Relieved they’re not ‘wanted’

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai:Atleasttwo residents of the Mumbai region—a Thane resident and an Arthur Road jail inmate—are relieved that the CBI has updated its list of most wanted suspects for whom red-corner Interpol notices have been issued.

The two men—2003 Mulund blast suspect Wazhul Kamar Khan and 1993 serial blasts accused Feroz Khan Abdul Rashid—were named as being among the 50 most wanted accused hiding in Pakistan in an earlier list the Union home ministry sent to the neighbouring country.

TOI was the first to report on May 17 that Khan was not only very much in India, but also in touch with the authorities as he was out on bail. TOI traced Khan to the Wagle Estate area of Thane, where he is staying with his family. He said he had never gone to Pakistan, but had initially gone absconding when named in the Mulund blast case. He was arrested in May 2010, but was released on bail after the court did not find sufficient evidence against him.

“It was a nice feeling to have my name removed from the list of most wanted people,” Khan said on Thursday. “When it was reported in the media, that my name was on the list of most wanted terrorists, my whole family was traumatized and I could not even go anywhere without thinking about whether people would ask about it,” he said.

“I don’t even know the other suspects in the Mulund case,” Khan said. “I had not committed any crime, but was picked up. Now I am out of jail and feel good to be with my family. I am concentrating on educating my kids.”

Rashid, 51, who according to an incorrect Interpol notice was supposedly hiding in Pakistan, was found in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail as an undertrial. Farhana Shah, Rashid’s lawyer, said, “We are relieved that the security agencies have removed my client’s name from the most-wanted list. He was very much in India for several years, but his name was included in a list of suspects who were reportedly hiding in some other country.”

The Times of India, July 8, 2011

No Shakeel or Rajan in CBI’s new wanted list

S Ahmed Ali TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: More than a month after it was left shamefaced for sharing a flawed list of ‘most wanted men’ with Pakistan, the CBI has uploaded an updated list on its website.

Unlike the earlier list which had names of those dead or jailed or those living in comfort at their home, the new list, at least on the face of it, does not contain any errors.

It mentions names like Dawood Ibrahim, his brother Anees, his trusted lieutenant Aftab Bhatki, 1993 blasts accused Tiger Memon and Ayub Memon besides Ahmed Mohammed Dossa, Riyaz Khatri and Azam Cheema. And, all importantly, it prunes the number of wanted men against whom red-corner notices have been issued to 159 from more than 300. There is one surprise, though. Names like Chhota Rajan, Iqbal Mirchi, Chhota Shakeel, Hemant Pujari, Ravi Pujari and Ejaz Lakdawala have been left out.


GANGSTA BRIGADE

• The CBI had taken the most wanted list off its website after TOI exposed flaws in it

• The updated list has 159 names, down from 300, but provides more details

• Gangsters like Iqbal Mirchi, Hemant Pujari, Ravi Pujari and Ejaz Lakdawala find no mention

Mob boss is now known as Shaikh Dawood Hassan
Mumbai: The CBI’s updated list on most wanted men has thrown up some surprises.

On May 17, the CBI was left red-faced when The Times of India exposed that one of the men on its most wanted list, Wazhul Kamar Khan, was living in Thane. The blooper, home minister P Chidambaram explained, was a “genuine oversight” and a “human error”.

It later transpired that there were more flaws in the list. Among those who continued to show up as wanted accused were Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan alias Ferozuddin alias Hamza, a 1993 bomb blast accused who was in Arthur Road jail since 2010; Dawood’s elder brother Noora, who died of kidney failure in Karachi last year; and Chhota Rajan aide Ejaz Pathan, who died in 2008 at Arthur Road jail after a heart attack.
As a result of the continual embarrassment, the CBI took the list off its site.

Perhaps to make amends for its past mistakes, the central agency has made the new listing more detailed. nstead of Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, it gives Dawood’s name as Shaikh Dawood Hassan because, according to sources, this is the name on his new passport. The list also gives Dawood’s exact date and place of birth besides the cases he is wanted for.

“Take counterfeit currency king Aftab Bhatki for example. The CBI has not only given his date of birth but also the detail that he ‘wears dentures with two or three gold teeth in upper left section’,” said an official.

CBI spokesperson Dirian Mishra said on Thursday: “An updated list has been put on the website after a careful study of each case with the help of states. We have now asked all state police heads to keep us posted on developments regarding the most wanted... whether they have been arrested or are reported to be dead.”
Asked about the names missing from the new list, Mishra said, “It is still being updated. I cannot talk about any specific cases.”

TOP OF THE LIST
ANEES IBRAHIM KASKAR | Dawood’s younger brother, Anees moves wherever his infamous sibling goes. In D-gang’s hierarchy, he ranks only behind Dawood and Chhota Shakeel

IBRAHIM MEMON AKA TIGER MEMON |
He was one of the key conspirators behind the ’93 Mumbai blasts. Memon arranged the finances, recruited men for the job, and helped in transporting the explosives

AYUB MEMON | Like his brother Ibrahim, Ayub too conspired in the ’93 blasts. His scooter was later found abandoned at Worli, packed with explosives

AZAM CHEEMA | He played a major role in the formation of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen. Cheema is believed to have indoctrinated many young men from Mumbai, Pune and Azamgarh in terrorism

DAWOOD IBRAHIM KASKAR | The son of a head constable, Dawood has about 42 cases pending against him, including for counterfeiting currency, trans-national crime, terrorism

AFTAB BHATKI | The son of a Crawford Market trader, he got into illegal currency exchange and soon began working for Dawood. Bhatki is now considered a lynchpin of the counterfeit currency
trade

Dawood & Chhota Rajan

Oddly, few names are left off list

CBI Makes Amends By Giving Details Of Most Wanted

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: The Central Bureau of nvestigation (CBI) has strangey left out many top names from the updated version of its most wanted’ list. Many expected the investigative agency to include gangsters such as Chhota Rajan, Hemant Puari, Ravi Pujari, Ejaz Lakdawala and Guru Satam besides ndian Mujahideen members Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal n its revised list of most wanted people against whom red-corner notices have been issued. But these names are missing CBI spokesperson Dirian Mishra explains, “The list is not complete. We are still updating it.” The CBI was forced to revise its roll of most wanted fugitives after The Times of India exposed that one of the men n it, Wazhul Kamar Khan, was living in Thane. This was followed by more embarrassments. Another most wanted accused, Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan alias Ferozuddin alias Hamza, was found in Arthur Road jail. And yet another, Dawood’s elder brother, Noora, had died of kidney failure in Karachi in 2010. A police officer says, “I suppose we cannot catch Dawood and his aides because Pakistan is protecting them. But what stops us from catching Chhoa Rajan? Is it because of his close ties with an intelligence agency of our country?” Rajan began his career in the world of crime as a small-time black marketeer who sold movie tickets at inflated rates outside a cinema hall n Tilak Nagar in Mumbai. When he got more clout, he expanded his area of functioning to the eastern and northern suburbs. To get yet more support, he joined hands with the D-gang. This was until their famous split later.

Rajan’s story is quite different from gangster Ejaz Lakdawala’s. Lakdawala, who is believed to be in hiding in Bangkok, fled India after the Mumbai police tightened the noose around him. In 2003, he was shot at in Bangkok while on a shopping spree with his wife and two-yearold daughter Shifa. He narrowly escaped the attack.

WANTED, UNLISTED

RAJENDRA NIKHALJE ALIAS CHHOTA RAJAN | Once a black marketeer, Rajan quickly rose through the underworld’s ranks after joining the gang of Bada Rajan. When Bada Rajan got murdered, Rajan started working with Dawood. This alliance continued until their famous split. Rajan is currently wanted in 17 murder cases and several more attempted murders

HEMANT PUJARI | He started out in Rajan’s gang by doing petty crimes before parting ways years later. He eventually had to go into hiding after an attack on his life

RAVI PUJARI | Another old Rajan foot soldier, Pujari has been trying to make his mark in the Mumbai underworld for long. According to the police, he uses young men hired from other states to kill targets in the city. Many times, he has paid as little as Rs 15,000 for a killing

EJAZ LAKDAWALA | Another member of Rajan’s gang, Lakdawala split from his mentor years ago. In the ’90s, he frequently called up Bollywood stars to extort big sums. A year ago, he had a narrow escape when some gunmen opened firing at him in South Africa

RIYAZ BHATKAL | Bhatkal started as a petty criminal with the Fahim Machmach gang, but later formed his own group under the name R N (R for Riyaz and N for Niyaz). The police say he was indoctrinated by brothers Amir and Asif Raza, and, in 2002, he formed an Indian Mujahideen module

The Times of India, July 8, 2011

No Shakeel or Rajan in CBI’s new wanted list

S Ahmed Ali TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: More than a month after it was left shamefaced for sharing a flawed list of ‘most wanted men’ with Pakistan, the CBI has uploaded an updated list on its website.

Unlike the earlier list which had names of those dead or jailed or those living in comfort at their home, the new list, at least on the face of it, does not contain any errors.

It mentions names like Dawood Ibrahim, his brother Anees, his trusted lieutenant Aftab Bhatki, 1993 blasts accused Tiger Memon and Ayub Memon besides Ahmed Mohammed Dossa, Riyaz Khatri and Azam Cheema. And, all importantly, it prunes the number of wanted men against whom red-corner notices have been issued to 159 from more than 300. There is one surprise, though. Names like Chhota Rajan, Iqbal Mirchi, Chhota Shakeel, Hemant Pujari, Ravi Pujari and Ejaz Lakdawala have been left out.



GANGSTA BRIGADE

• The CBI had taken the most wanted list off its website after TOI exposed flaws in it

• The updated list has 159 names, down from 300, but provides more details

• Gangsters like Iqbal Mirchi, Hemant Pujari, Ravi Pujari and Ejaz Lakdawala find no mention

Mob boss is now known as Shaikh Dawood Hassan
Mumbai: The CBI’s updated list on most wanted men has thrown up some surprises.
On May 17, the CBI was left red-faced when The Times of India exposed that one of the men on its most wanted list, Wazhul Kamar Khan, was living in Thane. The blooper, home minister P Chidambaram explained, was a “genuine oversight” and a “human error”.

It later transpired that there were more flaws in the list. Among those who continued to show up as wanted accused were Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan alias Ferozuddin alias Hamza, a 1993 bomb blast accused who was in Arthur Road jail since 2010; Dawood’s elder brother Noora, who died of kidney failure in Karachi last year; and Chhota Rajan aide Ejaz Pathan, who died in 2008 at Arthur Road jail after a heart attack.
As a result of the continual embarrassment, the CBI took the list off its site.

Perhaps to make amends for its past mistakes, the central agency has made the new listing more detailed. nstead of Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, it gives Dawood’s name as Shaikh Dawood Hassan because, according to sources, this is the name on his new passport. The list also gives Dawood’s exact date and place of birth besides the cases he is wanted for.
“Take counterfeit currency king Aftab Bhatki for example. The CBI has not only given his date of birth but also the detail that he ‘wears dentures with two or three gold teeth in upper left section’,” said an official.
CBI spokesperson Dirian Mishra said on Thursday: “An updated list has been put on the website after a careful study of each case with the help of states. We have now asked all state police heads to keep us posted on developments regarding the most wanted... whether they have been arrested or are reported to be dead.”
Asked about the names missing from the new list, Mishra said, “It is still being updated. I cannot talk about any specific cases.”

TOP OF THE LIST

ANEES IBRAHIM KASKAR | Dawood’s younger brother, Anees moves wherever his infamous sibling goes. In D-gang’s hierarchy, he ranks only behind Dawood and Chhota Shakeel

IBRAHIM MEMON AKA TIGER MEMON |
He was one of the key conspirators behind the ’93 Mumbai blasts. Memon arranged the finances, recruited men for the job, and helped in transporting the explosives

AYUB MEMON | Like his brother Ibrahim, Ayub too conspired in the ’93 blasts. His scooter was later found abandoned at Worli, packed with explosives

AZAM CHEEMA | He played a major role in the formation of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen. Cheema is believed to have indoctrinated many young men from Mumbai, Pune and Azamgarh in terrorism

DAWOOD IBRAHIM KASKAR | The son of a head constable, Dawood has about 42 cases pending against him, including for counterfeiting currency, trans-national crime, terrorism

AFTAB BHATKI | The son of a Crawford Market trader, he got into illegal currency exchange and soon began working for Dawood. Bhatki is now considered a lynchpin of the counterfeit currency
trade

Dawood & Chhota Rajan


The Times of India, July 8, 2011

Clarify ‘most wanted’ list status: Pak

India To Notify The Changes Through Interpol

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Pakistan has asked for “clarifications” on the exact status of India’s “most wanted” terrorists’ list after New Delhi goofed up big time on the contents.

The Pakistani communication comes even as both countries restart talks on Siachen from Monday. The 12th round of Siachen talks are being held after four years.

The Pakistani high commission sought clarifications on India’s terror list from the home ministry. In startling revelations earlier this month, it was found that two on India’s “most wanted” list were actually in Indian jails, not in Pakistan at all.

It was terribly embarrassing for India, besides undermining its battle against terrorism from Pakistan. Officials in the home ministry said that India would notify changes in the list to Pakistan through Interpol, because most of the names on the list belong to red corner notices. Separately, Pillai said on Saturday, “The review of the entire list, which was handed over is being currently undertaken by the CBI, the NIA and various agencies. As soon as they are completed, if there are any corrections to be made, we will make that and then communicate the same to the Pakistani side.”

The Pakistani foreign office spokesperson said, “It is an Indian list; it is up to the Indians to decide who to put on it. Obviously anything that is given to us, we will look at it seriously. In the context of looking at any such issue seriously, we have referred to the Indian ministry of external affairs the request seeking clarification about the exact status of the list.”


The Times of India, May 30, 2011

‘Most-wanted’ misses hearing for cop shortage

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: For the Mumbai police, stepping up security during IPL matches in the city seems to be more important than ensuring that the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts trial goes off smoothly.

With most policemen away on bandobast duty, Feroze Khan, the ’93 blasts accused
who is actually lodged at the Arthur Road jail but erroneously mentioned on the mostwanted list submitted to Pakistan, could not be produced in court on time on Monday morning. Undertrials are usually escorted from their jails to courts by the Local Arms unit personnel. However, there was no policeman available on Monday to escort Khan to court. He was finally sent there around 5 in the evening.

Incidentally, it was not only Khan but hundreds of other undertrials who could not attend their hearings as no policeman to accompany them.

Khan is accused of visiting Pakistan for firearms training and helping other accused smuggle goods before the blasts. His lawyer, advocate Farhana Shah, also kept waiting till noon but the court was later told that Khan could not be sent for a hearing because of the shortage in manpower. Tada court judge S T Mahajan has now given another date for his hearing on June 13.

“Initially, it was said that as there was no one to escort Khan, he could not be brought to court. Later, he was sent there in the evening. After marking his presence, the court has given a new date for his hearing, which will be next held on June,” said Shah.

On a list submitted to Islamabad, Khan was erroneously named as the 24th “mostwanted” suspect who have taken refuge in Pakistan. However,hehasbeenattheArthur Road prison after being arrested in Febraury last year.

The Times of India, May 24, 2011

‘Release my son, then look for him in Pak’

’93 blasts accused Feroz Khan’s father, Abdul Rashid Khan, near Arthur Road jail

Father of ‘Most-Wanted’ Upset About Negligence

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Former Indian Navy sailor Abdul Rashid Khan said if his son was indeed wanted and hiding in Pakistan, then the government should release him forthwith and then search for him again. His son, Feroze, was mentioned on a list of India’s 50 most-wanted terror suspects reportedly hiding in Pakistan, but is actually lodged at the Arthur Road jail for being allegedly involved in the 1993 serial bomb blasts.

“Going by the government list, my son is hiding in Pakistan. Then who is this guy lodged in the Arthur Road jail? If Feroze is still wanted, then release him and you better search him in Pakistan,” said Khan. The absurd statement, he said, was a response to the evident apathy with which sensitive government lists were prepared without any thought spared for the consequent embarrassment.

The list with names of India’s 50 most-wanted terrorists, who have reportedly taken refuge in Pakistan, was submitted to Islamabad in March. However, Feroze has been in the Mumbai’s prison since February 2010. The goof-up first came to light when TOI on May 17 reported that the list had a name of a supposedly wanted-accused, Mulund train blast suspect Wazhul Kamar Khan, who actually stayed in Thane with his family since he was released on bail in August last year. Union home minister P Chidambaram has apologized for the goof-up.

Khan (75) spoke to TOI on Saturday when he came to meet his son at the Arthur Road jail, as he does every week. Right after entering his name in the ‘meeting register’, he went to buy fruit, biscuits and dry fruit for Feroze; relatives are allowed to send fruit and biscuits to inmates only once a week on Saturday. “Every week, I come all the way from Navi Mumbai to meet him. I stay with my wife, Najma, at Balaji Garden in Koparkhairane in Navi Mumbai. Feroze learnt about his name being on the most-wanted list through newspapers. We are now planning to apply for his bail,” said Khan as he gathers two bags with fruit, cold drinks and other edibles and gets ready to meet his son.

Feroze, a junior college drop-out from Elphinston College, has been accused of visiting Pakistan thrice, taking training in weapons, helping the D-gang in unloading firearms and explosives at Dighi jetty and later transporting them before the serial blasts. Feroze’s two elder brothers are abroad and they send Khan money regularly. “Thanks to that, I can send home-made food to Feroze and also afford the transportation costs and legal fees. I did not get any support from my community or socalled community leaders to get my son released,” Khan said, adding that NCP MLA Ganesh Naik, who was his neighbour, had always been a moral support for him and his wife.

Khan started working in the navy from 1956, and after 10 years, he opted for voluntary retirement on medical grounds. He still gets his pension. Feroze’s grandfather, Amir Khan, also worked with the Indian Navy and was there for 25 years. Feroze’s family lived in Colaba’s Navy Nagar when Khan used to be in the navy, but after retirement, the family first shifted to Kurla’s Taximen Colony and later to Koparkhairane.


The Times of India, May 22, 2011

‘No apologies for goof-ups in wanted list’

New Delhi: Union home minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said although the goofups in the ‘most wanted’ lists were embarrassing, there was no question of apologizing to Wazhul Khan and Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan, who have been dubbed fugitives despite being in India.
Chidambaram also described exchanging such lists with Pakistan as a futile exercise, saying, “These lists have been exchanged in 2004, 2007 and 2011. The Pakistan government has always been dismissive.” TNN P 13

Refuses to say sorry, feels list exchange with Pak futile

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Home minister P Chidambaram feels that exchanging fugitives’ lists with Pakistan is a futile exercise.

Under attack from his rivals for the faux pas in the “most wanted” list handed over to Pakistan, Chidambaram dismissed the suggestion that the embarrassing lapse will encourage Islamabad to shrug off New Delhi’s demand for the custody of fugitives holed up in the neighbouring country. Asked about the concern in a TV interview, Chidambaram said “I doubt it. You see these lists have been exchanged in 2004, 2007 and 2011. Pakistan has always been dismissive.” The home minister also appeared to doubt the utility of exchanging list with Pakistan.

The minister denied the goof-up has damaged government’s credibility, but said it was “a wake-up call to the agencies to become more professional”. Chidambaram disagreed with the suggestion that the government owed an apology to Wazhul Kamar Khan and Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan, who have been dubbed fugitives despite being in India. Emphasizing that the two were fugitives from justice, Chidambaram said “it was not right to exonerate them at this stage” since they have been accused in grave cases.

The home minister said that while government was regretful and had said so, the suggestion that it needed to apologize is “carrying the argument too far”.

Errors shouldn’t be made big issue: Pak
Islamabad: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday said errors in a list of 50 fugitives sought by India from Pakistan should not be made a “big issue” and the two countries should move forward to enhance their friendship. AGENCIES

The Times of India, May 22, 2011

Red-corner list pulled out by RED-FACED GOVT

Central Government Official Says More Action On Updating Database Of Wanted Criminals May Come In 10 Days

Vishwa Mohan & S Ahmed Ali | TNN

Despite admitting mistakes at different levels, secretary (internal security) in the home ministry U K Bansal said there was no plan to recall the list of ‘50 most wanted’ sent to Pakistan. “The entire list is being reviewed. We have no plan to recall the list from Pakistan,” he said. Officials in the home ministry said India would inform Pakistan about errors in the ‘list of 50’ through Interpol soon.

“This is the first step that we have taken. Some more action will be taken in the next 10 days to ensure that the list of wanted persons is error-free,” an official said after the Union home ministry ordered a tooth-combing of wanted lists by central agencies and all state governments. Blunders have been pointed out in the ‘50 most wanted’ list given to Pakistan and the red-corner list.

The steps came amid indications of a nudge from the Congress to take action against those responsible for the various blunders. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi put on record the party’s desire for action by saying that the matter was “serious” and accountability needed to be fixed.

On Friday, with embarrassment piling, the CBI pulled all its lists — red-corner, yellow-corner (white-collar crime) and general — off the internet as it rushed to update the database. Visitors to the website saw the message, ‘Temporarily taken off its list for updation,’ when they tried to access the lists. CBI sources said they pulled the lists after Union home minister P Chidambaram pulled up the investigating agency for the goof-ups.

The Union home ministry, CBI and other investigating agencies faced huge embarrassment when it was revealed that two men on the ‘50 most wanted’ list given to Pakistan had been arrested by police in Mumbai and were in India. This list had been mainly compiled from the CBI’s red-corner database. TOI reported on Friday that four other men remained in the red-corner database despite being either dead or arrested.

The latest shocker, a seventh case, emerged on Friday when it was revealed that Rajkumar Meghen, leader of the United National Liberation Front, an insurgent group in the Northeast, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) last year but remained on the red-corner list. The redcorner notice was issued against Meghen at the request of the Manipur police, but neither the state police nor the NIA informed the CBI about his arrest.

Regarding the earlier six cases, on Tuesday it was reported that Mulund blast accused Wazhul Kamar Khan, who India had told Pakistan was hiding in that country, was actually in Thane and out on bail. On Thursday it emerged that ’93 serial blasts accused Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan, aka Hamza, also in the ’50 most wanted’ list, is in Arthur Road jail. On Friday, it was reported that don Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Noora still has a red-corner notice (RCN) against him, though he is dead. It is the same case with ’93 blasts convict Ejaz Pathan, who died in jail in Mumbai. Two HuJI men also have RCNs against them, though one of them, Mohammed Abdul Shahed aka Shahed Bilal, is dead, and another, Saikh Abdul Khaja aka Mohammed Amjad, is in jail in Andhra Pradesh.

Chidambaram on Thursday suspended a junior inspector and transferred a superintendent and deputy superintendent of police from the CBI’s Interpol division in New Delhi in the first damage-control step taken following revelations of the goof-ups.

The home ministry had sent the 50 ‘most wanted’ list to Pakistan in the wake of the US gunning down Osama bin Laden in that country. India said the men on the list had sought shelter in Pakistan and demanded that they be sent home to face charges. The list was prepared by the CBI, NIA and other wings of the government in consultation with IB’s counter-terror intelligence unit Multi-Agency Centre (MAC).

COPS CORNERED
Names that were on the Interpol red-corner notice list

Feroze Abdul Khan | ACCUSED IN THE 1993 MUMBAI SERIAL BLASTS
Was nabbed last year and is in a Mumbai jail. Was on the list of suspects reportedly hiding in Pak

Rajkumar Meghen | OF THE NORTHEAST INSURGENT GROUP UNITED NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT Has been arrested by the National Investigation Agency

Noora | ELDER BROTHER OF DAWOOD IBRAHIM
He had died of kidney failure last year in Karachi

Wazhul Kamar Khan | ACCUSED IN THE MULUND BLAST
Was arrested last year and lives in Thane after getting bail. Was on the list of suspects reportedly hiding in Pak

Shaikh Abdul Khaja, aka Mohammed Amjad
| HUJI’S SECOND-IN-COMMAND IN SOUTH INDIA
In Cherlapalli jail in Hyderabad

Ejaz Pathan | CHHOTA RAJAN AIDE A 1993 serial blasts convict, he died in 2008 in the Arthur Road jail

Mohammed Abdul Shahed, aka Shahed Bilal
ALLEGED SOUTH INDIA COMMANDER OF HARKATUL-JIHADI ISLAM Reportedly killed by Pakistani intelligence in Karachi

CBI saves face, passes the buck to states

Neeraj Chauhan | TNN

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday passed the buck to the state police departments and staff crunch as it tried to wriggle out of the embarrassment over the second glaring goof-up in the most wanted list handed over to Pakistan.

The agency had egg on its face on Thursday after it transpired that Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan, a 1993 blast accused who is lodged in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail, was 24th on the most wanted list. A chastened CBI has removed the wanted list from the agency’s website. Besides, it has “...asked all the states to provide status of their wanted”. Plans are also afoot to “revamp its Interpol system”.

The agency, however, distanced itself from list of wanted furnished by state police departments and other agencies. CBI said that it had given 27 names in the list of 50 wanted. And, barring a solitary goof-up, the rest 26 are authentic, the agency claimed.

A senior CBI official explained the reasons for the goof-up. “The agency has about 550 cases of wanted criminals against whom red-corner notices (RCNs) have been issued. In most of the cases, the notices have been issued at the request of state governments while some of them are being probed by the CBI,” he said.

An RCN issued by Interpol allows all the member countries to arrest a person against whom it is issued, if spotted in their country. CBI, being the nodal agency for Interpol, issues RCNs. “States’ police send us requests for RCNs. We add it to the list. Now, when the person is arrested, it’s the duty of the state police to inform us. Besides, some of the cases are 10-15 years old. We’re like a post-office when it comes to issuing of RCNs,” the officer added.

Citing an example, the agency said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) did not inform it about the arrest of Rajkumar Meghen, chairman of banned Manipuri militant group, United National Liberation Front (UNLF), who was nabbed last October. Also, the Mumbai Police didn’t bother to take CBI into confidence about Wazhul Khan—the first of the goof-ups in the ‘wanted’ list that came to light earlier this week. Investigations suggested Khan has been living in Mumbai and Thane for long.

CBI will ask states to provide status of the wanted on a quarterly basis. “It is not our job to monitor the wanted list. But, we will make sure that we get the right information from states, and on time,” the official added.

City cops slam CBI for keeping Bhatkals off list
To give credence to the Mumbai police’s claim that the CBI is communicating poorly with the local authorities, senior officials revealed that the central investigating agency has made no headway in including key Indian Mujahideen (IM) suspects Mohsin Choudhary, Yasin Bhatkal and Riyaz Bhatkal in the red-corner notice (RCN) list.

The IM, which uses terror emails as part of its modus operandi, is suspected to be behind several blasts in the country, including in Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Delhi, all occurring after 2006.

“After we learnt that Choudhary and Yasin were being sheltered by Inter-Services Intelligence along with Lashkar operative Amir Raza in Pakistan, we immediately intimated Interpol through the CBI. Two years have passed but their names do not figure in any of the CBI’s lists,” said a senior Mumbai cop. “What is more shocking is that India has sent a list of 50 wanted criminals holed up in Pakistan, but Riyaz Bhatkal, one of the biggest terrorists, who has orchestrated several blasts and sent several youths to Pakistan for arms training, is only on the general list and has no RCN against him,” said the officer —S Ahmed Ali

The Times of India, May 21, 2011

Crowd outside residence, but there’s no one home

LANDMARK ADDRESS: The flat the Khans lived in is locked in the Balaji Garden housing society in Koparkhairane

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: The scene at Balaji Garden Cooperative Housing Society in Navi Mumbai was an unexpected one on Friday, with several media crews gathered outside the posh residential complex. The reason: 1993 blasts accused Feroze Khan, who somehow ended up on a list of fugitives hiding in Pakistan, lived here for six years.

Society residents said the Khan family owns a flat in the Koparkhairane complex. Khan’s father Abdul Rashid is a retired Indian Navy officer. “The family left after Khan was arrested in February last year. I have not seen him. We came to know about him only after his arrest,” said a female resident of the building who didn’t want to be named.

Balaji Garden is a residential complex comprising five to six buildings. It is a landmark in Koparkhairane. “The family has not sold the flat yet. They locked it and went somewhere. We heard they shifted to Khar,” said another resident. A 2-BHK flat in the 14-storey building could cost over Rs 60 lakh. A well-known MLA lives in the same complex.

“I saw the family last a few months ago. I also heard that they shifted due to their son’s arrest. The flat is locked and has not been given to anyone on rent,” said another resident. The maintenance and electricity bills are reportedly paid on time. The gates of the building were closed on Friday and all those who entered had to first make an entry in the visitors’ register. The gate was guarded by three security men.

Till his father’s retirement in 1983, Khan lived in Navy Nagar with his parents. He later shifted to Kurla Taximen’s Colony. In early 2000, the Khans shifted to Navi Mumbai.

Eagerness to earn fast money and good communication skills helped Khan enter the Dawood Ibrahim gang. Now 51, police said he was in his mid 20s when he came in touch with Mustafa Dossa, a key serial blasts accused. “Khan was an electronic goods dealer in Crawford Market. He met Dossa at Dongri. Dossa was then into smuggling,” said a police officer. “At Taximen’s Colony, Khan met more people in the Dawood gang. None of them had any criminal record till 1993,” said the officer.

“Khan was shocked by the communal riots of 1992-93. He and two friends met Dossa and went to Pakistan for training,” the officer said. According to the CBI charge sheet, Khan helped land firearms and explosives at Dighi and transported them to Mumbai. Khan’s lawyer, Farhana Shah, said he never went for training and did not unload explosives.

The Times of India, May 21, 2011

He’s not absconding, but heavily guarded

BEHIND BARS, NOT ACROSS THE BORDER: Feroze Khan (left) is at Arthur Road jail

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Feroze Khan, the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts accused, who according to the dossier submitted to Pakistan was hiding in that country, is not only very much in Mumbai, but in environs that are heavily guarded by the authorities. Khan is in a high-security ‘anda’ cell at Arthur Road jail, where he has some high-profile neighbours for company. His immediate neighbours in the barrack are diesel smuggling kingpin Mohammed Ali Shaikh and suspected billionaire money-launderer Hasan Ali Khan.

The list of 50 ‘most wanted’ men was submitted to Pakistan in late March of this year, but Khan has been in Arthur Road jail since February 2010. This was the second intelligence goof-up that came to light in the list of 50, with TOI reporting on Tuesday that Mulund blast suspect Wazhul Kamar, who is also on the list, is out on bail and living in Thane.

Jail authorities said they haven’t informed Khan about the interest his case has generated, but he has himself learnt of the hue and cry through media reports on Friday morning. “Most of the inmates in the ‘anda’ cells are educated and qualified professionals. They buy newspapers. Khan, too, reads newspapers and must have come to know of the goof-up. Though he did not say anything to the constables posted at the cell, he was found talking with one of his neighbours through a grilled window,” said a jail official.

T he ‘anda’ barracks were specially designed in the shape of eggs. Each barrack has four to seven small rooms, with each called an ‘anda’ cell. Each cell has a toilet and bath. Earlier, there were no fans in the cells, but four months ago fans were installed in all ‘anda’ cells. The barracks also have a few TV sets, which are most of the time not working. Khan, now 51, is lodged in a five-by-10-foot ‘anda’ cell that is meant only for hardened criminals.

Around 50 inmates have been lodged in ‘anda’ cells in the prison built in 1925. Khan’s father, Rashid Khan, a retired Indian navy officer, last met his son in jail on May 14 of this year. Khan has developed skin problems in jail and is a diabetic, said his lawyer Farhana Shah. He is asking for better medical attention in jail and will make these grievances known before the court soon.

When asked whether security around the cell had been beefed up because of the CBI goof-up, a jail official said, “‘Anda’ cells are already highly guarded. There is sufficient security for bandobast. Moreover, CCTV cameras monitor the situation.”

Khan’s other neighbours include 2006 Malegaon blast suspect Dr Farogh Makhdoomi, 11/7 train blasts suspect Faisal Shaikh, who police said was the western India commander of Lashkar, suspects arrested for the Aurangabad arms haul and four Mexicans who stole diamonds worth Rs 6 crore from Goregaon.

Earlier, 2008 Malegaon blast accused Lt Col Prasad Purohit, don Arun Gawli and don Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Kaskar were also kept in the cells.

The Times of India, May 21, 2011

Goofs galore in CBI’s database

S Ahmed Ali & Mir Ayoob Ali Khan TNN

Mumbai/Hyderabad: The CBI’s larger list of the country’s most wanted has glaring errors. The Star 50 was culled from this masteroll, new names added from NIA and Mumbai Police and handed over to Pakistan recently.

From Hyderabad came the story of two dreaded terrorists, who the list claimed were hiding in Pakistan. One of them, TOI investigations revealed, is dead and the other in the city’s Cherlapalli prison.

More howlers were reported from Mumbai. Dawood Ibrahim’s elder brother, Noora, who died of kidney failure in Karachi last year, continued to show up as a wanted accused in the red-corner notice against his name. Chhota Rajan aide Ejaz Pathan, involved in the 1993 serial blasts, died in 2008 at Arthur Road jail after a heart attack. The red-corner notice against him showed him as wanted. Yet another embarrassing case was that of Feroze Abdul Khan, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai blast. He was nabbed from Navi Mumbai last year and is in a Mumbai jail. He was handed over to the CBI after arrest.

Times View
When P Chidambaram took over as home minister after 26/11, he brought a professionalism and dynamism to the job that had been sorely lacking till then. Now, however, it appears that sloppiness has once again crept into India’s security apparatus. Inadequate information-sharing among the various agencies was identified as one of the key problems at that time. The fact that they can’t even put together a list of the most wanted without such goof-ups indicates the problem is still very much around. It is time for the minister to read out the riot act to those under his charge and ensure that they get their act together. It’s not just India’s international reputation at stake, it’s also our security that’s on the line.

‘Dangerous’ Bilal on CBI list is dead
A senior CBIofficial admitted that the agency had messed up in the Pathan casebut refusedto acceptblame for the Noora problem. “We are yet to get official confirmation on Noora's death in Pakistan last year. So, how can we say he his dead,” he asked. Though other agencies maintained that the intelligence bureau had sent a confidential report to the Union home ministry intimating itof Noora'sdeath.

It was common knowledge in Mumbai Police circles that then crime branch chief Rakesh Mariah who arrested Khan was irked after CBI abruptly took his custody. Officials said the crime branch wanted to question Khan as he had been a member of the Dawood gang.

TOI investigations in Hyderabad showed Mohammed Abdul Shahed, aka Shahed Bilal, alleged commander of the Bangladesh-based HuJI in south India isdead. ShaikhAbdulKhaja aliasMohammedAmjad,theorganisation's second in command in the region, has been cooling his heels in a Hyderabad prison. Both of them figure on thelist.

The CBI list calls Bilal dangerous. An Interpol red corner notice A-427/3-2007 was issued on his name for his role in four terror cases. His name came to light first as a conspirator in an aborted plan to assassinatethen state BJP president Indrasena Reddy in 2004.

Sometime later, police named Bilal prime accused in the October 12, 2005, suicide bombing of city police commissioner's task force office. But he created a splash when a bomb went off at Mecca Masjid on May18,2007killing nine people.

The Andhra Pradesh police were quick to describe him as mastermind of that terror act. They claimedthatBilalhadfled to Pakistan. Later that year, police said Pakistani intelligence had killed Bilal and his brother Mohammed Abdul Samad in Karachi.

Since his arrest in January 2010, Mohammed Amjad has been inCherlapalli jail. But the CBIisunawareof this.

CBI goes to arrest Davy with expired warrant

Red-Faced Agency Issues New Warrant

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has cited “human error” about its bid to extradite Kim Davy, the main suspect of the 1995 Purulia arms drop case, with an “expired arrest warrant”. Davy’s counsel had found the anomaly, much to the CBI’s embarrassment, in Copenhagen on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the redfaced CBI got a fresh warrant issued from a Special CBI court in Kolkata and sent it to its team in Denmark. Davy is a Danish national. Opposition BJP was quick to seize the opportunity, and slammed the government for “another blunder” and “big embarrassment”. Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj tweeted, “Here is another blunder. The CBI reached Copenhagen with an expired warrant for Kim Davy. Big embarrassment for the country. Is anybody accountable in this government?”

The agency, however, claims that there would not be any problem in extradition since the fresh warrant has been sent. The CBI officials explained that Red Corner Notices are open-ended, while arrest warrants are dated documents. “Once the team returns from Denmark, we will enquire about the delay in re-issuing the warrant that had expired in January,” said a CBI official.

Though a CBI team has been planning to go to Denmark for the past two months, surprisingly nobody had noticed the expiry date on the warrant. CBI spokesperson Dharini Mishra said, “All documents are in order with the CBI team”. A CBI official cited oversight for the goof-up. Swaraj alleged, “oversight has become the all time excuse for the UPA dispensation”.

A five-member constitutional bench of the Denmark HC is hearing the plea of the Danish government that had challenged a lower court order against the extradition of Davy to India. The decision to dispatch the CBI team was taken days after Davy and a British national convicted in the case, Peter Bleach, had alleged that the Purulia arms drop operation was planned by the Indian government and its intelligence agencies to destabilize the Left Frontrun government in West Bengal in 1995.

The Centre has denied the allegations, arguing that it is aimed at misleading the prosecuting agency and the court in Denmark that are debating over Davy’s extradition. The CBI had registered the case on December 28, 1995, after sophisticated arms, including AK-47 assault rifles, anti-tank grenades and other weapons, were dropped from a foreign plane in Purulia in West Bengal on the night of December 17, 1995.

Though the CBI has been planning to go to Denmark for the past 2 months, no one noticed the expiry date on the warrant. The agency cited ‘human error’

The Times of India, May 20, 2011

Another ‘most wanted’ on list to Pak found in Arthur Rd jail

Second Blunder Shames India Again

Mateen Hafeez & Swati Deshpande TNN

Mumbai: A list of terrorists with which the government had hoped to build pressure on Islamabad has entangled the home ministry in a series of goof-ups— the latest being that of a terrorist, said to be a fugitive in Pakistan, who was found locked up in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail.

Two days after TOI reported that Wazhul Kamar Khan, one of those mentioned in the 50 mostwanted list of terror suspects, was living at his Thane residence, a 1993 bomb blast accused Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan alias Ferozuddin alias Hamza has been discovered in Arthur Road jail, where he has been locked up since February 2010.

“We have an inmate called Feroze Khan in the Arthur Road jail,” confirmed inspectorgeneral of prisons Surendra Kumar.

As the Union home ministry asked officers to check all data bases and ensure the other 48 names were correct, CBI, which had provided most names, suspended a junior inspector and transferred an SP and a DySP from the Interpol Division in New Delhi as the first damage-control step.

The second embarrassment comes after Union home minister P Chidambaram’s admission that the first blunder was the result of a lapse by the Intelligence Bureau and Mumbai Police in preparing the list. The fact that at least two of the 50 persons named as being sheltered in Pakistan, are actually living in India, in prison or outside, could weaken India’s carefully-built case against Pakistan for sheltering terror accused. State home minister R R Patil refused to admit any knowledge of Feroze Khan. “We (the state home department) are not aware of the list compiled by the Centre”, he said in a terse one-line response.


MOST WANTED
Trip to Omangave Feroze Abdul away
Mumbai: Two days after TOI reported that Wazhul Kamar Khan,oneof those mentioned in the 50 most-wanted list of terror suspects, was living at his Thane residence, a 1993 bomb blast accused Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan alias Ferozuddin alias Hamza has been discovered in Arthur Road jail, where he has been locked up since February 2010.

But that a blame game was in the offing was evident from a senior state minister’s response.“Central agencieslike the IB and the Research and AnalysisWing (R&AW)usually do notconsultstate-level police agencies while compiling such lists,” the minister said. What might add to the law-enforcing agenciesdiscomfiture is the fact that Feroze was produced before a special Tada court on May 11 and Tada judge S T Mahajan had rejected his bail application barely a month back. It was the first time he sought bail since his arrest. He will be produced in court next on May 23, the next scheduled date in the 1993 blasts case for him.

The 51-year-old Feroze, according to the most-wanted list,is a DawoodIbrahim gang member and wanted for helping in landing RDX and firearms prior to the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai. Between 2004 and 2010, before his arrest in February 2010, he divided his time between the Middle East and a village in Koparkhairane in Navi Mumbai, where he lived under an assumed name and with a forged passport and ran a mobile phone business.

Khan,son of a retiredIndian Navy officer, came to India for the first time in 2004 under an assumed name after fleeing the country in the aftermath of the 1993 blasts. He then again went back to the Middle East and then returned to Navi Mumbai before finally being arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch on February 5, 2010, and handed over to the CBI.

“Khan arrived here from Sultanateof Oman andthe police got a tip-off that he was staying in Navi Mumbai”, former joint commissioner of the crime branch Rakesh Maria had said at a press briefing at his arrest. He was living with his parents in NaviMumbaiwhen hewas arrested.
Feroze’s lawyer Farhana Shah said he had never been moved from the Arthur Road prison since his arrest in February 2010. Khan’s trial is yet to begin. The CBI, said Shah, wanted to club his trial with that of Mustafa Dossa’s but had not made any formal application yet in court.

Mumbai police, at the time of his arrest, had said Feroze was suspected to be a close aide of absconding accused MohammedDossa andwasinvolved in transporting and distribution of arms and ammunition. Dossa and his men, on Dawoods instructions, arranged for the landing of arms allegedly used in the blast at Dighi in Raigad in 1993. Feroze allegedly transported these explosives to his residence in suburban Kurla. The ISI-engineered Dawood Ibrahim-backed act of terror on March 12, 1993, left 257 persons dead and 713 injured, besides damaging property to the tune of Rs 27 crore.

TheCBI,on July 1,2010,filed a 1,000-plus-page charge sheet and charged him under Tada for conspiring and committing acts of terror, under the Arms Act for illegal possession of weapons, under the Explosives Act and Explosives Substances Act as well as under the Indian Penal Code for murder, attempt to murder and for destruction of public property. Advocate Shah, however, said, “He never went to Pakistan for weapons training as alleged”.

Khan has developed skin problems in jail and is a diabetic said his lawyer. He is requesting better medical attention in jail and will make these grievances before the court soon.

TERROR TO ERROR
CHARGES
Facilitating landing of arms and ammunition at Dighi jetty in Raigad on January 9, 1993. The explosives were used in the March 12, 1993, serial blasts in Mumbai
Conspiring and terrorism acts under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act Murder, criminal conspiracy under Indian Penal Code
Possession of arms under Arms Act
Violating Explosives and Explosives Substances Act and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act

END GAME
Absconding since 1994.
Accused of undergoing arms and weapons training in Pakistan. Rs 2 lakh bounty on his head
Returned to India in 2004. Settled down in Navi Mumbai’s Koparkhairane
with parents. Ran small business
Arrested on February 5, 2010, from Koparkhairane

Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan alias Hamza alias Totla (51) Unmarried
l Currently in Arthur Road jail l Chargesheeted in July 2010 l Appeared in Tada court
last on May 11, 2011

CBI suspends junior staff, transfers SP
The CBI, India’s premier investigative agency, on Thursday transferred two mid-ranking officers and suspended an inspector level man from its Interpol Division, implicitly blaming them for the goof-ups in the terror list. P 19


The Times of India, May 29, 2011

Red corner notice to be cancelled

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday removed Wazhul Kamar Khan’s name from the list of red corner notice fugitives.

A CBI spokesperson said that Khan’s name was not removed from the country’s 50 most wanted list until now since the agency had not received such a request from the Mumbai police.

The initial probe into the goof-up put the blame on Mumbai police’s crime branch and Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad for not intimating the CBI about Khan’s arrest.

Khan was caught by the ATS in May last year and charged under the Arms Act for carrying a firearm. The crime branch later took his custody and charged him for the Mulund, Vile Parle and Mumbai Central blasts.

The home ministry has initiated an inquiry to find out how Khan was included in the list of wanted men handed to Pakistan. The probe will also identify the officers behind the lapse. The list was prepared in consultation with the Maharashtra police, the National Investigation Agency and CBI. TNN

The Times of India, May 19, 2011

Agencies plead innocence, pass the blame to others

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: Law enforcement agencies in the state busied themselves passing the buck on Wednesday after Union home minister P Chidambram blamed the Mumbai police and the Intelligence Bureau alike for the lapse in getting Wazhul Kamar Khan’s name deleted from the most wanted list. The city police, for their part, took Chidambram’s indictment as a partial vindication, and quickly faulted the IB and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for the blunder.

“As the Union home minister clarified, we had informed the IB about Khan’s arrest. It is not our fault if his name was not deleted from the list.We gave the IB the information in January. Several officials complain that the IB does not keep them in the loop. Had there been enough coordination, the lapse could have been averted,” a senior police official told TOI.

The goof-up has put the spotlight on the Thane commissionerate and the IB’s unit in the lake city. An accused in the 2003 Mulund train blast case, Khan is out on bail and resides with his family in the Wagle Estate area, Thane (W). As instructed by the court, he reports to the local office of the ATS once every month.The Thane police insist they have no role in the mostwanted list prepared by the ministry of home affairs and forwarded to Pakistan.

But the IB is finding it difficult to clear its name. A superintendent-ranked officer of the IB is posted in Thane with a team to keep tabs on activities related to Naxalism and terrorism. Police officers say the team should have maintained a dossier on Khan. “Before the list was finalized, it must have gone through layers of checks. It is surprising that the IB unit in Thane did not realize that Khan was living under their nose,” a police officer told TOI.

Another officer pointed finger at the ATS, which for long was headed by K P Raghuvanshi, who is now Thane police commissioner. “The ATS nabbed Khan for his involvement in the Mulund bombing. They suggested he had a role to play in the Mumbai Central blast,” he said. “If Khan is such a high-profile terror accused who visits the office every month, they obviously had information on him. It highlights the lack of coordination between agencies.”

The Times of India, May 19, 2011

Most wanted man hasn’t even been charge-sheeted

Swati Deshpande | TNN

Mumbai: The man wrongly placed on India’s most wanted list of criminals hiding in Pakistan has not even been chargesheeted in the crime that put him on the ignominious roll in the first place.

Thane resident Wazhul Kamar Khan fled the state eight years ago soon after learning that the police suspected his role in the 2003 Mulund blast, which killed 11 and injured 82. He remained on the run for seven years, earning a place on the country’s most wanted list that was forwarded to Pakistan. He returned to Mumbai in 2010 and was thereafter arrested by the state’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

Back then, the ATS claimed that Khan had a major role in the Mulund blast and two other bombings. “He took part in the blasts at Mulund, Vile Parle and Mumbai Central. He was present at all times—from assembling bombs to transporting them,” ATS chief Rakesh Maria said.

The court, however, was not impressed with the police’s work. With no chargesheet filed by cops against Khan within 90 days as required by law, a special trial court in Mumbai released the 44-year-old on bail last August.

Since then, Khan has been living in Thane’s Wagle Estate area with his wife and five children. No fresh evidence, however, has been added against him till now.

Khan’s name cropped up in the Mulund blast case in the confession of a coaccused, which is not admissible under the Prevention of Terrorism Act said a lawyer in the case. He was the last person to be arrested in connection with the bombing that ripped through the ladies’ first class compartment at Mulund station on March 13, 2003, killing 11 people.

The blast had followed another explosion in Vile Parle in January that year and one in December 2002 at Mumbai Central. The police clubbed the three cases together, claiming that they were linked by a common conspiracy. They asked that all 16 people arrested should be tried together. At present, all accused, barring Muzzamil Ansari, are on bail. Ansari’s bail plea came in court on Wednesday, but the Pota court adjourned it till June, with no relief.

Though most of the accused were arrested in 2003 and Nachan surrendered on April 10, 2003, the case floundered for the longest time without reaching the trial stage. The reason was that the accused made numerous applications challenging, among other things, the clubbing of three cases and the reliance on confessions of co-accused, the prosecution said.

The Supreme Court stayed the proceedings early on but recently vacated the stay with an order that the accused feel vindicate their fight. The SC rejected the state’s contention that confessions of coaccused could be used as evidence against others. The next date in court is June 8.

BEHIND THEBLUNDER
MULUND BLAST
A bomb went off in the ladies’ first class compartment of a suburban train at Mulund station
DATE | March 13, 2003
TOLL | 11 killed, 82 injured
ACCUSED ARRESTED | 17
Saqib Nachan | Atif Mulla | Haseeb Mulla | Gulam Khotal | Mohd Khamil Shaikh | Farhan Khot | Noor Mohd Ansari | Dr Abdul Wahid | Anwar Ali Khan | Nadeem Paloba | Arif Hussain Shaikh | Muzzamil Ansari | Haroon Lohar | Rashid Ansari | Adnan Mulla | Sadip Khopoli | Wazhul Kamar Khan OUT ON BAIL |

All those arrested except Muzzamil Ansari CHARGE-SHEETED | Everyone arrested barring Wazhul Kamar Khan
MAXIMUM PUNISHMENT | Death
ACCUSED ABSCONDING | 5 Tahir alias Nisar Ahmed Ansari alias Janab | Dr Aqmal Abdul Hamid Nachan (brother of accused Saqib Nachan) | C A M Bashir (former Simi national president) | Sohail Shaikh | Shiraz (full name not given in court papers)

VILE PARLE BLAST | A bomb planted on a bicycle exploded outside the Vile Parle (east) station
DATE | January 27, 2003
TOLL | 1 killed, 25 injured
CHARGESHEET | Combined chargesheet filed against 16 people in the Mulund, Vile Parle and Mumbai Central blasts

MUMBAI CENTRAL BLAST
| A crude bomb reportedly hidden in the AC duct exploded at a McDonald’s at Mumbai Central railway station

DATE | December 6, 2002

TOLL | 25 injured CHARGESHEET | Combined chargesheet filed against 16 people in the Mulund, Vile Parle
and Mumbai Central blasts

CHARGES IN THE THREE CASES
Indian Penal Code (IPC) — Waging war against the government of India Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota) — Causing and committing acts of terror Pota — Possessing sophisticated arms in a notified area to commit acts of terror Arms Act — Illegal possession of arms Explosive Substances Act Explosives Act IPC — Murder, attempt to murder and causing grievous injury Prevention of Damage To Public Property Act — Destruction of public property IPC — Criminal conspiracy

The Times of India, May 19, 2011

‘I am happy now.

MY NAME HAS BEEN CLEARED’

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Wazhul Kamar Khan was a relieved man on Wednesday as Union home minister P Chidambram announced that his name has been deleted from the country’s most wanted list and the red corner notice against the Thane resident withdrawn.

“I am happy that my name has been dropped from this list. I am living here in Thane with my family and not hiding in Pakistan,” a jubilant Khan said.

The police have accused Khan of playing a role in the separate bombings at Mulund, Mumbai Central and Vile Parle that rocked the city between 2002 and 2003. The 44-yearold was arrested on May 10 last year and released on bail on August 18.

Khan said his family underwent a lot of trauma over the last two days. He was summoned to the Wagle Estate and Vartak Nagar police stations, where his statement was recorded over hours. And his wife Yasmeen had to field unending questions from the media. Such was the level of distress that Yasmeen suffered a high blood pressure attack on Tuesday evening.

“All that attention and fear resulted in my mother suffering an anxiety attack. We took her to the doctor, who gave her medicines. She is fine now,” said Shafaque, Khan’s daughter, who recently appeared for her Class X examinations.

But on Wednesday, the family was back to its usual business, with Khan focusing on his trade, though media vans continued waiting outside their Wagle Estate residence.

“Nobody from the police called me today. I went to the Anti-Terrorism Squad office and spoke to a few officers I know. They were polite to me and said I should not be anxious. They even congratulated me on getting my name deleted from the most wanted list,” Khan told TOI.

Yasmeen expressed her gratitude to the media on Wednesday for highlighting her husband’s case and pointing out the security establishment’s mistake.

Meanwhile, a police van kept watch outside Khan’s residence. “We don’t want protestors and anti-social elements to protest outside his house. He is being legally tried in the court. Also, we do not want him to be harassed by the media,” said a senior Thane police official.

The Thane police have recorded Khan’s statement and taken him to several places for verification. “The statement will not be forwarded to any agency or government. It is for our record. It contains general information about Khan’s activities and his whereabouts during the last couple of years,” said Thane police commissioner K P S Raghuvanshi. “As for the police bandobast outside Khan’s home, it is to ensure that no law and order problem arises. Our policemen are keeping a vigil even in plain clothes.”

Raghuvanshi added: “The Thane police did not have the list of wanted people submitted to Pakistan, so I am not in a position
to comment on it.”

The Times of India, May 19, 2011

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

‘My only crime was holding an AK-47’

Terror Accused Who Was Reportedly ‘Hiding In Pak’ Recounts His Days On The Run

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Wazhul Kamar Khan, the 17th suspect arrested in the case for the 2003 Mulund blast, has unwittingly become the bestknown accused in the case even though he claims to have had nothing to do with the blast. Eleven people, including four women and two cops, died in the blast in a first-class ladies’ coach.

Khan said he was still trying to come to terms with the fact that he is a terror accused who is out on bail when he heard that he was supposedly hiding in Pakistan. India has told Pakistan that Khan is among 50 fugitives hiding there, but TOI found him in Thane city.

The six-foot-tall Khan was 90 kg before his arrest in May 2010, but now weighs only 75. The 44-year-old labour contractor said the last eight years of his life have been the most difficult. “Noor Sikandar and Rashid Ansari, both from Kurla, were my childhood friends,” said Khan. Sikandar and Ansari are also accused in the Mulund blast case. “One day they asked me to come and see their training at a hill at Padga near Bhiwandi,” Khan told TOI.

“I went to Padga on my friends’ request to see what the training was about. I saw 10 to 12 men operating firearms. It seemed like they were being taught how to handle them. It was the first time that I saw Saquib Nachan,” said Khan. Nachan, the main accused in the Mulund blast case, is also out on bail. “Besides small firearms, an AK-47 was also shown to the trainees and out of curiosity I held it. That was my only crime. A few months later, when the bomb exploded, my name was included in the list of suspects,” Khan said.

A father of five, Khan and his family have been residing in Thane’s Wagle Estate since 1998. “I came to know about my name being added to the blast accused through news channels. I was scared and escaped to Uttar Pradesh in 2003, where I stayed at my relatives’ house for several months and later went to Madhya Pradesh to stay with other relatives,” he said.

Khan said he returned to Dharavi in 2004 and secretly began staying in a zari-making unit. “I worked there and later began my own zari business there. I would hardly leave the small, congested room. I would fear being seen or caught. After spending six to eight months in obscurity, I discreetly went to Thane to be with my family. I was hiding in a 10-by-10-foot room for over two months,” he said. The room was shared by Khan, his wife Yasmeen, their children and 75-year-old mother Mobiya. “I would not look outside the window for fear of being spotted. If some relatives came to my place, I would lock myself for two to three hours in the washroom. Those were the worst days of my life and I will never be able to forget them,” Khan said, adding that he didn’t want to remember them.

“I want to give the best education to my daughters and sons. Their education and a respectable life is my only aim now,” he said.

MOST WANTED, EASILY TRACED
MARCH 13, 2003 | Bomb goes off in train at Mulund, killing 11 and injuring 82

APRIL 2003 | Thane resident Wazhul Kamar Khan learns he is among those wanted in the investigation

LATER IN 2003 | Khan leaves Thane to hide in Uttar Pradesh, where he stays with relatives

2004 | Khan goes to Madhya Pradesh, where he again lives with kin
END 2004 | He returns to Mumbai, where he starts living in Dharavi in a zari-making unit

2004-10 | Khan opens his own zari unit, while continuing to live clandestinely in Dharavi. He makes secret visits to his family in Wagle Estate, Thane. By now he is wanted for the Mumbai Central, Parle and Ghatkopar-II blasts, too

MAY 10, 2010 | Anti-Terrorism Squad arrests Khan at Kurla bus depot under the Arms Act for carrying a firearm

May 21, 2010 | Crime Branch takes Khan into custody, books him in the four blast cases

AUGUST 18, 2010 | Khan walks out of Arthur Road jail after getting bail. The police fail to file chargesheets in time in all cases against him. Khan moves back into his Thane home and claims he subsequently attended all court hearings

MARCH 28 & 29, 2011 | List of most-wanted fugitives is shared with Pakistan during home secretary-level talks between India and Pak. India demands return of 50 fugitives so they can face charges. Khan is named as one of the fugitives in Pak

MAY 11 | New Delhi makes public the list of fugitives

MAY 17 | TOI breaks news that Khan is living in Thane and not Pakistan

MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS: Wazhul Khan’s wife Yasmeen (in red) at her home in Wagle Estate, Thane.

The Times of India, May 18, 2011