Police made errors in Aug 11 case: Top cop

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Police commissioner Satya Pal Singh said on Tuesday the charge of murder should not have been invoked against the August 11 rioters and cops made mistakes in handling the case.
 

    At a felicitation ceremony for him at the Islam Gymkhana, Marine Drive, Singh said, “I took charge 12 days after the Azad Maidan riot... (the mistakes) were made before I took charge.”
 

    Most speakers at the gathering criticized the police for keeping “innocent boys” in custody on murder and attempt to murder charges when in reality two youths were killed in police firing during the riot. 

    “No innocent people will be kept in custody and the guilty will not be spared,” Singh said. It was good to hear from Muslims what they thought of current issues, he said.
 

    The ceremony had been organized by the NGO SEWA. Congress MLA Ameen Patel narrated an incident where the police caught a Muslim youth for driving without license and seeing him with a satchel taunted him by saying that Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab had a similar item on him.
 

    Advocate and former MLA Yusuf Abrahani (also the president of SEWA) said a group of 70-80 boys were responsible for the mess-up on August 11. “But Muslim leaders are being summoned and made to sit at police stations for hours on end. These people are respected by the entire community. You (police) will need the ulemas in future and seek their help. So, do not subject them to such treatment.”

The Times of India, October 18, 2012

Police to request for fast-track trial of riot case

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Mumbai crime branch will request the state law and judiciary department to try the August 11 rioting and murder cases in a fasttrack court. 

    “We are talking about it and will take a final decision within a couple of days,” said Himanshu Roy, crime branchchief. “The aim isto getspeedy trial and conviction.” As many as 54 people arrested for the rioting are in jail, while a minor boy is in a juvenile remand home. A mob went on the rampage on August 11 during a rally organized to object to alleged atrocities againstMuslimsin Myanmar and Assam. “Once the trial begins in a fast- track court, it will help the prosecution bring allthewitnessestocourt. The incident is fresh and hence, the witnesses may narrate everything easily whatever they witnessed at Azad Maidan,” said Roy.
    

The post-mortem report of two youths killed during the violence stated that they had died of bullet injuries, but it is still unclear whether they werekilledin policefiring or by a member of the mobwhohadsnatched a self loading rifle from a policeman.
 

    “We have more than 60 witnesses with us. Their statements have been recorded and they will be summoned once the trial begins. We are also considering a witness protection programme to keep our witnesses’ stand in court,” said a police officer.

The Times of India, September 22, 2012

Intel detects Dawood hand in August 11 riot

Dawood Ibrahim

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Intelligence and security agencies believe the August 11 Azad Maidan violence took place at the behest of gangster Dawood Ibrahim. A source saidthatwhilechecking call records connected with the incident, the agencies came upon a voice that they suspected to be Dawood’s. They are in the process of verifying if the voicewasindeedof the gangster by matching it with original samples.
 

    “Some intelligence officials suspect Dawood himself spoke to a few people in Mumbai. They want to match the voice obtained from the call records with Dawood’s voice asit is today. Records of Dawood’s voice, which are in the possession of security agencies, are a few yearsold,” said a source.
 

    Dawood is said to be staying in Pakistan and has avoided stepping out of his house ever since he was designated a global terrorist by the US.
 

    “There were frequent phonecallsfrom Pakistan to Mumbai before the Azaz Maidan violence. A few conversations were recorded. Thetechnicalbranchof a security agency is busy identifying the people who spoke over phone,” said a sourcein the security establishment. “It is a difficult task since the callers and those who received the calls avoided using names. Those who were contactedin Mumbai arebeing monitored.”
 

    Meanwhile, a senior officer of the Mumbai crime branch said he was not aware of any such conversation taking place before the violence. However, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had hinted at the involvementof a foreign handin the violence.
 

    Sources said Chavan was briefed about the developments in the case before he spoke about the foreign hand. Moreover, investigators had found that certain provocative videos (believed to be doctored) showing atrocities on Muslims were uploaded from Pakistan. The videos, and also photos bearing similar images, were circulated through Bluetooth and MMS among the youth, provoking a section of Muslims in India.
 

Plea for bail of 5 accused rejected Aarrested sessions in court the August has rejected 11 Azad the Maidan bail application violence of case five . men Judge R V Jatale said on Friday, “Two innocent people lost their lives. There has been major loss to public property… the police and media were affected. The case is very sensitive.” The accused, Imran Shaikh (32), Amin Chaudhari (28), Omar Ansari (19), Ansar Ali Qureshi and Afzal Shaikh (32) are among the 23 who were arrested immediately after the riot. Defence counsels Sharif Shaikh and Khalid Azmi said the five were randomly picked up from their residence by the police, and were innocent. TNN

The Times of India, September 8, 2012

Legal opinion sought on organizers’ role in riot

EVENING OF ANARCHY

Cops To Verify If Speeches At Rally Were Provocative 

 

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Three weeks after a mob went on the rampage in south Mumbai on August 11—for which 55 have been arrested, two of them for vandalizing the Martyrs’ Memorial—the police now seem to be going after the rally organizers. Besides finding out if the speeches at the gathering— the riot allegedly broke out at that time —were provocative, the police are also gunning for the rioters who allegedly molested women constables posted at the site.
 

    Till now, the organizers have not been made an accused in the FIR. “The police are finding out from legal experts if some of the speeches provoked the crowd and started the riot. It’s too early to say anything as the police have not got a legal opinion on booking the organizers as accused,” said a senior police officer. The crime branch has summoned all the 17 people who were present on the stage during the rally. “We have recorded the statements of most of the people and are recording that of the organizers. We are corroborating their words with the facts and information gathered by the police,” said a source. 

A senior officer said they would decide on the next course of action depending on the legal experts’ reports. “If it is found out that anyone among the organizers did play a vital role, he will be made an accused at a later stage. We don’t want to name anyone now,” a senior officer said. “The two held for vandalizing the memorial had no connection between themselves. We suspect that the violence was pre-planned. We are taking down the statements of witnesses and collecting more evidence,” said crime branch head Himangshu Roy. 

    The rally, held in protest against alleged violence against the Muslim community in Assam and Myanmar, was called by a non-registered NGO, Madina-tul-Ilm, run by a Kurla resident, Rizwan Khan. The demonstration was supported by another non-registered NGO, Raza Academy, and several other NGOs. 

“The youngsters outside Azad Maidan began manhandling the media crew even as a speaker accused the media for ignoring the Muslims’ plight,” the source said. Even as the mob went on to assault policemen, vandalize everything that came their way and one stole a police rifle, several of the rioters allegedly molested at least six women constables deployed at the site. “We have formed a separate team to probe the molestation angle and included female officers. It’s a sensitive investigation and we are taking measures to make it a watertight case,” said Roy. According to a source, the police plan to approach the home department, asking it to run the trial in a fast track court.
 

Raj raps Bihar chief secy over arrest row  

Ambarish Mishra TNN  

Mumbai: MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Friday warned that every person from Bihar staying in Mumbai will be bundled out if the Bihar government created hurdles in the arrest of the August 11 rioters. 

    Raj slammed Bihar chief secretary Navin Kumar for opposing the latest visit of the Mumbai crime branch to Patna to arrest a person wanted in the rampage. Kumar had recently written to state chief secretary Jayantkumar Bhantia, saying the Mumbai police should not visit Bihar to arrest anyone without prior intimation to the government there. Kumar reportedly sent asimilar letter to police chief Satya Pal Singh. 

“Every Bihari staying in Mumbai will be bundled out if the Bihar government doesn’t withdraw the chief secretary’s letter. I am accused of indulging in divisive politics. My detractors tell me that every Indian has a right to go to any place in the country. By the same token, cops from any part of India can go to any other part to arrest a criminal,” said Raj, addressing a party conclave at Ravindra Natya Mandir. “The Bihar chief secretary shouldn’t impede the process of investigations by the Mumbai police.” Home minister R R Patil told the media that the police had to follow certain procedures when visiting another state. “If the rules were not abided by in this case, we will look into it,” he said.
 

    Raj also reiterated his demand for Patil’s resignation. “The anti-national miscreants robbed the constables of their guns. The home department isn’t taking any action. Patil has no right to continue as the home minister.”

The Times of India, September 1, 2012

Protesters help Aug 11 probe with MMS clips

YET TO BE ARRESTED | A youth caught on camera, besides Ansari, vandalizing the martyrs’ memorial

EVENING OF ANARCHY

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Those present at the August 11 Azad Maidan rally have unknowingly helped the police in its investigation of the riot that occurred on the occasion. Police sources said that besides footage from CCTV cameras installed in the area by the BMC and the railways, investigators have access to hundreds of MMS clips that were made by rally participants. These include scenes of police personnel being beaten up and the snatching of a self-loaded rifle (SLR) from a policeman. TOI recently carried on Page 1 a picture of a rioter with the SLR. 

    “Most cellphones nowadays come equipped with a camera. As the riot broke out, many present there began shooting with their phones. Some filmed the violence for two to six minutes while most took minute-long clippings,” said a crime branch officer. “They forwarded the clippings as MMS to friends and relatives, who made yet more forwards.”

    The police activated their network of informants, or khabris, who began collecting the video clips. “The clips were circulated with an enthusiasm similar to the circulation of pictures and videos of alleged atrocities against Muslims in Assam and Myanmar. Most of the arrests we made were based on these clips,” the officer said. “In some videos, one can hear excited rioters egging others on to make yet more attacks. But we did not consider everyone seen in the clips as a rioter; the arrests were based on as much evidence as we could collect.”
 

    He said help also came from the general public in the form of pictures and videos of the violence. “We used these to identify many more rioters.”
 

    A source said the clips, along with CCTV footage, will be used as electronic evidence against the accused (see box for the legal status of such evidence).
 

    Meanwhile, the police’s cyber crime investigation cell has blocked over 55 provocative videos online and seven websites containing doctored photographs and video clippings of atrocities against Muslims.  

 

LEGALITY OF ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE
    The Supreme Court has held in the past that tape recordings can be used as corroborative evidence
    The same applies to other forms of electronic evidence
    Such evidence cannot by itself be used to secure conviction
    But it can be useful as proof along with primary evidence like eyewitness accounts and results of identification parades 

 

 RIOT | A rally called at Azad Maidan on August 11 to condemn alleged atrocities against Muslims in Assam and Myanmar turned violent, leading to attacks on police personnel and vandalism  

 

DEAD  2

 ARRESTED IN CUSTODY  54

 DISCHARGED  3
INJURED 55, including over 35 policemen
 

BAIL APPLICATIONS 5   

WANTED More than 15
 

NOTABLE ARRESTS | Salim Choukiya, for snatching a self-loaded rifle (SLR) from a policeman; Sayyed Tabrez and Waseem Khan, for stone pelting; Imran Sheikh, for lighting a match to set a police vehicle afire; Abul Qadir Ansari, for desecrating the Amar Jawan Jyoti

 

The Times of India, August 30, 2012

Rioter who assaulted cop detained

 

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The crime branch has detained an alleged rioter, Nadeem Shaikh, for assaulting a policeman on August 11 during the Azad Maidan rally. A source said the man, picked up on the basis of a photo showing him in action, would be formally arrested after his interrogation was over. His would be the 55th arrest in the case. 

    Meanwhile, the crime branch is trying to establish if Abdul Qadir Ansari, arrested for desecrating the Amar Jawan Jyoti, intended to go to Pakistan after fleeing the city. Ansari, who is being interrogated, was caught while he was preparing to leave for Nepal.
 

    “We arrested Ansari based on a photograph that appeared in the media. He was seen trying to smash the memorial,” said a police officer. “During our search, we received information from three or four areas in Mumbai where informers said he was living. It is not physically possible for a man to live at four places.
    “We started questioning people in each area and finally found that he was from Jogeshwari.”
 

    The officer said Ansari left Mumbai two days after the August 11 incident and went to Bihar’s Sitamadi district. “From there, he was preparing to leave for Nepal. We are questioning him on whether he has any friends or relatives in that country or if he wanted to go to Pakistan. It is a sensitive investigation and we are taking our steps slowly to avoid any mistakes that could ruin our case.” 

 

 

The Times of India, August 30, 2012

Amar Jawan vandal arrested in Bihar

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Mumbai police’s crime branch on Monday arrested a 19-year-old, while he was on the run in Bihar, for allegedly vandalizing the Amar Jawan memorial during the Azad Maidan riots on August 11. It is now considering charging three community leaders present at the rally with criminal conspiracy charges. 

    Abdul Qadir Ansari, a resident of Jogeshwari, was picked up from Sitamarhi district as he was preparing to flee to Nepal, said joint police commissioner (crime) Himanshu Roy. On the day of the violence, Ansari was photographed desecrating the installation along with another youth. They reportedly kicked the memorial’s fibreglass, smashed it, and damaged the rifle and helmet encased within. The police are yet to identify the second youth.
 

    The defacement caused widespread outrage, with one independent MP offering a reward of Rs 5 lakh to anyone providing credible information to police on the vandals.

Meeting in Jogeshwari moved vandal to protest

EVENING OF ANARCHY

Three New Arrests Take Tally To 54 

 

Mateen Hafeez TNN

    According to the police, Abdul Qadir Ansari returned home after the riots and remained there until August 13, when acquaintances alerted him to a picture in a newspaper that showed him defacing the Amar Jawan memorial. The same day, he took a Muzaffarpur train. On reaching Bihar, he stayed in relatives’ home in Sitamarhi for almost two weeks.
 

    Meanwhile in Mumbai, the police took Ansari’s mobile number from his family and, using that, traced his location. “We got information that he was staying at his relatives’ place in Bihar, so a team flew to catch him. He was brought to
the city and produced before a court,” said Roy. He has been remanded in police custody till September 4.
 

    Like others accused of involvement in the riot, Ansari has been booked for murder, attempt to murder, hurt, rioting, dacoity, molestation of women, damaging public property, and for other crimes. If found guilty of these charges, his sentence can range anywhere from seven years’ imprisonment to death penalty.
 

    Aside from Ansari, the police have arrested two others: Mehtab Shaikh, a Tardeo resident, and Nazir Ahmed, a resident of central Mumbai. Investigators said Shaikh was captured on camera participating in the riots, while Ahmed was injured during the violence and admitted to J J Hospital. He was arrested after discharge. Shaikh and Ahmed too have been remanded in police custody till September 4. The three latest arrests bring the total tally of those apprehended for the Azad Maidan riots to 54.
 

    Officers said Ansari passed out of Class X a while ago and, since then, was neither working nor studying. His father is a maulvi and so are three of his seven siblings.
 

    Roy said Ansari had participated in a meeting—along with hundreds of others—called in Jogeshwari before August 11. During that meeting, Ansari got “motivated to attend the Azad Maidan protest”. After the riot, the protest organizers had distanced themselves from the vandals and termed them as “anti-social elements”.
 

BREAKDOWN OF LAW AND ORDER
THE ACCUSED Abdul Qadir Ansari is a resident of Jogeshwari. The 19-year-old passed out of Class X a while ago and, since then, was neither working nor studying. His father, a maulvi who originally hails from Sitamarhi district in Bihar, came to Mumbai about three decades ago. One of eight siblings, Ansari has six brothers and two sisters. Two of his elder brothers are maulvis in Uttar Pradesh; one elder brother is a maulvi in Mumbai; the fourth elder brother works in a mobile repair shop; and a younger brother—13 years old—studies in school
 

THE INCIDENT
    As scores of men ran riot in south Mumbai on August 11, two were photographed vandalizing the Amar Jawan memorial near the BMC headquarters. They kicked the fibreglass memorial, smashed it, and then damaged the encased rifle and helmet. According to police, Ansari was one of those two. The act caused widespread outrage. The installation, unveiled in 2009, was erected in memory of two sepoys—Sayyed Hussein and Mangal Cadiya—who were martyred during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. Days after the riot, an independent MP, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for credible information about the vandals  

 

THE CHARGES Like others involved in the riot, Ansari has been booked for murder, attempt to murder, hurt, rioting, dacoity, molestation, damaging public property, and for other crimes
 

POSSIBLE PUNISHMENT | If found guilty, his sentence can range anywhere from seven years’ imprisonment to death 

 

 THE ACCOMPLICE | The police are yet to identify the second man photographed vandalizing the
Amar Jawan Jyoti and are on the lookout for him

 

CAUGHT ON CAMERA AND BY COPS
1. After the riot, Abdul Qadir Ansari returned to his Jogeshwari home and stayed there until August 13, when acquaintances told him about a picture in a newspaper of him defacing the Amar Jawan memorial 2. Panic-stricken, he took a Muzaffarpur train on the same day and left for Bihar. He took shelter in relatives’ home in Sitamarhi district and was there for almost two weeks 3. In Mumbai, Ansari’s family became aware of the vandalism act only when a police team visited them. Police noted down Ansari’s mobile number, then dug out his call records and traced his location 4. He was caught on Monday afternoon from Bihar as he was preparing to flee to Nepal 

 

 

The Times of India, August 29, 2012

Top cop gets a surprise visitor

MAKING FRIENDS: MNS chief Raj Thackeray on his way to meet the city’s new police commissioner on Monday. The previous officer, Arup Patnaik, had taken a relatively tough stance against the party

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: MNS chief Raj Thackeray, the person to whom many ascribed former city police chief Arup Patnaik’s hurried transfer after the August 11 mob violence, on Monday met Patnaik’s successor, Satya Pal Singh, to “boost the city police’s morale”.
 

   Thackeray’s party was at the receiving end of stern police action during Patnaik’s tenure, the most recent being the arrest of MNS corporator Prakash Darekar, the brother of key MNS MLA Pravin Darekar. The sequence of events, right from the August 11 violence to Thackeray’s public call for Patnaik’s scalp 10 days later to ultimately the latter’s transfer, set tongues wagging about the significance of Monday’s Singh-Thackeray meet. The MNS chief, however, denied any motive other than “boosting cops’ morale”.
 

   Thackeray, who drove in his Mercedes to reach the police commissionerate around 4.30 pm, spoke to Singh for 25 minutes. Talking to the media after the meeting, Thackeray said, “Whenever new commissioners are appointed at the BMC and the city police HQ, I congratulate them. I came here to express my best wishes to Singh and asked him to boost the morale of the force and also police personnel’s families. The police chief had admitted at his press conference that the morale of the force had gone down after the August 11 violence.”
 

   The MNS took out a rally on August 23 without police permission, with a case being registered against the party’s general secretary Shirish Sawant and others for marching from Girgaum Chowpatty to Azad Maidan. Police permission was only for a gathering at the maidan.
    Thackeray, whose party workers were in the news late last month for vandalism during a film shoot in Borivli, said, “I expect from the new police chief that mistakes committed in the past will not be repeated.”

 

 

The Times of India, August 28, 2012

3 accused in riot case released

 

 

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Three of the 51 people arrested for rioting on August 11 have been released. Abbas Ujjainwala, Aslam Ahmed Shaikh and Anees Saleem Daware were booked for murder and attempt to murder. During investigation, the police did not find evidence against them. So, they filed a discharge application under section 169 of the CrPC before the Esplanade court, which passed its order on Saturday. 

    Sources said that on August 11, Daware, a first year junior college student and a worker at a garage, had merely gone to collect his friend’s motorcycle at Azad Maidan and had left before rioting began. His family produced CCTV footage showing he was present at the garage in the duration of the riot. As for Shaikh, he was home in Dadar when the riots took place. The police said more of those arrested would be released if found innocent.
 

    Meanwhile, Tardeo resident Mehtab Shaikh, who is seen rioting in a YouTube video, has been detained. The police is verifying if he was involved in the Martyr’s Memorial desecration. 

 

 

The Times of India, August 28, 2012

Fair probe sought into ‘cop assault on accused’

EVENING OF ANARCHY

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: A socio-religious group, Jamiat-ul-Ulema, has sought a “fair inquiry” into the allegation that 23 Azad Maidan riots accused were assaulted on Friday evening inside Arthur Road jail. The group pointed out that similar claims of police brutality in the Mumbai prison have
been made in the past.
 

    Gulzar Azmi, general secretary of Jamiat’s legal cell, said, “We want a fair probe. Such things are unacceptable.” A magistrate court has demanded medical reports of the accused on Monday.
    The allegation was made after families of some of the accused went to meet them on Saturday morning. According to a source, the kin were informed that “the jail staff beat up the accused”.
 

    Azmi noted that this is not the first time such claims have been made. On June 28, 2008, more than 37 accused—allegedly involved in the 11/7 train blasts, 2006 Malegaon blasts, the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case—were reportedly assailed by constables in Arthur Road jail. The case reached the Supreme Court, which has scheduled a final hearing on August 28. 

 
Constable back, but gets no work C onstable Pramod Tawde, who is facing a departmental inquiry for presenting a rose to Raj Thackeray during the latter’s rally, resumed office on Saturday. He was, however, not assigned any work. Sources said aconstable from the wireless department had spotted Tawde near the stage 15 minutes before he approached Thackeray. “It is surprising that he dodged the protection party. He was not on bandobast duty that day,” the source said.  

 

Green passport still not traced T he police are yet to trace the purportedly Bangladeshi passport waved by Raj Thackeray at Azad Maidan during his speech last week. The MNS chief had claimed the document was found at the maidan after the August 11 riots. A senior police officer said on Sunday, “I was busy in bandobast outside the ground and hence don’t know about the passport. It must be with MNS party workers. I will have to make inquiries.”
Mateen Hafeez 

The Times of India, August 27, 2012

Malegaon made first arrest over doctored clips

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai:The first arrest in connection with the doctoring of audio-visual clips of alleged atrocities in Myanmar actually came from Malegaon. An 18-year-old youth, Khalid Shaikh, was picked up in the matter long before arrests took place in Pune and Nashik.
 

    Additional superintendent of police Sunil Kadasne said his team began monitoring cellphone users as soon as the video clips began circulating. “We asked the teams to look for people with provocative clips on their cellphones. During our surveillance, we received information that Shaikh, a scrap dealer, had got a video of the killings in Assam and Myanmar. We traced his location and seized his cellphone,” said Kadasne.
 

    He added that Shaikh had got the clipping from an auto driver. Shaikh, a Class XII passout, was sent to police custody for two days. 

    In Nashik, the Panchvati police on Friday said they would be seeking extension of police custody of Kiran Pankar (22), who had allegedly uploaded provocative posts on a social networking website on August 13. Pankar was arrested last week for sharing a photo with provocative text on it on the website. Pankar, an HSC dropout, is a master in editing photos using a popular software and used to work as a graphic designer with an advertising firm in Panchvati. Cops said Pankar manipulated the picture, which was uploaded by someone else, by adding provocative words to it and then uploaded it from his account. Pankar was in touch with 517 people on the website, cops said, and the picture got circulated and noticed by the Mumbai police.
 

    Last week, the cyber crime cell of the Pune police questioned three suspects in connection with the provocative SMSs and doctored MMS clips that have been doing the rounds in the backdrop of the violence in Assam and Myanmar. The three have been identified as Imran Irfan Khan (39), Arif Munavar Khan (47) and Sarfaraj Mohammed Iqbal Shaikh (32). Cops have also identified others in connection with the matter, and have made some arrests in the past three days. 

 

 

The Times of India, August 27, 2012

‘CP’s transfer unfair, will send wrong message’

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Retired police officers and security experts on Thursday questioned the rationale and timing of the decision to transfer Arup Patnaik.
 

    The move came just two days after Raj Thackeray slammed Patnaik and home minister R R Patil over the way the August 11 violence was handled and demanded their resignation. On Thursday, though, the government sought to clarify that the transfer was part of a“systematic procedure”.
 

    Former IPS officer Y P Singh said it appears that the government wants to promote Raj in order to tackle the Shiv Sena. “Patnaik’s transfer has sent the wrong message and is unfair. If the government wanted to transfer Patnaik, it could have done so after a thorough inquiry. It clearly looks like a punishment transfer and promotion. Patnaik has been made the scapegoat,” added Singh.
 

    Former Mumbai police commissioner M N Singh said the August 11 episode might not be the only reason for Patnaik’s transfer. “I would not like to give credit to Raj Thackeray, he is just trying to gain political mileage. He had demanded the home minister and police commisioner’s resignation, but I don’t think the decision was taken due to any political pressure,” he said.
 

    Singh further said: “I understand the proposal for Patnaik’s transfer and promotion was already in the pipeline. It looks like he has been eased out. The police handled the situation very effectively and tactfully on August 11 and we should give them credit for the same. However, Patnaik also fired a DCP in front of everybody that day. Then, a member of his force offered a rose to Raj Thackeray a few days later, which was the height of indiscipline. I suspect these incidents did not go down well with the government.”
 

    Last week, former director general of police S S Puri sent an SMS to Patnaik, appreciating the handling of the violence. The SMS was printed on the first page of the police bulletin meant for internal circulation.
 

    A senior police officer said the decision seemed hurried. “The promotion and transfer file was pending with the government; it could have waited for a few more weeks. Now, some parties will take advantage of the move. Patnaik was handling the city effectively and knew how to manage big crowds.”
 

 

‘Tough man who did some good work’ Arup Patnaik’s transfer evoked mixed reactions from members of the police force. While a section of senior officers said he was a hard taskmaster, lower ranked cops remained tightlipped.
    Sources said Patnaik did a lot of good work. “He was tough on his men as he wanted to enforce discipline. He wanted the police station to be like a corporate office and give policemen a clean and healthy environment. Patnaik took several initiatives and started at least two good canteens at the police headquarters and the Esplanade court, with subsidized and healthy food. He wanted his men to stay in shape,” said an officer.
    Patnaik went to cop quarters to check the living conditions there and even paid surprise visits to police stations to check if they were clean. “The only problem with Patnaik was that he could be really rough,” said a senior officer.—S Ahmed Ali 

 

 

The Times of India, August 24, 2012

Day after gifting rose at rally, cop skips duty

Pramod Tawde, whose presence at Tuesday’s MNS rally prompted a departmental inquiry, left his Vikhroli home (right) as usual for work on Wednesday, but didn’t go to office 

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Police naik Pramod Shantaram Tawde, who is facing a departmental enquiry for presenting a rose to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray during the latter’s rally, left office three hours before Tuesday’s rally and did not resume work even on Wednesday. Police are probing if his action was pre-planned. 

    Tawde, attached to the wireless department at Nagpada, was not posted at Azad Maidan for wireless or bandobast duty, say his seniors. “There is no question of him attending bandobast until instructed to do so. He came to office at 11am on Tuesday and worked normally before he suddenly went missing. Later, some of our colleagues came to know through TV reports that he had gone to Azad Maidan,” said the officer. Tawde’s job includes receiving wireless messages and sending them to senior officers. He admitted Tawde was part of a group of policemen beaten up by CISF men on August 12, 2010, and said the legal process is on. “He will get justice. What is the need to go on a political stage and appreciate a man speaking against the home minister and police chief?” he said. 

 
    Despite not reporting for duty, Tawde recorded his statement with the Azad Maidan police on Wednesday.
    Priyanka, Tawde’s wife, said she was surprised to see her husband on TV. “We were watching TV and all of a sudden I saw my husband on stage. I didn’t know how to react. He returned at 11pm on Tuesday and left for office at 10am on Wednesday,” she said. The couple has a daughter and a 14-year-old son. Their third-floor flat in building number 194, at police lines in Kannamwar Nagar, Vikhroli (E), has several amenities including a 40-inch flat TV and a split airconditioner. Below the TV was a bouquet with the visiting card of an MNS leader. “Some people came to appreciate my husband in the morning. But he had already left for office, so they kept the bouquet on the table,” she said.

 

The Times of India, August 23, 2012

NC offence filed against MNS chief for foul language

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Several complaints were filed with the Azad Maidan police on Wednesday over Tuesday’s MNS rally, prominent being a non-cognizable offence against party chief Raj Thackeray for using foul language against Samajwadi Party leader Abu Aasim Azmi during a rally on Tuesday. 

    The NC was registered under section 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), at the behest of Sayyed Zakir Chand, an SP member. Cops sent audio and video tapes of Thackeray’s speech to legal experts. 

    On Wednesday, Farid Batatawala, chairman of Muslim Front, an NGO, filed a written complaint with a copy of a newspaper photo showing Thackeray holding a passport in his hand. “Thackeray should be asked how he got the passport. Had it been lying at the Azad Maidan ground on August 11, the person who picked it up could be a rioter as well. It was Thackeray’s responsibility to hand the passport to police,” the application stated. Batatawala said Thackeray didn’t mention the identity of the person whose passport he displayed, and its date of issue. 

    Advocate Kanishk Jayant submitted another application to the police, demanding an FIR against Thackeray under the Prevention of Atrocities Act. “Thackeray used foul language while mentioning Indu Mill. Followers of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar know his memorial is likely to come up at the mill. Hence talking about it and using foul language was irresponsible on his part,” Jayant told TOI. 

The Times of India, August 23, 2012

Three websites with provocative content blocked

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The cyber crime investigation cell (CCIC) of the city police has blocked three websites that were showing provocative videos of violence against Muslims in Myanmar. The police have also identified at least 25 videos on variouswebsitesthatshow killing of Muslims in Assam andMyanmar. 

    Theduration of the videos is between six minutes and 10 minutes.Investigatorsbelieve the provocative content of the videos had fanned anger, resulting in violence in south Mumbaion August11. 

    Additional commissioner of police (detection, crime branch) Niket Kaushik said, “We have gone through all the videos and clippings and foundthatsomeof thesewere doctored. The images used were notof the violencein Assam or Myanmar. We have also blocked several blogs that werediscussing theseissues.” 

    Kaushik said the police have written to service providers and sought information on internet protocol (IP) addresses of websites from where these videos were uploaded. “Untilwe gettheinformation, it will be difficult to say where the videos were uploadedfrom,” saidKaushik. 

    “These provocative clippings were sold in the form of an MMS for Rs 10 each a few days before the riots. We are alsokeeping tabson some mobile memory carddealerswho had upload videos in the
cards. If found guilty, action will be taken against them,” said a crimebranchofficer.
 

    Sources said a clipping titled “Muslim being burnt in Burma” is actually that of a Tibetan protestor whohadset himself ablazetwo years ago.  

 

Muslim leaders bat for Patnaik A section of Muslim leaders has opposed MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s demand for suspension of police commissioner Arup Patnaik. “He stopped the riots from spiraling into a communal carnage. Such officers should be feted, not criticized ,” said Farid Shaikh of Mumbai Aman Committee. Maulana Mahmood Daryabadi of All India Ulema Council and Haroon Mozawala of All-India Muslim Personal Law Board echoed similar views. TNN 

 

 

The Times of India, August 19, 2012

NGOs’ funds source comes under cop lens

KHAKI COVER: Police personnel were deployed in large numbers in south Mumbai in view of the BJP’s morcha against the desecration of the Martyrs’ Memorial on August 11

 

EVENING OF ANARCHY

 

 

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The crime branch, probing the August 11 violence following a rally at Azad Maidan, will now check the source of funding of some of the NGOs that had participated in the protest. Sources said the police will verify the credentials of people who had donated money to these NGOs. 

    Two youths were killed and more than 50 people were injured in the violence.
    Raza Academychairman SaeedNoori,whohad participated in the protest rally, said his partial statement has been recorded. “The police have summoned me again to record my complete statement,” said Noori, adding that the investigators have asked him about funds his organization receives. “I told them about the source of our funds and they are satisfied,” said Noori. 

 
    The Raza Academy, whichis mainly intothe publishing of Islamic books and literature, is one of the organizers of last Saturday’s rally. It actively participates in dharnas and morchas. The organization was founded in 1978 but is yet to be registered, said Noori.
 

   The police have also received information about the residenceof thetwoboys who had desecrated the Amar Jawan memorial.     “The problem is that we have received information from a couple of sources and they have given us three to four addresses for the youths. We have passed on this information to the special investigation team (SIT) and asked them to verify the boys’ names and addresses,” said a crime branch officer. 

    Videos and photographs show two youths vandalizing the memorial during the riots. The identity of the two boys is yet to be ascertained, said the police. 

 
    Meanwhile, Saleem Chaukiya, who has been booked for stealing a cop’s self-loading rifle (SLR) during the violence, has told the investigators that he did not snatch the gun. “I was carrying the gun to hand it over to the policemen,” Chaukiya has reportedly told the sleuths. So far, the police have arrested 24 youths on charges of rioting, murder, attempt to murder, molestation and dacoity.
 

    The police are also examining the role of at least six youths who claim to be innocent. “They will be discharged if we find that they were not involved in the rioting,” the officer added. So far, cops have identified 60 people from news footage and photographs. It is learnt that these people will be picked by for questioning after Eid.
 

Probe Report
• The police have received information about the residence of the two boys who had desecrated the
Amar Jawan memorial

• The special investigation team will verify these boys’ names and addresses

• The police have so far identified nearly 60 people who were involved in the violence from news footage and photographs  

BJP hits out at CM over riots T he BJP on Saturday organized a march from Vasudev Balwant Phadke Chowk (Metro circle) to Azad Maidan to condemn the desecration of the Amar Jawan memorial during the August 11 riots. Over 1,500 people participated in the march amid heavy police bandobast. The BJP also turned the heat on chief minister Prithviraj Chavan over the riots. While reiterating the party’s demand for the resignation of home minister RR Patil and police commissioner Arup Patnaik, BJP’s city unit chief Raj Purohit slammed the CM for not announcing an independent judicial inquiry into the violence. The BJP has demanded a probe by an acting high court judge into the incident. “What is holding Chavan back? Why is he hesitating to order a judicial inquiry,” Purohit questioned. BJP leader Ram Naik criticized PM Manmohan Singh of not visiting the memorial during his visit to the city. TNN

The Times of India, August 19, 2011

Protesters snatched guns, fired in air, show CCTV

A video grab shows a protester wielding an SLR on Saturday

 

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The special investigation team (SIT) probing Saturday’s violence outside Azad Maidan has found from video footage that a section of protesters snatched self-loading rifles (SLRs) from policemen and started firing in the air. One clip shows a man in his thirties wearing kurta pyjama walking around with an SLR. His identity is yet to be established. 

    “There are other videos where the protesters are seen snatching the rifles from the police and firing in the air,” a senior crime branch officer said. 

    Police had to resort to firing to control the mob that went on the rampage. Two persons were killed and 63 injured, including 58 policemen, in the violence. Autopsy reports of the two dead have confirmed that they died from bullet injuries but it is not known whether they died in police firing or stray bullets from the snatched rifles hit them. Police also suspect that private firearms were used during the violence.
   

 Two SLRs, 150 rounds of ammunition and a service pistol of a police inspector were snatched by the mob. The police have been able to recover two SLRs and 29 rounds of ammunition but the rest are still missing.  

 

EVENING OF ANARCHY Ahle Hadees Group Under Police Scanner As Rioters Came From Sect’s Strongholds, Cops Say Innocents Will Be Released 3 more detained for Saturday’s rioting 

 
Mumbai: After Saturday’s violence outside Azad Maidan, 23 people have been arrested and charged with attempt to murder, rioting, molestation and destruction of properties and have been remanded in custody till August 19. But police officials said around five-six of them may be innocent and will be released. “Once we are sure that a few of the arrested boys have no role to play, we will move the court asking them to discharge them under Section 169 of the CrPC,” the officer said. 

    On Wednesday, the SIT detained three more people from Dongri to probe their involvement in the rioting. “The three had injury marks on their bodies and they told us that they were beaten up by the mob. They admitted to their presence at Azad Maidan but said they had come to see what was happening there. We will arrest them depending on the role they played in the violence,” the officer said.
 

    The police are also focusing on identifying two youths who desecrated the 1857 Martyrs’ Memorial near Azad Maidan, the venue of the protest. “We have activated all our informants and are hoping to get a lead soon,” a police source said. The police have sent the suspects’ photographs to all the police stations and its network of informants. 

    Meanwhile, one of the Islamic sects, Ahle Hadees, has come under police scanner. This sect is being suspected because a big group of protesters came from Kurla, Govandi and Mumbra and these are the strongholds of Ahle Hadees in Mumbai. On the basis of information provided by some informers, the cops are trying to verify if the Ahle Hadees group had instigated some elements for rioting during the protest rally. Despite repeated attempts, Maulana Abdus Salam Salfi, head of Ahle Hadees Jamaat in Mumbai couldn’t be contacted for comments. 

    A puritanical group, Ahle Hadees sect is ideologically close to the Wahabis, who harbour extreme views. They are active in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. In Pakistan, Sunni congregations have been targeted by the Wahabis. However, in India they are not known to have attacked the Sunnis.
 

   The ideological father of Ahle Hadees in India is 18th century scholar Shah Waliullah. Since the Sunnis and Barelvis stridently criticize the Ahle Hadees, this sect might have incited a group to sabotage the protest meet organized by the Sunni groups on Saturday, police believe.
 

Be tolerant, leaders tell youth
    Taking advantage of the Independence Day celebrations, community leaders called upon the Muslim youth to shun emotionalism, join the mainstream and take advantage of India’s economic growth. They told the youngsters to have faith in India’s secularism and be tolerant towards other cultures and faiths. Addressing teachers and students at Anjuman-e-Islam’s headquarters near CST, close to the site of Saturday’s vandalism, its president Dr Zahir Kazi said that Saturday’s violence was unwarranted and condemnable. “Secularism is our strength and patriotismmust be given top priority. Anjuman-e-Islam has a great responsibility to uphold nationalism. We must prove by example,” he said. He also asked the youngsters not to take law into their hands and not to indulge in wanton violence in order to lodge their protest. “To protest is everyone’s democratic right but it should be peaceful. Muslims must follow the Quranic commandments,” he counselled.
    —Mohammed Wajihuddin

 

 

The Times of India, August 16, 2012

Group of 36 started violence, say police

S Ahmed Ali & Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: After two days of investigation into Saturday’s violence, police said it was a group of 36 youth who started the entire violence, while five of the 23 held have criminal connections. Police also said they have identified 14 people among the 60-70 youths who damaged public and private property and attacked policemen and media personnel.
 

    “From the CCTV footage obtained from the railways, it appears that this group arrived by local trains and started ransacking the shops in the subway. They then proceeded to Azad Maidan. They did not enter the ground but picked up a fight with the policemen who were stationed outside, when they refused to let them in as the meeting had almost come to an end,” a police officer said.
 

    Police said they are trying to find out whether they were instigated by any particular group to carry out violence.
 

    Sources said the 14 who have been identified are from Kasaiwada in Kurla (E), Shivaji Nagar in Govandi and Mumbra in Thane and all of them were missing from their homes.
 

    Police sources said they were identified with the help of community leaders, locals and informers using the CCTV footages. “We are looking for those who have been captured in the videos,” joint commissioner of police (crime) Himanshu Roy said.
 

    Meanwhile, the police have found that five of the 23 arrested have previous criminal records and have been called in at police stations for their role in rioting and assault cases. “One of the two deceased, Umer Shaikh, who was found dead near the CST railway station, had four cases against him. He was earlier involved in assault and rioting cases,” said a police source.
 

    They said the rest of the 18 do not have any police records and their relatives claimed that they had gone to Azad Maidan to see the protest rally.
 

    The special investigation team (SIT) that is probing the case has sent summons to 17 religious leaders, including a retired assistant commissioner of police Shamsher Khan Pathan, who were on the dias. SIT sources said though these 17 are not accused but their names have been mentioned in the FIR and police are scanning CCTV footages to find out if any of them gave any provocative speech that led to rioting and arson. 

    Highly placed sources said the home department is likely to reward all those policemen who took prompt action with gallantry awards. Sources said that police commissioner is now making a list of policemen, many of the lady constables, who did their duty without fear. 

 
CM Chavan briefs PM, Sonia Gandhi
    Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress party president Sonia Gandhi and briefed them about the Mumbai violence. Chavan also sought assistance from the intelligence bureau to probe the role of foreign hand. 

 
‘Crime branch free, so given probe’
    Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik on Monday told media that the investigation of the Saturday’s violence was handed over to the crime branch as they are free and have no work. The crime branch has formed the special investigating team (SIT) to probe into it. 

 
Few websites blocked
    Police have blocked some social networking sites, including indianarmyfans. com, that were showing morphed pictures. “We have also written to Google and Facebook. There are rumours that it originated from Pakistan, but it has not been confirmed,” ACP Niket Kaushik said. 

The Times of India, August 15, 2012

Waiting for iftar, family gets Shaikh’s body

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: The family of Mohammed Umer Shaikh, who died in Saturday’s violence, said they were waiting for him to come with iftar to break their Ramzan fast, but instead it was the 25-year-old’s body that reached their home at Garib Nagar slum outside Bandra railway station. “He was fast asleep till afternoon. At 2pm, he woke up, dressed and left saying he was going to Azad Maidan,” said his young er brother Rashid, who had acc o m p a n i e d him. “We were all together till police started lathicharge.” 

    Rashid said they got separated and tried contacting his brother but his phone was switched off, so he left for home as it was time to break the fast. “Only an hour later, I received a call saying that there was a body which I have to identify. When I went to the hospital, I was shocked to see my brother lying in a pool of blood,” said Rashid, who sells leather belts at the Bandra railway station’s foot over bridge. 

    Siddiqa, Shaikh’s wife, was inconsolable. “Why did you leave me alone? Come back and take me with you?” she cried. The couple got married five years ago and has a three-and-a-half-yearold handicapped son Oman. “Oman cannot sit or stand. He just lies down all the time. Shaikh had been trying for his treatment,” said a neighbor. Shaikh, a fitness freak, was to collect his new clothes from the tailor for Eid once he returned from Azad Maidan.

Mohammed Umer Shaikh


The Times of India, August 13, 2012