia, Dheeraj Yewale * Kunal is charged in the juvenile court
NOT NAMED BY CBI
Deepak Borse, Vikas Shinde, Sitaram Bhalerao

Yeshwant Sonawane

The Times of India, October 13, 2011

‘Hope Mirchi will be extradited within a month’

2011-10-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

S Ahmed Ali & Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai/New Delhi: India is keeping its fingers crossed regarding the extradition of drug baron Iqbal Memon alias Iqbal Mirchi within a month, with the UK authorities’ communication with the Interpol wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding his arrest in London. The UK authorities responded to Interpol’s email and telephonic conversation and have told the CBI to start the process on Wednesday. Sources said the CBI has contacted the Mumbai police, who have started dusting out Mirchi’s old files.

Mirchi (61), wanted in India, particularly by the Mumbai police, in half a dozen cases, was arrested by the London police on Monday. Sources said a businessman from London alleged that Mirchi, who operates rice mills as front companies, had threatened him over property. Mirchi has been remanded to police custody till October 15. Sources said his lawyers may appeal for bail, but senior Interpol officials are speaking to the UK authorities for his extradition. India’s request for Mirchi’s extradition in 1998 was rejected after he sought political asylum, claiming that he would be persecuted as he belonged to a minority community. Sources said even music composer Nadeem Saifee, who was accused of killing music baron Gulshan Kumar, could be extradited as he too had alleged that he was framed as he belonged to a minority community.

With Mirchi’s deportation, the crime branch hopes he will shed light on journalist J Dey’s killing. There were reports that Dey, who was killed at gangster Chhota Rajan’s behest in June, had met Mirchi in London. But the trail got cold as the police could not collect evidence.

“We have information that he purchased several properties for the Dawood Ibrahim gang in London. Though it is not an offence in London, we have information about the money flow and how it was used for the gang,” said Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner of police (crime). “We are collecting evidence to prepare a dossier on him. We will try our best to extradite him,” he added. However, the city police may have a problem proving charges against Mirchi as most officers who investigated the cases have retired. The witnesses have also either changed residence, died or are untraceable.

Meanwhile, the Indian government on Wednesday said it was making all efforts to extradite Mirchi. Union external affairs minister S M Krishna said the process had already started. “We will take up the issue with the British government and hopefully he’ll be extradited.”

The Times of India, October 13, 2011

Lawyers’ killers knew duo won’t have visitors

2011-10-12T10:14:00.000-07:00

The police found Fahmida Shaikh and her nephew, Arsh, dead in their Bhendi Bazar home

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Investigations into the murder of two Bombay high court lawyers, a 60-yearold woman and her nephew, have revealed that the killers knew that the two would be at home on Saturday and no guest was likely to arrive.

The decomposed bodies of Fahmida Shaikh and her 27-year-old nephew, Arsh, were found at their Bhendi Bazar residence on Monday evening. “Everything in the house is intact. Nothing has
been found or reported missing. It seems that the assailants just wanted to kill the duo and had nothing to do with money or other stuff,” said another officer.

But to allay any doubt, the police are still trying to ascertain if the murders were the fallout of a dispute over money. The officials have found the mobiles of the deceased and sent them for analysis to find out the call details. “The calls that they made and received will definitely help the police lead the probe,” said an officer. The police have so far questioned and recorded the statements of nine persons.

The police said Fahmida’s brother, Iqbal Shaikh, has been in jail since 2006, when he was arrested in an extortion case and booked under the MCOCA. However, his wife visited the Shaikhs regularly. In fact, she stayed with the Shaikhs most of the time but every Friday and Sunday, she visited her mother’s house, which is also located nearby. “The murderers were aware that Iqbal’s wife would not be at home. Primary investigations show that the killers or conspirators were acquaintances of the Shaikhs,” said a police officer. Post mortem reports are yet to describe the sequence of event leading to the murder. The police will take court permission to question Iqbal.

After the neighbours alerted the police on Sunday afternoon about a stench emanating from the Shaikhs’ locked house, a team arrived at the spot and had to break open the door of the three-room residence. They discovered the bodies in the bedroom. The officials suspect that the murders took place two days ago.

Fahmida’s husband, Jalal, who was also an advocate, died eight years ago and since then she had been staying with her nephew. “As the couple did not have a child, they adopted Arsh more than two decades ago,” said a neighbor.

The Times of India, October 12, 2011

BOREDOM, REVENGE DRIVE TERROR HOAX CALLERS

2011-10-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

Offenders Behind Terror-Related Hoax Calls & E-Mails Are Jilted Youth Seeking Revenge Or Teens In Search Of Fun And Fame

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Terror e-mail hoaxes have become the weapon of choice for the jealous or jilted lover and the teenager or young professional looking for a bit of fun or fame. The police are now calling for stricter laws to act as a deterrent to future callers. In the past, most offenders simply got away with a rap on the wrist despite the fact that that investigating agencies end up diverting a large chunk of their resources and time assessing the veracity and threat level of the hoax. But in three recent hoax e-mail cases in the aftermath of the Delhi High Court blast, the offenders have been booked for cyber terrorism, where the maximum sentence is life imprisonment.

In September, three people from different parts of India—all in their late teens or early 20s—had various investigating agencies chasing false leads by claiming to be associated with terrorist groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami (HuJI). Kolkata resident Sunny Shukla (23) sent a terror email after the Delhi High Court blast posing as a HuJI member and taking responsibility for the attack. He was motivated by the need to have “some fun”.

In an unrelated case, UPbased Manoj Ojha (24) who works as a data operator also sent an e-mail claiming to be a HuJi member. In the third instance, the NIA arrested Kashmiri teenager Aamir Ahmed (19) after he sent the agency a terror e-mail posing as an Indian Mujahideen member.

“By using the names of terror groups the offenders know that they will get publicity at the national level. They also believe that they can get away with the crime,” said a senior police officer. An unrepentant Ojha said he was testing the Delhi police’s security, preparedness and response levels. “I wanted to check the police’s alertness so I sent them an e-mail claiming responsibility of the Delhi HC blast,” he told the police.

Revenge was 24-year-old Pune resident Rashmi Shinde’s motive. She had called up a local newspaper in Pune and the Union home ministry control room in New Delhi on August 30 warning them that a person by name of Shirish Kulkarni was on his way to assassinate anticorruption crusader Anna Hazare. When the police finally questioned Shinde and identified the would-be assassin, they unravelled the age-old plot of a jilted lover exacting revenge on her former boyfriend.

The problem is rampant in Mumbai, too, where the police receive a terror hoax call alm o s t e ve r day. Em a i l threats are also on the rise, said investigators with the cyber crime cell of the Mumbai police.

In May 2011, the city police arrested software developer Tushar Sawant (27) for sending a terror e-mail to the CBI. ‘‘Sawant had lost his job at a multinational company prior to sending the e-mail where he claimed to be a part of terror group, which was planning to carry out a nationwide attack. He said that cities like Mumbai and Delhi would be targeted,’’ said a police official said. Sawant was not booked for cyber terrorism as the police believed he was not mentally stable. Instead he was booked for hacking under the Information Technology Act, which has a more lenient sentence of two years imprisonment and (or) a fine.

Convicted, but not punished
A16-year-old teenager from Ahmedabad sent an e-mail to a private news channel on March 18, 2008 warning officials of a bomb on an Andheri-bound train. In the e-mail, he claimed to be a member of the Dawood Ibrahim gang. Three days later, the Cyber Crime Investigation Cell (CCIC) of the city police arrested the boy under Section 506 (ii) for criminal intimidation. He was convicted, but did not face imprisonment. A juvenile court let him off with a warning

Living Vicariously? On April 1 2011, as Mumbai geared up for Cricket World Cup match, which was to be held at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, Rajesh Dave (40), a ticketing agent, posted a threat on the city police’s website posing as an LeT member. He said he had planted 30 bombs at the stadium and dared the police to find them. When investigators finally traced him, Dave said he had posted it for fun

Depression and mental illness In May this year, the city police arrested software developer Tushar Sawant (27) for sending a terror e-mail to the CBI. ‘‘Sawant had lost his job at a multinational company prior to sending a threatening e-mail where he claimed to be a part of terror group, which was planning to carry out a nationwide attack. In his e-mail he said that cities like Mumbai and Delhi would be targeted,’’ said a police official said. But Sawant was not booked for cyber terrorism as he was not mentally stable. Instead he was booked for hacking under Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, which has a more lenient sentence of two years imprisonment and (or) a fine

Past Cases

NOV 11, 2009 | The cyber crime cell arrested a 17-yearold boy for sending a hoax e-mail to Air India “to see how the security agencies responded”. The offender was the son of a doctor employed at a government hospital in Haryana. He wrote in the mail that there will be a bomb on an IA plane on November 1.’’
STATUS: Charge sheet filed, trial on

July 29, 2008: A 14-year-old Colaba boy sent a hoax e-mail to a TV channel in Madhya Pradesh, three days after the July 26, 2008, Ahmedabad bomb blasts. He claimed that 29 bombs would go off in Jabalpur. He was picked up by officers of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) who, with the help of the MP police, were able to trace the e-mail to a cyber café in Colaba. STATUS: No FIR was registered. The Cuffe Parade police registered a non-cognizable (NC) complaint against him, and the boy was allowed to go home after the police gave him a “strict warning”

February 26, 2006: A 17-year-old student from Jamnabai Narsee School called an Alitalia flight bound to Milan at 2am telling them there was a bomb on board. He wanted to stop his girlfriend from going abroad. She was one of the 12 students on their way to attend a mock United Nations session in Genoa

May 25, 2009: A 15-year-old teenager from Bangalore was arrested for allegedly sending a terror e-mail to a private news channel claiming that he had planted five bombs in Mumbai. He had challenged the police to find them before it was too late. His hoax mail read: “I have planted five bombs in Mumbai; you have two hours to find it.” The police traced the Internet Protocol (IP) address to Vijay Nagar in Bangalore, and the boy was booked for criminal intimidation. The Information Technology (amended) Acts section for cyber terrorism, where the maximum penalty is life imprisonment, however, was not included in the charge sheet.
STATUS: Trial pending

The Times of India, October 12, 2011

Terror suspect Afroz Shaikh flying high 10 years later

2011-10-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

Afroz Shaikh

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Afroz Shaikhwas arrested by the city crime branch in October 2001 for planning to hijack an airliner in theUK and crashing it into the House of Commons on 9/11. A free man now, he says the police’s attempts to ‘‘malign’’ him failed. Thefather of twohadto giveup his career as a pilot and now helpshisfamily in the garment business.

Heoffers namazfivetimes a day now andspends mostof his time with his family. “It was a horrible experience with the city police. I was termed an al Qaida associatein India and arrested on terror charges. But where is the evidence? The entirecasewasfabricated andthe police’s cooked up story fell through in court,” saysAfroz.

“I was framed in eight cases. Just to keep me in custody, the cops booked me in cases of theft, robbery and forgery,” he laughs. He says his family and the media stood by him in the “most difficult time of his life”. Soon after the court acquitted him, he decided to marry a Pune-based HR executive, now ahousewife.

“My two sons go to reputed schools. I don’t want to mix my present with the past but I remember the methods and tactics the police used to harass and malign me. My passport is still with the court so I can’t take up the job of a pilot. What have they achieved by doing this?” Afrozwonders.

His training certificates obtainedfrom Australian,American andBritishflying clubs are withthecourttoo. “Iwanttoexpand my business and go abroad but my passport is with thecourt,” saysAfroz,trying to recollect the date his papers expired a few years ago.

How did he spend six months in jail? “Excellent,” he laughs, “I was not a culprit but framed in the case. My father had arranged homemade food andother stuff in jail.Other inmates would clean my clothes and myfamily would pay them. Even Iwould get a massageservicein jail.” He also contested the 2004 assembly elections as an independentbutlost.

The Case File
Waging war against nation and criminal conspiracy (Pota case); extortion case at Vashi police station; theft case at Azad Maidan; four cases of theft and robbery at various police stations
(acquitted in all); forgery of SSC marksheet
(pending in the high court)

The Times of India, October 11, 2011

Two HC lawyers found murdered in Nagpada

2011-10-11T08:19:00.000-07:00

Cops outside the Shaikhs’ first floor residence at Bhendi Bazaar

Woman (60), Nephew Had Planned Haj

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Two Bombay high court lawyers, a 60-year-old woman and her nephew, were found murdered at their BhendiBazaar residenceon Monday evening.

Fahmida Shaikh and Arsh Shaikh (27) were found lying in apoolof bloodin their bedroom after police broke open the lock of their three-room residence in Nagpada. The two were to leavefor Hajon October 29. The J J Marg police received a telephone call from neighbours at 4 pm, informing them that a stenchwasemanating from the Shaikhs’ residence andtheoccupantshad notbeen seen for two days. “It seems the murder took place around two days ago. Nothing seems to be missing or stolen,” said Ashok Durraphe, assistant commissioner of police (crime branch). The police are yet to establish the motiveof the murders.

A police van was stationed near the Minara Masjid Trust building, and the lane was cordoned off as teams went inside the room. The bodies were sent toJJHospitalfor post-mortem.
Fahmida’s husband, Jalal, who was also an advocate, had passed away around eight years ago. “The couple did not have any children, but they adopted Arsh more than two decades ago.ArshwasFahmida’s nephew and had been staying with them,” said a neighbour.

The Shaikhs were a bit reserved but would keep in touch with the neighbours. “Fahmida hadcometoour room on Friday and spoke to us. She spoke about her domestic work and other issues,” added another neighbour. On Sunday, the Shaikhs’ maidfoundthedoor locked and left. She returned on Monday, but again found the door locked,the neighbourssaid.
Arsh marriedon October 23 last year butseparatedfrom his wife after six months. “Fahmida would treat Arsh like a son. They had paid a privatetour operator Rs 5 lakh for the Haj pilgrimage,” said a neighbour.

The Shaikhs owned three rooms in the building. A police officer said, “We did not find any weapon at the spot. There seems to be the involvement of an insider whohad gotthekeys, murdered them and locked the room beforefleeing.” Fahmida’s brother, Iqbal Shaikh, has been in jail for six yearsin a caseunder MCOCA.

AN INSIDER’S JOB?
A 60-year-old woman and her nephew, both high court lawyers, were found murdered in their three-room Bhendi Bazaar residence on Monday
Fahmida Shaikh and Arsh Shaikh were to set off for Haj
After the maid found the door locked for two consecutive days, and the neighbours noticed a stench from the residence, they called up the police
Cops suspect an insider’s job

The Times of India, October 11, 2011

ATS gets no leads out of bike mechanic from UP

2011-10-08T06:06:00.000-07:00

13/7 PROBE

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officers, probing the July 13 triple blasts, thought they had found a definite lead when they picked up a bike mechanic, Bhima, from Basti in Uttar Pradesh recently. However, it turned out to be another dead end as Bhima’s interrogation yielded precious little and the ATS hadtosubsequently release him.

Bhima’s name cropped up when Arjun Choudhary, who was the caretaker of a scooter that was allegedly stolen and used in the blast at Zaveri Bazaar,toldtheinvestigators about him—after over a month of questioning. “This input came in very late.An ATS team immediately left for Basti. They brought Bhima to Mumbai on a flight from Lucknow. At that time, the cops were hopeful they would have a breakthrough in thecase.Hewaskept attheKalachowkie ATS office,” a police officer said. However, Bhima was released as the ATS could not gather any evidence to link him totheblast.

Choudhary, a Khetwadi resident,toldthecopsthat a fewdays before the blasts, he had given his scooter to Bhima for repair. Bhima, who has a garage at CP Tank, however, kept delaying the work for a couple of days before finally doing it, said an officer. However, the scooter again developed a snag, but this time, Choudhary gave the scooter to Gulam, another mechanic, who repaired it and returned it to him a day before the blasts, the officer added. It was learnt that Bhima had left for Basti on July 13 night, a fact that deepened suspicion about his involvement.

Now, the ATS only has the stolen scooter astheir leadin the case. Meanwhile, Choudhary is stillbeing interrogatedby theinvestigators daily. He has not resumedworksincetheblasts.

“The scooter was a good lead and we were supposed to keep it under wraps. But after it was reported by the media, there has been little progress in the case,” said an ATS source. The ATS officers have questioned over 200 two-wheeler thieves in and around the city but are yet to make a breakthrough.They now believe that it could be the handiwork of a bike thief who came toMumbaifrom elsewhere.

The Times of India, October 8, 20111

IM suspect’s kin did not die due to torture: CID

2011-10-07T06:04:00.000-07:00

PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Preliminary probe into the alleged custodial death of Faiz Usmani, the elder brother of suspected Indian Mujahideen operative Afzal Usmani, has revealed that he died owing to high blood pressure and not police torture.

The state CID, which was investigating the case, would file its conclusive report by the end of October, said a police source. “We recorded the statements of several police personnel as well as that of Usmani’s family. We will submit our report to the director-general of police,” said a police officer.

Following the 13/7 serial blasts, the crime branch picked up Usmani (43), a grocery shop owner from Govandi, on July 17 and took him to the Chembur unit. There, Usmani started vomiting after which the officials took him to a nearby hospital from where he was shifted to Sion Hospital, where he died. Father of five, Usmani was the sole earning members of his family. After Usmani’s wife, Ruheda, alleged that her husband was tortured to death in police custody, and going by the sensitivity of the 13/7 case, the government ordered the state CID to inquire into the death. Even senior officials from the crime branch were reportedly unaware that Usmani had been rounded up for questioning.

“The CID has collected Usmani’s medical reports. Our probe indicated that his family was beside him when he died. The family alleged that Usmani was tortured to death. But during investigations, we have found that their claim did not corroborate with the facts,” the officer added.

The Times of India, October 7, 2011

Police stn operates from 6 Mhada flats in Chunabhatti

2011-10-07T06:02:00.000-07:00

The Chunabhatti police station does not have a lock-up

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Chunabhatti police station operates from six flats on the first and second floors of a sevenstorey Mhada building. Unable to find space to operate from, the police station coversthreesqkm andcaters to aroundfour lakh people.It neither has a lock-up nor women officers.

The station has not been officially inaugurated, but it has been functioning with 80 personnel for two months.“Thereis a space problem in thecity andwe are not getting proper space to start police stations. However, a station was much needed in Chunabhatti,” said Rajnish Seth, joint commissioner of police (law&order).

Thestation,which alsocovers Sion andthe Wadala truck terminal areas partially, has no sub-inspectors or assistant police inspectors. “Head constables act as duty officers and register cases,” a sourcesaid. Thekitchen sinks arestilltherein theflats and thereis nochanging room or rest-room for personnel, though the station has six women constables. “In two months, we have only registered 41 cases of assault, theft and rioting. When we register cases and arrest the accused, we send them to the Ghatkopar police lock-up,” a policeman said.Asmallflaton thesecondfloor isused asthe armory.

Residents of nearby buildings hadobjectedwhen the policestation was started from the flats. In letters to the deputy police commissioner and joint police commissioners, they had stated that they didn’t want a station near their residences. “Criminals will be questioned here. Wedon’twant a policestation here,” the residents had complained. However, over a periodof time,theopposition has “vanished”,the policesaid. Sethsaid, “Howcan weshiftthe policestation? We don’t have space. The police station is to maintain law and order, and for the safety of the publiconly.”

Govandi policestation wassanctioned,butconstruction is pending asthe authoritieshave not yet found space, while the Irla police station proposal has also been sanctioned but there’s no space in VileParle.

The Times of India, October 7, 2011

‘Govt is harassing Sanstha members’

2011-10-06T06:01:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Right-wing Hindu organization Sanatan Sanstha’s spokesperson Abhay Vartak on Wednesday branded the central government as a thief.“ The Centre is using several tactics to ban the organization,” he alleged. Vartak also claimed that lakhs of Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) agents are living in the country.

Vartak was reacting to the National Investigation Agency (NIA)’s raid on the Sanstha’s headquarters and some residential quarters in north Goa’s Ponda on Tuesday. The Sanstha’s nearly dozen members have been chargesheeted for carrying out blasts in Goa and several other parts of Maharashtra over the last few years.

“The Sanstha is a religious organization but the Congress wants to ban it. Though they can’t ban it, they are harassing our advertisers and donors. Our well-wishers are receiving phone calls from the police asking them not to raise funds for the outfit,” Vartak alleged. He admitted that the two persons, Hanumant Gadkari and Vikaram Bhave, convicted for the Thane and Vashi blasts recently, were the Sanstha’s workers.

“Last night around a hundred police personnel entered the Sanstha’s headquarters and did not even remove their shoes until they were asked to do so. Our sevaks are forced to leave the outfit and are being threatened with arrest. Ours is not a terrorist outfit,” he said.

The Times of India, October 4, 2011

Travel firm ex-director evading arrest in fraud case?

2011-10-03T07:35:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Former director of Aryarup Travel and Club Resort, Vasuda Deshmukh, has been admitted to David Sassoon Hospital in Pune. She is apparently dodging arrest in a case registered with the city police against her.

Vasuda surrendered before the Nigadi police station in the last week of August in a multi-crore investment fraud. The police are still hunting for her husband, Ravindra, and other partners, including Rajesh Pandey, Rajan Paliwal and Udaysingh Ghorpade. “We visited the Khandala court to take her into custody. She got herself admitted in the hospital after she complained of chest pain,” said an officer from city’s economic offences wing (EOW).

The EOW had registered an FIR against the directors and office- bearers of the firm in 2010. The Deshmukhs floated several schemes in Gujarat, Haryana, Jaipur, Bangalore and Maharashtra. Investors were promised annual returns of 86% to 96% if they put in Rs 5,000 and more in the schemes. Investors who brought in others were entitled to additional returns. The company had opened accounts of its investors on its website www .aryain. “The suspects allotted login names and passwords to the investors and told them that their profit would be automatically transferred to their accounts. The Mumbai police are investigating the case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code ,” said a police officer.

The city police said that they had visited a Khandala court with a production warrant but her custody was not granted since she was in hospital. The Khandala police arrested her and later she was sent to Yervada jail from where Vasuda was shifted to the hospital. The EOW had recently issued lookout notices against Vasuda and Ravindra. Sources said the firm’s turnover was in excess of Rs 1,000 crore per annum. Aryarup claimed on various websites that it distributed over Rs 900 crore to its investors in one year. The firm also said that 400 of its investors had earned over Rs one crore. Two plots, totaling 75 acres, owned by the company’s directors were attached by the EOW in February this year. The total value of these plots is around Rs 12.30 crore, said sources. Besides, 17 bank accounts in which investors had deposited Rs 12.5 crore have also been frozen.

The Times of India, October 3, 2011

TNT was main 13/7 explosive, says forensic lab

2011-09-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: The three bombs that exploded on July 13 contained a cocktail of TNT, ammonium nitrate, nitrite and petroleum hydrocarbon, according to the final report of the state Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) at Kalina. Trinitrotoluene, or TNT, was the main explosive in the bombs that went off at Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and Dadar, killing 27 people.

Earlier, there were reports that RDX or pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) could have been the main explosive in the bombs. “Neither RDX nor PETN were used in these bombs,” said an Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officer. He added that the bombs seemed to follow an older pattern. TNT, a yellow solid, is sometimes used as a reagent in chemical synthesis, but it is best known as an explosive. The Zaveri Bazar and Opera House bombs weighed around 2.5 to 3 kg while the bomb set off near the Dadar railway station was around 1.5 kg. The Mumbai bombs appear different from the one set off outside the Delhi high court earlier this month, as initial reports said that bomb had PETN.

However, it is not the TNT but ammonium nitrate that points to a sinister pattern. Ammonium nitrate was earlier used in three 2003 blasts (in a BEST bus at Ghatkopar, Mulund and Vile Parle), the 2006 11/7 serial train blasts, the 2008 Jaipur blasts and the 2010 German Bakery blast in Pune.

After the 13/7 blasts, concerned over the increased use of ammonium nitrate by terror groups, the government declared the chemical as an “explosive”. But given the widespread use of the mixture as fertilizer, the government notification came with a rider – its possession and use can invoke penal action only if 45% or more of a particular composition has ammonium nitrate. Ammonium nitrate is easily available in stores that stock industrial fertilizers. It costs a mere Rs 50 per kg. It is easily available in chemical shops and also used as an oxidizing agent in laboratories. When mixed with a hydrocarbon, it becomes part of a potent explosive mixture.

The Times of India, September 29, 2011

CCTV cameras see fall in number of petty crimes

2011-09-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Petty crimes like pick-pocketing, theft, chain-snatching and baglifting have dropped after the city police, post-13/7, began helping shop-owners install CCTV cameras in south Mumbai. The triple blasts in July had left 27 dead and many injured.
While the Zaveri Bazar, Pydhonie and Opera House areas used to record around 100 such cases a month, it has now come down to 10-15.

“The thieves know they are being monitored by electronic devices. There were many petty cases, but after the installation of many cameras in these areas, complaints and the number of crimes have reduced drastically,” said Anil Kumbhare, deputy commissioner of police (zone-II).

The police said 132 cameras were installed at Mangaldas market (also known as Mulji Jetha Market), 142 at the Thakurdwaar market (known for imitation jewelry) and over 60 at Kalbadevi’s ballbearing market.

The anti-terrorism squad and crime branch, working jointly on the 13/7 blasts, have got a firsthand account of the scene of crime on that fateful day through some CCTV footage.

“Petty crimes would often go unreported. People would come, provide their names and addresses, but were not interested in an FIR being filed. Now, the number of such victims coming to the police station has dropped and there is no major crime in lanes where the cameras have been installed,” said Kumbhare.

He said the police had surveyed the entire area and studied the sensitive points. “We marked specific points where the CCTVs had to be installed after thorough research. The cameras have been installed at shops so that they cover maximum area. We had made suggestions to shop-keepers and issued them guidelines about the camera positions and locations,” said Kumbhare. Of the 14 entry points at Mangaldas market, the police have kept only six open.

WATCH OUT
The crimes
Pick-pocketing; theft; chainsnatching and bag-lifting
Where
Zaveri Bazar, Pydhonie and Opera House
What happened
Crime has reduced after the city police, post-13/7, began helping shop-owners install CCTV cameras
Then and now
Around 100 such cases a month, now 10-15

The Times of India, September 27, 2011

Gangland’s GenNext seeks a new identity

2011-09-26T07:21:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The kingpins of the city’s underworld have either fled, been killed in encounters or called it aday. But GenX is stepping out of their parents’ feared shadows in search of a new identity in Mumbai as bankers, doctors, engineers, pilots and developers.

Police officers who have closely seen the underworld say families of these gangsters are well acquainted with the pitfalls of their lives and choose not to follow their footsteps. “Times have changed. The youngsters today want respect in society and a bright future. They don’t want to be termed as ‘underworld heirs’ but are trying to make their own identity,” says a senior police official who headed the encounter squad for a decade.

Reshma Naik was only 11 when her gangster father Amar Naik was killed in a police encounter on July 10, 1996. However, Naik’s wife planned both her daughters’ education meticulously. Reshma, now 25, completed her commercial pilot’s flying training course from an aviation academy in Florida, United States. Her younger sister Aditi (23) is a doctor. The family plans to open a hospital in the city for the poor.

The thirst for education also touched their extended family. Archana, daughter of Amar Naik’s younger brother and erstwhile don, Ashwin Naik, has done a course in dentistry. Like her cousin Reshma, Archana too studied in an English-medium school, prefers western outfits and a chic straightened-hair look. Archana was in fact an anonymous face till she made a media debut with her father when he met Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray three years ago. At that time, rumours were rife that Naik was joining a political party, but he insisted he had only gone to seek Thackeray’s blessings. Naik was earlier arrested for the alleged murder of his wife Neeta, but was later acquitted by court.

‘Underworld heirs’ study their way out Gangsters,

Families Feel Children’s Education Is Only Ticket To Normal Life
Gangsters have been glamorised by cinema, but the children of Mumbai’s dreaded dons — men who emerged from anonymity to become feared names — seem to prefer the daily grind. Many of their parents are still on ‘wanted’ lists, but all the young brigade wants is a good education, as they feel it will lead to a good life.

Fugitive don Chhota Rajan, who is believed to be hiding in West Asia, was recently booked for plotting the murder of senior journalist J Dey. His wife Sujata was arrested in 2007 for allegedly extorting money from city-based builders and booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act but later got bail. However, their two daughters, Namrata (19) and Mala (17), are on a different track. After studying in Goradia English Medium High School, they are pursuing engineering in two city colleges, Namrata in the second year and Mala in the first. His youngest daughter, Pallavi (11), is in class VI.

Jailed diesel smuggler Mohammed Ali Shaikh, cooling his heels in a special cell in Arthur Road jail for plotting the murder of a shipping firm owner in September last year, has also focused on his children’s education. Daughter Rukhsar (25) did her MBA (finance) from a city college and was offered a job in a well-known bank last year. His son, an arts graduate, looks after his father’s shipping management company. Sources close to Shaikh say he always wanted his children to study well to give them a new identity.

Some have opted to enter politics. Gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli’s daughter, Geeta (28), a student of the English-medium St Agnes High School, Clare Road, Byculla, is currently a municipal corporator of ward number 205 (Chinchpokli, Byculla and Mominpura).

Then there is Girish, the eldest son of fugitive gangster Guru Satam. Girish, who studied civil engineering, is now a developer. “The children of underworld figures want to make a name for themselves minus the crime records of their elders. They are studying and getting good opporutunities in MNCs as well,” said a senior cop.

(Some names have been changed to protect identities)

Ashwin Naik’s daughter Archana has studied dentistry

Rajendra Sadashiv Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan: A former key aide of don Dawood Ibrahim, Rajan began by black marketing movie tickets at Chembur and later joined Rajan Nair (Bada Rajan). He became the gang’s chief after the latter’s murder and joined Dawood but fled to Dubai in 1988. He is wanted in over 20 cases of extortion, murder, smuggling, drug trafficking and the like. After the 1993 blasts he broke away from the D-gang and survived a September 2000 an attempt on his life. His family lives in Chembur

Guru Satam: The Parel-based extortionist was a terror for businessmen in central Mumbai. He fled the country in 1995 and is believed to be in Bangkok. Satam, police say, is virtually bankrupt. His family is still in Mumbai

Mohd Ali Shaikh: Originally from Uttar Pradesh, Shaikh worked at the Mumbai docks and later started his own business. His men would pilfer fuel from ships in the high sea and within a decade he became the king of oil smuggling. Arrested in the 90s but acquitted, he was arrested again in September 2010 for plotting the murder of shipping firm owner, Chand Madar

Arun Gawli: The only don now living in Mumbai, he is currently lodged in Taloja jail for the murder of Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jhamsandekar. Earlier, his men had allegedly plotted the killing of Dawood’s brother in-law, Ibrahim Parkar. Known as ‘Daddy’ to his followers, he floated his political outfit in 1997, Akhil Bhartiya Sena, and won an assembly election in 2004. His nephew is an NCP MLA while daughter Geeta is a corporator

Ashwin Naik: Naik, an engineering graduate, with several cases to his name, was paralysed after being shot at in April 1994 by a rival gang on the premises of a sessions court at Fort. Later accused with plotting his corporator wife Neeta’s murder on November 13, 2000, he has now been acquitted of all charges and stays with his daughter Archana, a dentist, and family at Chinchpokli

Amar Naik: Elder brother of Ashwin Naik, he was wanted in many extortions and murders and had emerged as a threat to the Arun Gawli gang in central Mumbai. He was killed in a police encounter

The Times of India, September 26, 2011

Attackers may try 9/11-like strike: Alert

2011-09-25T07:10:00.000-07:00

Plane from Hubli a threat to airport?

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: A private plane taking off from Hubli airport in Karnataka could be used to carry out a terror strike at Mumbai airport, authorities have been warned. Security agencies said fears of such an attack remained till November 15. Earlier, they had issued an attack by plane alert but did not specify from where it could come.

Guidelines issued in the alert state that access control and security arrangements at the Kalina (VIP) gate and other gates leading to terminal areas and parked aircraft may be re-assessed. Accordingly, security has been beefed up at the Mumbai airport.

The security agencies are also looking into whether any flight request for a private aircraft from Hubli to Mumbai airport has been made within the deadline of November 15. P 3

Mumbai: Sleuths are taking a close look at flight plan requests filed with Hubli airport till November 15 after an alert saying a plane from there could strike Mumbai airport. “Any permission to use a private aircraft from Hubli to Mumbai may be denied unless the bona fides are very well established,” the alert said.

The warning added that the attackers may try “action” like 9/11, but did not identify any group or groups that may mount the strike. Air traffic controllers at the domestic and international terminals in the city have been put on high alert. It further stated that arrangements would be necessary at Juhu airport to ensure that a helicopter/plane does not take off from there and serves as a missile for the airborne attack.

The alert gave three possibilities for the attack. First, a private aircraft could hit the main terminal building. Second, terrorists may gain entry through the VIP gate and a private aircraft could be taken over. It could take off and return immediately for a direct strike on the terminal building. Third, a four-wheeler, most likely a truck, packed with explosives could be driven through the Kalina gate and rammed into the terminal building. In 2007, an explosive-laden car driven by two young men had rammed into the outer portion of the Glasgow airport.

“We have passed on this information to the concerned agencies and are closely working on the security arrangements. The alert clearly indicates the November 15 deadline, so we have to be on high alert. We cannot take any chances,” said a senior security official.

The Times of India, September 25, 2011

SIMI man in cop custody till October 3

2011-09-24T07:09:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: A suspected SIMI member, Israr Tailor alias Sagri, arrested by the anti- terrorism squad (ATS) in connection with the fake currency case probe, has been detained in police custody till October 3. Sagri was produced before the Mazgaon court on Friday, where his custody extension was declared. The ATS has indicated that National investigation agency (NIA) will help them in the case. Police sources said that the fake currency seized from Sagri’s associate, Haroon Rasheed Naik, is part of the same consignment seized in 2009. “Two years ago, the ATS had seized fake currency totalling Rs 4.25 lakh and arrested four persons. Later, the case was transferred to the NIA,” said a police officer. Naik is being questioned if he had any knowledge of the 13/7 triple blasts or the perpetrators. Special public prosecutor Rohini Salian, said, “These notes have come from Pakistan and a investigation needs to be carried out.”
mateen .hafeez @timesgroup .com

The Times of India, September 24, 2011

Woman implicates ex in ‘kill Anna’ plot

2011-09-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

1) Rashmi Shinde (24), a graduate from Yavatmal, was in love with computer engineer, Shirish Kulkarni, but their marriage did not work out 2) Shinde called up the home ministry in New Delhi and claimed that Kulkarni would shoot anti-corruption crusader, Anna Hazare, in hospital 3) The Haveli police in Pune summoned Kulkarni and realised that Shinde did it to seek revenge

ATS Detains Graduate From Yavatmal

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Union home ministry control room in New Delhi received a call on August 30 that anti-corruption crusader, Anna Hazare, will be shot in hospital.
The caller said computer engineer, Shirish Kulkarni, from Pune was planning to execute the operation. When the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) caught the culprit, they were shocked that the call was by Kulkarni’s former girlfriend who was seeking revenge.

The culprit, Rashmi Shinde (24), a graduate from Yavatmal, was detained by the ATS and handed over to the Haveli police in Pune (rural). “The girl first called up the mobile number of a Pune resident who used to write feature articles in Marathi newspapers in Pune. She told him that Kulkarni had planned to shoot Hazare in hospital on the morning of August 31. She gave Kulkarni’s name and contact number and hung up. Shinde had used a PCO to make the phone call,” ATS chief Rakesh Maria said on Thursday. He added that the person, who had received the call, immediately informed the police about it.

“The same day, another similar call was made to the Union home ministry’s control room. The information was passed on to the Maharashtra police and our staff began probing the case. We called Kulkarni for questioning and found that he had no such plan and was completely unaware about the phone call,” he said.

“Kulkarni told our men that he was in love with a girl but her parents had disapproved of their relationship. Shinde’s parents arranged her wedding with someone else in Yavatmal but she refused to marry against her wishes. She was not in touch with Kulkarni for almost six months, but later came to Pune,” Maria said.

The ATS chief said that during this period, Kulkarni had married another woman. Shinde, unaware about the developments, kept urging Kulkarni to marry her, but he refused.

“She could not tolerate rejection in love and planned to retaliate by wrongly implicating Kulkarni in a sensitive case. Hence, she made the threat calls,” the ATS chief said on Thursday.
Shinde has confessed her crime and her statement has been recorded by the Haveli police. She is likely to be arrested on Friday.

(The names of the couple have been changed to protect their identities)

The Times of India, September 23, 2011

Cops probe if IM man sent more youths for terror training to Pak

2011-09-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

13/7 INVESTIGATION

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: Israr Hamid Tailor alias Sagri arrested for having links with banned outfit SIMI and Indian Mujahideen (IM), was on Tuesday sent to police custody till September 23. The police sought his remand to ascertain whether apart from Haroon Naik, Sagri had sent more youths to Pakistan for terror training.

Sagri (41), a computer trainer at NIIT, was arrested last week in a fake currency case. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has also slapped Sagri with charges of having association with a banned outfit and participating in a terror act under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The police had claimed to have seized fake Indian currency amounting to Rs 97,500 from Naik. “We want to find out for what terror activity the amount was to be used,” the ATS told the Mazgaon court. The squad told the court that it also wants to establish if anyone, other than Naik, was sent to Pakistan by Sagri for terror training.

Sagri was picked up by the police when he was returning home after his computer class. Though he is being grilled for his alleged role in the 13/7 serial blasts, his family says the police had been visiting their house since July 13 when three bombs rocked the city.

“We want to find out if Sagri indoctrinated some other youths for terror activities, so his custodial interrogation is a must,” said an ATS officer. Sagri was first arrested in 2000 for being a SIMI memberand has been visiting the police station every week since he was released. “His calls to the police station had become daily after 13/7,” said Sagri’s relative. The crime branch detained him in April 2008 and handed him over to the ATS for allegedly publishing and distributing inflammatory literature. The ATS said Sagri had been questioned much before the crime branch arrested them. “We preferred to keep an eye on him rather than arrest him,” an ATS officer had then said.

The Times of India, September 21, 2011

ATS will appeal in blasts case

2011-09-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) will appeal against the acquittal of four suspected Sanatan Sanstha members who were let off by a sessions court in connection with the Thane and Vashi bomb blast cases.

The ATS had in 2008 arrested six members of right-wing group Sanatan Sanstha for carrying out bomb blasts at a Thane theatre and Vashi. While two of them, Ramesh Gadkari and Vikram Bhave, were convicted, four others were recently acquitted.

“The procedure to appeal in the case has begun. We are going through all the papers and will file the appeal against their acquittal within the stipulated time,” said ATS chief Rakesh Maria.

The Times of India, September 20, 2011

WB teenager held for being ‘Bangladeshi’

2011-09-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The police seem to have been arresting Indians as Bangladeshis. In a recent case, the city police’s intelligence wing detained a West Bengal resident, Zamirul Gazi (19) from Koparkhairane and booked him under Foreigners’ Act.

Gazi, who works as a labourer, returned from WB five months ago. “On September 5, he went to Koparkhairne to meet his friends when the police picked him up,” said Gazi’s lawyer, S M Khan. The metropolitan magistrate court granted Gazi bail on a surety of Rs 25,000 after seven days. “He is a labourer. How can he furnish a surety of such a huge amount,” Khan asked. To prove his nationality, Gazi’s family furnished his birth certificate. S K Nurul Islam, an MP, also issued a certificate of verification for Gazi, saying he knows him.

The Times of India, September 18, 2011

ATS finds 200, umbrella on fake currency accused

2011-09-17T06:17:00.002-07:00

Israr Tailor

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Israr Ahmed Abdul Hamid Tailor, alias Sagri, arrested for his alleged links with banned outfit SIMI, was returning home after conducting a training session at a computer centre when police intercepted him on Monday. Though he is being grilled for his alleged role in the 13/7 serial bomb blast cases, his family says the police had been visiting their house ever since the three bombs rocked the city.

Sagri (41), who was picked up from outside Borivli railway station on Monday evening in a fake currency case, was first arrested in 2000 for being a SIMI member and has been visiting the police station every week since his release.

Earlier, on August 23, police arrested an associate, Haroon Rasheed Naik, in the case and recovered Rs 97,500 from him. Police have recovered Rs 200 and an umbrella from Sagri, which they later returned to his family.

“After 13/7, he was called almost daily to the police station,” said a relative. The crime branch had detained him earlier in April 2008 and handed him over to the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) for allegedly publishing and distributing inflammatory literature. The ATS, then headed by the late Hemant Karkare, said Sagri was not absconding and had been questioned much before the crime branch arrested him.

“We preferred to keep an eye on him rather than arrest him,” an ATS officer had then said. Sagri was subsequently released.

In the latest case, ATS stated that Naik had helped Sagri to go to Pakistan for terror training in 2000.

“Police may say anything but he was here all the time, running a computer institute in Mira Road. An ATS officer identified as Gaikwad had come to our house post 13/7 with a call record of Sagri and inquired about all his incoming and outgoing calls. He left on being satisfied with the replies,” said the relative.

The family said that Naik was just a student at the computer institute. “The local police and even IB officers were in touch with Sagri. He has been cooperating with them,” a friend said.
Sagri, a father of five, is a BSc graduate. “On Monday, when Sagri didn’t return home, we went to Borivli and Andheri railway stations and checked the accidents’ register fearing the worst. But at midnight, the ATS informed us that they took Sagri. He was earlier arrested twice but never fled the city as he is not involved in any anti-national activity. He had also complained to the Kurla court about policemen visiting his home at odd hours,” said the relative.

The Times of India, September 17, 2011

Blasts accused to file fresh bail plea

2011-09-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: While the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is on the verge of completing its probe into the 2006 Malegaon blasts, the suspects in the case are likely to file a fresh bail application within a few days.

During its investigation, the NIA found that the accused were wrongly implicated in the case and that rightwing groups are allegedly responsible for the blasts.

The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) had initially booked nine Muslim youths claiming they were SIMI members. The ATS filed a chargesheet only within 54 days, even though it had 180 days to do the same. Later, the case was transferred to the CBI.

“We are filing a bail application within a day or two,” said Gulzar Azmi, general secretary of the Jamiatul Ulema (legal cell). He added that the Malegaon youths are currently in Gujarat where they are being subjected to narcoanalysis tests. “We have been saying that the youths are framed in the case. We hope they will secure bail,” added Azmi.Earlier, the CBI had found that slain RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi along with an associate had visited Malegaon in July 2006 and conducted a recce. They also wanted to carry out a terror strike in July, however, their plan did not materialize. Samjhauta train blast accused Swami Aseemannd also confessed that his men engineered the Malegaon blasts. “We have submitted all documents to the NIA,” said advocate Irfana Hamdani, who is representing the youths. Four RDX bombs planted near a cemetery in Malegaon went off on September 8, 2006, killing 31 persons.

MALEGAON BLASTS

• The ATS had said SIMI engineered the 2006 Malegaon blasts that killed 31

• Zahid Majeed, a suspect, was in Malegaon to plant the bomb, the ATS claimed. However, witnesses filed an affidavit stating he was 500 km away in Yavatmal

The Times of India, September 16, 2011