IB, Mumbai cops blamed for bungle

I am happy after I heard my name has been dropped from the list of most wanted people. I am very much in Thane and staying with my family—Wazhul Kamar Khan

Goof-Up Shows Agencies Still Not Sharing Info

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Home minister P Chidambaram owned up responsibility for the “mistake” in India’s list of most-wanted fugitives in Pakistan on Wednesday and blamed the “lapse” on the Intelligence Bureau and Mumbai police.

Chidambaram called the bungle a “genuine oversight” and a “human error”. He said Wazhul Kamar Khan’s name has now been taken off the list and Pakistan was being informed through Interpol.

“We take responsibility. It is a mistake. How this mistake has happened has been explained. The CBI through Interpol will convey this to Pakistan,” he said while releasing the findings of the probe into the bungle that was exposed by Times of India on Tuesday.

The embarrassment, however, exposed the continuing lack of coordination among agencies and a casual approach on terrorism.

The inquiry, ordered by the home ministry following the TOI report, revealed that Khan’s name was not struck off the most wanted list because the Mumbai office of IB failed to pass the information about his arrest in January. As a result, the
red corner notice issued against Khan in 2004 was not withdrawn.

The probe also showed that Mumbai police had contributed to the fiasco by not informing the CBI—the agency that updates the red corner notices—of Khan’s arrest last May. They didn’t share the information with the agency even this January when the CBI approached them for the status of Khan and other absconders.

DAMAGE CONTROL
We take responsibility. It is a mistake. How this mistake has happened has been explained… The CBI through Interpol will convey this to Pakistan P Chidambaram | UNION HOME MINISTER

The CBI removes Wazhul Kamar Khan’s name from most wanted list It will notify Interpol to cancel the red corner notice against Khan
Khan was on the run for 7 years after the Mulund blast. When he returned to Mumbai last year, police arrested him claiming he had a major role in several bombings. But they failed to file a chargesheet against him within 90 days as required by law. Unimpressed, the court gave him bail

Khan also on list passed in ’07
New Delhi: After Intelligence Bureau’s Mumbai office and Mumbai police forgot to pass on information about Wazhul Kamar Khan’s arrest, other agencies—the CBI and the National Investigation Agency (NIA)—as well as the Union home ministry remained in the dark about Khan’s whereabouts. Since CBI and NIA helped prepare the list that was handed over to Pakistan’s home secretary on March 29 in New Delhi, Khan’s name was on it.

“It is possible that the said failure was the result of a genuine oversight by Mumbai police. At the same time, there was also a lapse on the part of IB in not reflecting the information received by it while preparing the list in March 2011,” Chidambaram said.

The bungle draws attention yet again to the familiar pattern of information falling through cracks and indicates that not many lessons have been learnt from the 26/11 terror attack.

Replying to questions, Chidambaram said the lapse was not a “monumental mistake that some of you people are trying to make (it out to be)”. He said, “It was a genuine oversight and there was some degree of human error. There is no calamitous consequence that you are trying to make out.”

Asked whether Pakistan had raised this issue, the minister said it had not because the same list was given to them in March 2007. Asked whether Khan had travelled to Pakistan, Chidambaram said: “Now Khan has claimed that he has lost his passport and this will be probed,” he added.

On the BJP’s attack that the goof-up reflected the “optimum incompetence” of his ministry, Chidambaram said he was prepared to face some “political exchanges” on the issue. He recalled a statement of L K Advani that as home minister, he did not know that three terrorists in custody were taken out of jail in December 1999 and taken to Kandahar by the then foreign minister. “Let me ask the BJP leaders that if this (Khan episode) marks the level of maximum incompetence, then what was that? If this brought embarrassment to the country, did that
statement not bring disgrace to the country?” he said.

Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan called the episode a “serious issue” which could have been avoided.

Giving details of the events that led to the lapse, Chidambaram said the Mumbai police had arrested Khan, an accused in the 2003 Mulund blasts, on May 21 last year. However, this information and the request for consequent deletion of the red corner notice were not sent by the Mumbai police to the CBI. There were further enquiries by the CBI with the Mumbai police on Khan on January 27 this year. The Mumbai police replied to the query only on Tuesday, requesting cancellation of the red corner notice.

“The inquiry revealed that the Mumbai police had in January this year conveyed to the IB office in Mumbai that Khan had been arrested. This information, unfortunately, was not reflected on the list of fugitives maintained by the authorities and was overlooked while a list was prepared in March 2011,” Chidambaram said.

The Times of India, May 19, 2011