2003 Gateway bomber who was sentenced to death dies in jail

Mateen Hafeez I TNN | Feb 12, 2019, 03.45 AM IST

 

 

MUMBAI: Hanif Sayyed, 56, one of the three convicts sentenced to death in the 2003 twin bomb blasts at the Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar, died in Nagpur jail on Sunday. TOI had published the news of his death in its final edition on Monday.

Sources said Sayyed’s health suddenly deteriorated on Saturday evening in jail, after which he was shifted to the Government Medical College and Hospital. He died at the hospital one-and-a-half hours after he was admitted.

According to preliminary information, he died of a cardiac arrest. His body was later sent for a post-mortem. A relative from Pune said his body would be buried in Nagpur.

Retired ACP Suresh Walishetty, who was chief investigating officer in the case, said Sayyed, an Andheri resident, was working in Dubai in 2002 when he was radicalised by some people. He returned to India and executed the blasts that killed 54 persons and injured 184. Sayyed had told the police that some people he met in Dubai had showed him videos and photos from the 2002 Gujarat riots and told him atrocities were being perpetrated against Muslims.

Sayyed and Ashrat Ansari then formed a group, the Gujarat Muslim Revenge Force, which carried out the blasts. Sayyed, his wife Fahmeeda and Ansari were awarded death sentences in 2009 and the Bombay high court later upheld the trial court’s order. Sayyed’s appeal before the SC is pending. Walishetty, who called Sayyed a “simple man,” said that “after he was indoctrinated in the UAE, he returned to India and drove an autorickshaw for a while.” Walishetty said the case was solved because the driver of the taxi in which the bomb was planted had had a providential escape. He had stepped out to use a toilet when the bomb went off at the Gateway of India on August 25, 2003.

“We got the taxi driver, Shivnarayan Pandey. ...this was our first lead in the case.” The taxi driver told police he had been hired by a couple who had got into his cab from Andheri. It was the second day the couple, along with their two children, had travelled in his cab, he said. “The couple had told Pandey they were not from Mumbai and wanted to go sightseeing. On the first day, Pandey took them to south Mumbai and on returning to Andheri, they asked him to come again the next day,” Walishetty said. Within 24 hours the cops were at Chimatpada in Andheri, where Sayyed lived with his family. “We heard Sayyed’s wife, Fahmeeda, was seen with a man, Ashrat Ansari. We first picked up Ansari,” he said. Taken in a police van to Aarey Colony and interrogated by inspector Vinayak Saude and his team, Ansari, a zari worker, spilled the beans.

“We then went to Chimatpada and saw a crowd in Sayyed’s lane. A neighbour of Sayyed had died. We mingled in the crowd and finally entered his house, bringing Sayyed to the lockup,” Walishetty said.

The probe into the blasts was supervised by Rakesh Maria, then additional commissioner. During interrogation, Sayyed said that on the day of the blasts, his family had got down from Pandey’s taxi at Gateway of India and told him they were going for lunch. After they left, Pandey also got off, to go to the toilet. Moments later, the taxi was ripped apart by the explosion. The Sayyeds had left their bag, containing bombs, inside the taxi. The couple left the place and reached home. “After reaching home, the couple sat to watch the news on TV,” Walishetty said.


The Times of India, February 12, 2019

Bomb chat: 6 Kerala youths released

Mateen Hafeez





Mumbai: Six Kerala youths, who were questioned by three government agencies over the last two days after a commuter in local train heard them talking about `bomb', were given clean chit and released on Tuesday.The youths, including a minor, got down at Panvel and took atrain for CST on Monday . While in the train, a co-passenger heard them using the word `bomb' repeatedly over the phone and alerted the police.
Niket Kaushik, police commissioner (Railways), said, “The ATS, RPF and GRP questioned them and nothing adverse was found. They were released."

“Due to network problem the person on the other side was unable to hear so they were repeating the word bomb (for Bombay). We checked their mobile phones and other belongings and found that they were telling the truth,“ said an officer. The complainant passenger had also told police that the youths were chatting through WhatsApp on anumber with country code +97.Later, it transpired that fathers of three youths work in the middle east and the message was for one of them.


The Times of India, May 25, 2017

Man accused of sending terror email after blast acquitted

 Ejaz Shaikh

Mateen Hafeez





Mumbai:  A Sewri court on Tuesday discharged Ejaz Shaikh (28), a suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative, in a case of sending terror email after the 2010 Varanasi bomb blast.
Shaikh, a Pune resident, was first arrested on September 6, 2014, from outside Saharanpur station in UP by the Delhi Police's special cell. Later, he was taken into custody by the Maharashtra ATS for his alleged role in providing logistics in the 2010 Pune German Bakery blast, the 137 Mumbai triple blasts and the Varanasi email case. On February 6, this year, Mumbai crime branch's cyber crime investigation cell (CCIC) took Shakih in custody for allegedly sending another terror email after a blast outside Delhi's Jama Masjid.

“During the investigation, the police did not find evidence against Shaikh and hence we filed an application under Section 169 of the Code of Criminal Procedure requesting the court to discharge him from the case,“ confirmed a senior ATS officer. Shaikh's lawyer, advocate Tahawwar Rana, said, “We have been saying my client is innocent. Today , the court has discharged him.“

On December 7, 2010, a day after the completion of 18 years of Babri Masjid's dem olition, an email was sent from Mansarovar building, Section 17, Vashi, claiming responsibility of the Varanasi blast. The sender had hacked into the unsecured WiFi of the sixth floor residents. The email was sent with a subject, “Indian Mujahideen ­ Let's feel the pain together“, and the mail focused mainly on the Babri Masjid demolition and Ayodhya verdict.

The police had earlier said that besides sending emails, Sheikh used to provide logistics to the IM men in India and prepared fake identities needed by them to procure mobile SIM cards, collecting foreign money transfers, obtaining rooms on rent and even in getting enrolled in professional educational institutions as a cover, police said. Police said he was never present during the actual crime.

The Times of India, Apirl 8, 2015

ATS to remove 13/7 suspects' posters

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai :The state anti-terrorism squad (ATS) has decided to remove all the posters containing the photographs of four 13/7 blasts suspects, including Indian Mujahideen's chief, Yasin Bhatkal.  The posters were put up across the state after a series Each suspect carried Rs 10L reward of blasts. The ATS had earlier announced a total payout of Rs 40 lakh for information lading to their arrest. “All the four suspects have been arrested and we don't think there is a necessity to retain the posters any longer. We will initiate steps to get the posters removed,“ said a senior ATS officer. Bhatkal alone is suspected to have been involved in more than 14 terror attacks. “Based on investigation, we decided to put up the posters. Our intension was not to malign anyone,“ the officer added. The posters contained photographs of Bhatkal, his aides Tahseen Akhtar, Asadullah Akhtar alias Tabrez and Waqqas, a Pakistani national. The ATS had issued these posters in January 2013. Each suspect carried a reward of Rs 10 lakh. “We had printed 2.5 lakh posters and pamphlets and distributed them at various places, including railway stations, bus stops, shopping malls, eateries, cinema halls, schools and places of worship. Besides, the other state police also took our posters and reprinted them,“ said another ATS officer.

The Times of India,June 9, 2014

Bldr dubbed Pak spy relives trauma, asks cops to trace culprit

Mateen Hafeez

Mumbai: 



The Khar developer, who was wrongfully dubbed a Pakistani spy by the security agencies in a recent terror alert, said the police should now focus on tracing the culprit behind the goof-up.

“The alert said I would carry out bomb blasts on the counting day (May 16). Subsequently , two policemen accompanied me for two days wherever I went and did not leave me alone for a minute,“ the developer told TOI. The victim said his trauma had begun since May 10. One of his sons, who helps him in the construction business, said, “Initially a policeman from the Bandra-Kurla police station arrived at our office and said he wanted to buy a flat in our project. He had apparently observed each and every object in the office, the staff as well as the place where my father sits.
He could not inquire much since neither my father nor I was present there. Later, when I went to meet him at the police station, his body language was quite different. He then revealed that the cops had received an alert about my father,“ said the 24-year-old son of the developer.

The cops reportedly did not divulge anything to the rest of the family members.
The developer, born and brought up in Mumbai, has three sons. The eldest one is a civil engineer, second an MBA, and the youngest is an architect. “Policemen from eight agencies came to me inquiring about my credentials. They also questioned people in our locality about us. I was not scared. Why should I?“ he said.

The first agency to reach his office was the anti-terrorism squad followed by the crime branch and the special branch. “They took note of the vehicles I use, my children use and whether our business involves cash transactions or cheques. We maintain records of all our transactions,“ the developer said. He reportedly prepared a file containing documents like his birth certificate, school and college certificates, voter ID, business transaction details to convince the cops about his innocence.
He is completing a Rs 125crore project at Chembur and another Rs 400-crore project is in the pipeline. “It's the police's duty to find who sent them the letter labeling me a terrorist,“ said the builder, who was given a clean chit.

The Times of India, May 26, 2014

Did cops forget to monitor PCOs after train blasts?

Mateen Hafeez & Rebecca Samervel TNN





Mumbai: The state anti-terrorism squad (ATS) may now be claiming that a public call office (PCO) in Nagpada was the “command outpost“ for the 11/7 train blasts, but it seems to have forgotten to implement its own rules for their greater monitoring. The city cops said in December 2012, they issued directives to more than 60,000 PCO owners to maintain a register of those who make calls. But the directive has not reached the lane from where, according to the prosecution, the command post was handled.
The prosecution in the special MCOCA court conducting the blasts trial claimed a PCO on Shuklaji Street near Fauzia nursing home was used as the post.
But till a year ago, when the accused sought call data records (CDR) of mobiles to prove their innocence, the police said the records were not with them and the court ordered four mobile companies to provide them. Defence advocate Wahab Khan on Friday said, “We have used CDRs to show the accused, including alleged main conspirator Azam Cheema, were never in touch with anybody in Pakistan. This is contrary to what the investigating agency has said while seeking the remand of the accused.“
When TOI visited Shuklaji Street on Friday , there were three PCOs, one opposite the nursing home, where one of the accused, Dr Tanvir, worked till 2000. “There were 15 to 18 PCOs. But with the emergence of mobile, we hardly have business now. People don't come to our shops,“ said a PCO owner. He said he was unaware of the police's directives.
In the last two years, the police chief 's main control room received at least two threat calls, both made from public call offices.

The Times of India, May 24, 2014

`Pak bomber' in terror alert with pic turns out to be Khar developer

Mateen Hafeez





Intel Forwarded Input, Didn't Bother To Verify

 

Mumbai: The quality of our `terror alerts' and the callousness of our security agencies in dealing with them were exposed in a recent case when a person was cleared of trying to set off blasts in the city by the police and the AntiTerrorism Squad.

 

The Intelligence Bureau (IB), the country's premier internal intelligence agency , received a letter in New Delhi about a “Pakistani spy“ in Mumbai who, along with his associate, was planning to carry out blasts on Lok Sabha election results day (May 16) at targets like the Siddhivinayak temple, Mantralaya, the NSE building, Haji Ali dargah, etc.

The letter said Pakistani national M Ansari (TOI is withholding the real name), who has an office on Khar Link Road, has close connections with the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and meets Pakistani agents in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. A photograph, purporting to be Ansari's, was enclosed (TOIhas a copy).

The IB promptly forwarded the letter to the city police (see box), which in turn dispatched the `terror alert'. The Delhi IB headquarters also shared the information with the state IB.
Strangely , despite the details included in the letter, no IB official or even state IB official try to verify the allegations.

In the meantime, some of the “targets“ received similar letters and approached the local police. An official from a “target“ in BKC said in a letter to the senior inspector of the local police station that they had received a letter on May 9 addressed to chief officer, IB. The letter was signed by one Ahmed Sh aikh, a resident of Nayanagar in Mira Road, and gave the same details about Ansari.
“After receiving the letter, we appointed a special officer from the anti-terror cell to inquire. He found Ansari was a developer and had nothing to do with terrorism. Some business rival might have tried to defame him,” a senior BKC police officer told TOI. The police could not trace the Nayanagar address of the sender.

On May 13, the joint commissioner of police (law and order) forwarded the ‘intelligence input’ from IB; the police and ATS swung into action. “We verified the allegations in the letter. They turned out to be false,” said a senior ATS official, adding that forwarding such unverified ‘intelligence inputs’ is a general practice of IB which mostly embarrass the local police.

“Senior intelligence officials do not want to take responsibility of failure. Whatever input they get, they forward. In most cases, the alerts are either vague or non-actionable,” said a security official who did want to be named. In 2013, Maharashtra police got/shared around 200 alerts; around 170 were nonactionable, he added.


The Times of India, May 22, 2014

In ’11, Bhatkal gave Chennai police the slip by 30 minutes

Could Spot Cops As They Were In Uniform

 

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: As a possible Indian Mujahideen (IM) angle is discussed in last week’s Chennai train blasts, security agencies rue the day in 2011 that the now-arrested Yasin Bhatkal slipped through a dragnet in the Tamil Nadu capital and reportedly went on to wreak more havoc. 

    On November 27, 2011, IM chief Bhatkal gave the Chennai police the slip after seeing uniformed officers around a house on Pilayar Koil Street in Selaiyur. He fled just a halfhour before the police raided the house, which was rented by Bhatkal’s father-in-law, Irashad Khan, who was arrested from the hideout.
 

    Teams from the Delhi special cell, Chennai police and Intelligence Bureau arrived at the house after getting information that Bhatkal had landed in Chennai.  The Delhi police had sought help from their Chennai counterparts to nab Bhatkal, who had arrived in that city three days before. 

    “The deployment of Chennai police’s men in uniform spoiled the operation,” a source said.
    Bhatkal, returning from the local market, spotted some uniformed policemen and barricades in the lane and suspected the police had come for him. Not wasting a minute, Bhatkal escaped.
 

    Since then, IM presence in Tamil Nadu was said to be thin. “After the arrest of Irashad Khan and several others in 2011, IM was not found in any incident in TN,” a source said.
 

    The Chennai police found that material recovered from Thursday’s train blasts site was similar to that found in Patna after bomb blasts there, and it seems that security agencies are focusing on an IM angle in the explosions that killed a person.
 

    “The pattern of the train blasts, the material seized, the timer device and the make of the bombs are under scrutiny and there are possibilities of some more hideouts of the IM not known to police.”
 

    It is learnt that the IM presence in Chennai is limited to sleeper cells in Coimbatore, Melapalayam in Tirunelveli district and a few other places, because of the active presence of another banned outfit, Al-Ummah, in Tamil Nadu.
 

    “There is a possibility that operatives of the two outfits might be trying to come under one umbrella, but it’s too early to say whose handiwork the blasts were,” a security establishment source said.  Bhatkal was finally arrested along with an aide, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, in a joint operation of the Bihar police and the Intelligence Bureau on August 29 last year.

The Times of India, May 6, 2014

Bizman held in Spain 6 yrs ago returns after charges dropped

     

Roshan Jamal Khan was released from a Spain jail after six years

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Roshan Jamal Khan, now 56, who spent six years in Spain’s jails, returned home this week after the government dropped charges of terrorism and plot to bomb Metro trains in six countries. Khan and his family say they did not receive any cooperation from the Indian Embassy and that they are preparing to file a defamation suit and demand compensation from the Spain government.
 

    Jamal, a St Xavier’s College graduate, went to Spain in January 2008 to look for options in olive oil trade. On January 17, he was picked up from Tarique Bin Ziyad mosque in Barcelona along with an Indian and 12 Pakistanis. “I was reciting Quran. Suddenly, I heard a blast and some masked people, holding guns, handcuffed and blindfolded everyone and whisked them away,” said Khan on Friday while addressing the media near Metro Cinema in south Mumbai (see pic).
    Khan, a Jogeshwari resident, was told that he was detained on charges of terrorism. “I was kept in Calabozo (a high security prison) which was dark and stinking,” said Khan. 

    Among the 11 who faced the charges, Khan was the lone Indian. Probe by the CBI and ATS cleared him of all terror charges in India. Narrating the trauma, Khan said he was mentally tortured. “No one from the Indian Embassy came to meet me for four months. Cops would take my signature on blank paper. As I did not understand Spanish, I had no option but to sign.”
 

    Khan was charged with assembling explosives. Despite the judge not being convinced, Khan was sentenced for eight years in 2010. A year later, his appeal came in the Spanish apex court which dropped the charges. But he was charged for association with an armed gang.
 

    During his stay in Spain, Khan lost his father on September 28, 2010. A day later, his mother died. “My daughter quit studies, my son who wanted to be an engineer had to take another course for lack of fund, my youngest daughter was not allowed in exams for not paying fees. My brother Mehboob took care of them,” said Khan.

The Times of India, January 25, 2014

MP jailbreak men on posters in city

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The city police recently issued new posters of the terror suspects who fled from a jail at Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh on October 1 after stabbing two constables and looting rifles and wireless sets. 

    The posters, now being displayed at many police stations, beat chowkies and important junctions, also have the photograph of Indian Mujahideen’s alleged founder Yasin Bhatkal, who has been in police custody for the past three months.
 

    Two other arrested persons, Indian Mujahideen operative Afzal Usmani and 2011 Opera House bomber Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, are on the poster.  “The posters are for citizens’ information,” an officer said. “Sometimes, we may get help from an alert citizen who recognizes any of the suspects.”
 

    A major section of the police force feels the poster display is a kind of psychological war. “Once they realize their photographs have been displayed across the city, they will not dare to enter the city with plans to commit terror strikes,” an officer said.
 

    The poster has photos of 13/7 bomb planter Tehsin Akhtar, his accomplice Wakkas Ahmed and six alleged SIMI members who fled from the MP jail. They are cityborn Abu Faizal, Aslam Khan alias Santosh, Mehboob alias Guddu, Amjad Khan, Zakir Hussain and Ejazuddin alias Raja.
 

    Unlike an earlier ATS poster, which announced a Rs 10 lakh reward for providing information on 

each of its four suspects, the city police did not announce any prize on the new poster.
 

TERROR SUSPECTS
    Tehsin Akhtar and Wakkas Ahmed are wanted for planting bombs on July 13, 2011
    Bhatkal and Asadullah Akhtar are facing various terror cases in New Delhi, Bangalore and elsewhere
    Usmani is facing trial for stealing vehicles and sending terror emails. The vehicles were allegedly used in the July 2008 Gujarat bomb blasts
    Six other suspected SIMI members are accused of engineering blasts, attacking jail guards and stealing police wireless sets

The Times of India, January 16, 2014

ATS blocks ‘Free Kashmir’ webpage

 

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) on Tuesday blocked the Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan page on a social networking site as it was “dangerous and sensitive and against national interests”. 

    The page, created in September, spoke about the killing of Muslims in India, a fight for free Kashmir and formation of a separate state, Khalistan.  The Union home ministry is being briefed about the developments. The Facebook page could be a hoax, officials said. Its title was designed on the pattern of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned outfit.

 
    ATS chief Rakesh Maria said, “We are making all efforts to find out the truth.” The page spoke about atrocities against Muslims. “We have blocked the page and are conducting investigations,” said Amitesh Kumar, additional commissioner of police, ATS.     An ATS officer said that the page was probably created in Marathwada.

The Times of India, December 18, 2013

Terror case goes through 18 judges, accused in limbo

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: A case of conspiracy—to set the ONGC headquarters, in Bandra, on fire—registered in March 2010 has dragged on, while the fate of two men hangs in balance. Transferred repeatedly, it is at present with the 18th judge at the Bombay City Civil and Sessions court, which has 65 judges.
   

 On March 13, 2010, the ATS arrested Abdul Latif Rashid, now 33, and his brother in-law Riyaz Ali Imtiyaz, now 25, in the case and also said they were planning terrorist activities at Mangaldas Market in Crawford Market, Thakkar Mall in Borivli, a chawl near Thakkar Mall and G7 cinema in Bandra. Charges were framed against the duo on June 23, 2011. Till date, only seven of over 30 witnesses have been examined. Meanwhile, Rashid and Imtiyaz have continued to be in Arthur Road jail.  Rashid used to sell old clothes in Dahisar and Imtiyaz, whose mother sells old clothes, worked as a salesman in Thakkar Mall.

    “The judges are delaying the trial. It’s too much. Why are they not giving us justice?” said Rashid’s father. He has filed an application in the registrar’s office to seek a list of the judges who have heard his son’s case.   “But they are not giving me that list. Everywhere they delay things that affect poor people like us,” he told TOI.
 

COURT TO COURT
    Abdul Latif Rashid and Riyaz Ali Imtiyaz were arrested on March 13, 2010 for
conspiring to set the ONGC headquarters in Bandra on fire
    ATS said duo had bought 10 litres of petrol to set the 10-storey ONGC bldg on fire; they were also planning terrorist activities at Mangaldas Market in Crawford Market and in Borivli and Bandra
    Charges framed against the accused on June 23, 2011
    Among 18 judges, many adhoc, A N Choure heard case for 13 days, S M Modak for 39 days, and S M Bhagat for 20 days. K Itolikar transferred the case the same day it reached his court  

 

Defence demands speedy justice

Mumbai: The conspiracy case against Abdul Latif Rashid and Riyaz Ali Imtiyaz is registered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). “Many of the courts the case went to had ad-hoc judges, who do not have powers to conduct trials under the UAPA,” said a source.
 

    One of the judges, A N Choure, heard it for only 13 days (in June 2011) before transferring it. Another judge, A G Bilolikar, heard the case for less than two months (the charges were made in his court). The next judge, S M Modak, heard the case for 39 days. Later, the case went to judge S M Bhagat, who heard it for 20 days before transferring it. On the 13th transfer, the case went to judge K Itolikar’s court (October 20, 2012) and was transferred the same day. The next court heard it for two weeks. The 18th and last judge is U B Hejib, to whom the case reached on November 29.
 

    Defence lawyer Tarique Sayyed said, “We just want a speedy trial so that justice is done.”
 

    IPS officer-tuned-lawyer Y P Singh said that as per precedent, a case must be disposed of at a sessions court in one session, generally comprising three to 10 days. “It is shocking to note that though the accused is in custody, the case has moved around for such a long period of time. It seems that in this case, the criminal justice system has failed to meet its designated objectives,” said Singh.

Abdul

Riyaz 

 

The Times of India, December 16, 2013

Cops lose briefcase in mock drill

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai:  The intention might have been good but the execution was pathetic, turning a police mock drill into a mockery. 

    A briefcase worth around Rs 1,000, which our cops planted in front of a scrap dealer’s shop in Cheeta Camp to test the public’s response, was stolen right under their noses.

    In a standard drill, the police fill a bag or briefcase with clothes and dump it by the roadside, near a shop, a bus-stand or a railway station to gauge the alertness of citizens. In this case, the police purchased a briefcase, stuffed it with old clothes and kept it outside a shop in Trombay. The briefcase had ‘Explosive’ written on it.
 
    The scrap dealer’s assistant initially confessed to having given it to his employer. However, he soon changed his tune and said that one of the thousands of people who passed by the shop could have picked it up.  The police team eventually had to return empty-handed and with egg on its face.
 
SECURITY FIASCO Cops buy a briefcase worth Rs 1,000, stuff it with rags and place it outside a shop in Cheeta Camp to test citizens’ alertness in public places
Even as the police team monitors the public, a thief makes away with the suitcase  

Educating citizens tough, say police

Mumbai:   A police team conducting a mock security drill in Trombay was left scratching its head when a briefcase went missing right under their noses. 

    “Our teams were monitoring the activities of locals. Surprisingly, nobody came forward to inform the police. Instead, the shop assistant noticed the bag and took it inside. When our team quizzed him later, he denied having seen it. We searched the premises but could not find it. We suspect the shop-owner surreptitiously transferred it to another place using the back door,” said apolice officer.
  
  He told TOI that educating people about unclaimed objects, which could even be explosives or bombs, was difficult. “We want people to be more forthcoming and they must alert the police if they spot unclaimed items,” he said. Another officer added, “The situation has changed post-26/11. We are now more sophisticated and sensitive about alerts and conducting anti-terror operations. We have been carrying out mock drills regularly with the help of National Security Guard (NSG) and Force Once commandos at malls, cinema halls, crowded places, schools and even in residential colonies. We want to sensitize people about the gravity of such situations.”
 
    In the past one year, the city police have conducted more than 200 mock drills. “We are getting a good response from the public but the Cheeta Camp case shows that we must renew our efforts to educate people,” the officer said.

The Times of India, December 6, 2013 

CIA has been monitoring Mumbai blasts' probe, WikiLeaks discloses

Mateen Hafeez, TNN Oct 6, 2013, 06.44PM IST

Tags:

• Prithviraj Chavan|
• Dadar blast|
• America’s CIA|
• 2003 Twin blasts

• 

(WikiLeaks has focused on…)

MUMBAI: The latest WikiLeaks reports show that America's CIA has been monitoring every terror attack on Mumbai from 2004 till 2011, on a daily basis. WikiLeaks stated that CIA-collected minute details of what Indian VVIPs (including the Union home minister, and the state chief minister) said, and also all that US security agencies said after their own probe, are all on the web. However, there is no classified information by WikiLeaks. The CIA's collection of information is just news reports, WikiLeaks reports show.

One of the files, accessed by WikiLeaks, stated that the Indian news agencies' reports were used as a source of information by the CIA. In one of the emails, an agency story spoke about how India had, for the first time, linked Mumbai's triple blast to a home-grown militant group. Quoting the then Union home minister P Chidambaram, the news report stated the police investigation into the case was still ongoing and "all indications point to (an) Indian module". "We cannot live in denial. We cannot close our eyes to facts. There are home-grown modules," he told the Upper House of Parliament in a debate. This report was part of WikiLeaks at a time when no outfit had claimed the responsibility nor were any arrests made.
Later, the Maharashtra ATS arrested five men allegedly associated with a home-grown group, Indian Mujahideen (IM). One of the reports, used by the CIA as source of information, stated that the police were interrogating some suspected militants (arrested days before the Mumbai triple blasts). However, in fact, not a single IM or any other terror outfit member was arrested in Mumbai even a month prior to the blasts.
One part of the information shared by the WikiLeaks is about Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan's 15-minute difficulty to speak to investigators while the mobile network in Mumbai was jammed for sometime after the Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Dadar blasts.
According to WikiLeaks, this is what the contractor, Startfor, is all about: "Over five million emails from the Texas headquartered 'global intelligence' company Stratfor. The emails date between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US department of homeland security, the US Marines and the US defence intelligence agency. The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment laundering techniques and psychological methods."
Moreover, the emails also contain information, mostly from various newspapers and other open sources, about the death sentence given to three convicts for their role in the 2003 Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazar bomb blasts that killed 52.
WikiLeaks has focused on the 26/11 terror attacks as well; right from the attacks on the Indian financial capital to the trial in India, have been listed as information. One of the stories collected by the CIA is about Pakistan's consent to send a judicial commission to India to record the statements of witnesses in the 26/11 attacks.
13/7 triple blasts
Date: July 13, 2011
Sites: Three blasts at Zaveri Bazar (6.54pm), Opera House (6.55pm) and Dadar (7.06pm)

Toll: 27 killed, 137 injured
Bombs: Contained a cocktail of TNT, ammonium nitrate, nitrite and petroleum hydrocarbon.
Dadar: The explosive at Dadar was planted atop a bus stop facing up, which ostensibly mitigated its impact. Still, 10 people were injured, one of whom succumbed to injuries a few days later.
Status: Five people arrested and chargesheeted
26/11 attacks
Date: November 26, 2008
Bomb blasts, hand grenade attacks, firing and killing of 166 people including 18 foreigners at Hotel Taj, Hotel Trident, Cafe Leopold near Metro cinema, CST railway station, and Dockyard road, Khar.
Status: Nine terrorists were killed in encounter during the attacks. The 10th Ajmal Kasab, was captured alive and hanged to death on November 21, 2012 at a Pune jail.
2003 twin blasts
Two bombs exploded one near Mumbadevi temple in Zaveri Bazar and another near the Gateway of India on July 25, 2003 killing 52 and injuring over a hundreds.
Status: Five people were arrested. Three, including a married couple given death sentence by a special court.

Times Internet edition, October 6, 2013

Red alert: Airstrips may be used for terror attack

 

Security To Be Beefed Up Across State

 

Mateen Hafeez & Manju V | TNN

Mumbai: Intelligence agencies have sounded a terror red alert over the possible use of any one of Maharashtra’s 24 unused or little-used airstrips to launch unmanned light aircraft laden with explosives.
 

    The alert has been shot off to all security agencies, which have been asked to monitor unused air strips against launch of attacks on civilians and military establishments. The city’s Juhu airport and the international airport are also under the scanner. 

    The two-page intelligence alert, issued on September 21, specifically mentions names of airports that require tighter security.   “There is a likely threat of utilization of unused air strips by anti-national elements to launch lightweight airplanes with an aim to target civilian and military establishments of key importance,” the alert communication stated. It further listed names of all such airstrips in Maharashtra (see box). 

    The commandant CISF has also been alerted. Other than CISF, this copy has been sent to the city crime branch, state ATS, special branch and state intelligence bureau. 

    Sources said India, like the US, Europe and Australia, has a large number of “uncontrolled” airfields or airstrips that are not serviced by air traffic control. What this means is that an aircraft can land or take off from these strips without attracting attention. Some of these airstrips are in Augrangabad, Jalgaon, Nagpur and Lonavla , among others. 

    “We have discussed this alert with our officers and will help the concerned agencies with whatever input and information we have. We are also keeping an eye on people who have knowledge of airports or have travelled in airplanes in recent past,” said a security officer.   Since these airstrips don’t generate revenue, their owners, be it the government or a private party, spend little on critical essentials such as perimeter fencing and security personnel. 

    These airstrips cannot support heavy commercial passenger aircraft. Most can handle small aircraft; for instance, a single engine, twoseater, piston aircraft such as a Cessna 152, which is capable of carrying a payload of 50 kg. This can pose a serious security hazard.
 

JUHU AIRPORT: A FREE-FOR-ALL?
 

The Proposal A plan to deploy 117 state police personnel is pending with the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security since two months. AAI and BCAS have been promising security at the airport for two years now. There hasn’t been any change in the situation on the ground till date, though
 

Easy Entry Points Missing boundary wall: A 6km stretch of Juhu airport’s boundary wall is dilapidated, and a 1.5km stretch is completely broken and encroached upon. Some parts of the boundary wall were rebuilt but the aerodrome is still an open fi eld, easy to enter through the city side
 

Slum Encroachment Slums are spread over 29 acres of land inside the airport, barely 100 metres from the secondary runway. This poses several risks —slumdwellers play cricket on the runway, and several small thefts and damage to aircraft have also been reported
 

DISMAL SECURITY
    No CISF presence: There are no CISF personnel nor security forces to man the airport’s boundary wall. The airport is guarded by around 30 police personnel who find it tough to stay there round the clock due to lack of basic facilities such as washrooms and toilets
    There are no CCTVs
    Security checks of people entering the airport are done individually by the various companies using the aerodrome instead of a nodal public agency

The Times of India, October 1, 2013

Israeli security units may be asked to protect Jewish hubs

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Besides increasing security at Jewish establishments in the city, the state ATS and the Mumbai police are now trying to rope in Israeli agencies to provide cover to the institutions facing terror threat. The police are also studying the methods adopted by Israeli agencies to foil terror attacks.
    “Israeli agencies have come up with several important defence strategies to combat attacks and abduction-like situation. We are also keenly studying their method of hostage negotiation. Though we have our own method, additional input always helps,” said a Mumbai police officer. The state police also plan to conduct a meeting with the Israeli security agencies soon.
    Safety at Jewish establishments such as synagogues, educational and business centres has become a matter of worry after arrested Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives Yasin Bhatkal and Asadullah Akhtar told theNationalInvestigation Agency (NIA) that their men had surveyed at least four synagogues in the city last August. Bhatkal and Akhtar reportedly told the police that the IM planned to abduct some Jewish people and hold them hostage, demanding the release of top IM functionaries from Indian jails. At present, more than 100 suspected IM operatives are in various jails in India.
 

    In a bid to check the preparedness of the policemen posted at the earmarked establishments, the department sent some “suspicious-looking people on motorbikes near synagogues”. “We are happy that the police personnel posted there identified those people, who lurked around the spot posing as dummy terror suspects,” added a senior police officer.
 

    Following the attack on a Nairobi mall, security at malls here have also been stepped up. “We sent our teams to some malls and our officers checked the security gadgets and alertness of the staff. We will meet the mall authorities soon and brief them about the steps they must adopt,” an officer said.
 

 

Police comb trains, visit kin’s home but no news of Usmani 

 

 The state ATS, Mumbai crime branch, railway police and specialized agencies are putting in all efforts to trace the escaped IM operative, Afzal Usmani, but the trail seems to have gone cold. A state-wide search from Dharavi to Nashik, Jalgaon to Bhusawal and Bhopal to Khazrana has not yet yielded any result.
 

    On September 20, after being brought to court, Usmani (37) hoodwinked the escorting cop, assistant sub-inspector Sanjay Deshmukh, and fled. He was last seen at Sewree where he went to collect Rs 700 from a tea vendor. “Our teams are meeting Usmani’s contacts and informants have been promised rewards for tip-off on the IM operative. But despite all efforts, we are yet to get any information,” admitted a home department source. “Our team went to Usmani’s sister’s house in Dharavi. She said Usmani had not visited her but we have kept her house under surveillance. Importantly, Usmani’s nephew Javed has also been missing since Friday. Javed would visit him regularly in courts and jail. We don’t know if Javed visited him the day he fled,” said the officer. “His co-accused claim even they did not have any idea of his escape plan,” cops said. 

 

 The motor vehicles theft cell has been directed to alert the state police headquarters whenever they receive a complaint   about a stolen car. “Usmani may use a stolen vehicle to flee,” the police said.

    Suspecting that he has fled the city by now, the ATS and the state police have been searching
    trains in Mumbai, Nashik, Manmad, Jalgaon and Bhusawal. But they have had no luck. They also conducted a combing operation of all the lodges near Manmad station, an important junction, and of all trains to MP and UP. 

    The police have also sent out the image of his possible changed look, with his original photo to other states. “He may be waiting for financial help from his mentor, Riyaz Bhatkal,” a source said.
—Mateen Hafeez 

 

 

Lax security in city malls worries cops

Ineffectual security in city malls exposed during surprise checks

Vijay V Singh TNN

Mumbai: The Mumbai police’s audits in the recent past have revealed that private security at most malls in the city are ineffectual at detecting weapons even with metal detectors. This discovery, along with the deadly al-Shabaab attack in Nairobi, has prompted the police to conduct fresh audits of malls. 

    In the past few months, the police’s protection and security branch sent 220 “armed decoys” to various places to appraise their preparedness. Most decoys were sent to malls and multiplexes. In 70% of the cases, officers said, the decoys succeeded in entering the premises with weapons.
    One such ‘dummy run’ was carried out at a popular mall in Andheri (West). A police officer concealed a revolver in his shoes and visited the place in plain clothes and managed to enter. 

 

 ‘Malls refuse to take security seriously’
Mumbai: During a security audit at a city mall, a police officer in plain clothes with a hidden weapon managed to enter despite the doorframe metal detector at the entrance alerting the mall guards “with specific signal” that the officer was carrying a weapon.  “But the private guard did not bother. I was frisked manually, but perfunctorily,” said the officer. “I faced no hurdles in entering. We later informed the mall’s security team about their lapses.” 

    The police conceded that many Mumbai malls are vulnerable terror targets. “We are checking their vulnerability with a fresh perspective after the Nairobi attack. We are also evaluating our response mechanism,” said additional commissioner of police (protection and security) Madhukar Pandey.
    Officers complained that despite their exhortations many malls refuse to take security more seriously. “Thousands visit malls on weekends, so we increase patrols there on those days. But the malls themselves take security lightly,” said an officer. “After the Nairobi attack, I hope their attitude will change.” 

    The police held a meeting on September 12 with the security heads of malls and multiplexes where an open discussion was held, an orientation programme conducted and feedback collected. Most security heads, in response, requested the police to train their staff.  “We have given suggestions on frisking, CCTV positioning and checking vehicles. We expect them to follow our advice,” said DCP Chhering Dorje.
 

Security increased at synagogues after audits
    The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) recently conducted security drills—using ‘mock terrorists’—at 35 places belonging to the Jewish community to appraise their vulnerability. The exercise happened after the ATS issued a terror alert warning of possible attacks on Jewish places of worship by the Indian Mujahideen (IM). “At all 35 places, the mock terrorists, who were armed with fake weapons and bombs, got caught and were detained,” said a senior ATS officer.
 

    Another officer explained that following the arrest of IM principal Yasin Bhatkal the ATS had received “inputs” from security agencies in New Delhi. So, the ATS issued an alert and identified for security audits 35 places belonging to the Jewish community. Of these, 29 are in Mumbai—10 synagogues, five Chabad houses, four business and 10 educational establishments. The rest six, all synagogues, are in other parts of the state. “After the audit, we briefed their guards on how to identify suspicious people,” said an officer. “At most places, we have beefed up security. Policemen have been ordered to create makeshift posts on the premises of synagogues and stay on alert.”  

— Mateen Hafeez 

 

 TIMES VIEW: Security at malls may be porous and it’s especially scary after the Nairobi incident. But finger-pointing won’t take us anywhere. Areas under the direct supervision of government agencies (like CST, which has already suffered a bloodbath) are not any safer than malls. Officials themselves have admitted in the past how basics, like the monitoring of CCTV footage, suffer because of logistical problems, the implication being a railway station in Mumbai is as porous as a mall. The lackadaisical attitude to security, whether it’s managed by private or government agencies, needs to change.

The Times of India, September 26, 2013

ATS alert: IM recruits recced 11 city targets in early Aug

Security Up On Info From Bhatkal Grilling 

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Contrary to security agencies’ belief that several successes against the Indian Mujahideen have crippled it, the home-grown terror outfit is very much active in Mumbai. Confidential documents available with TOI reveal that IM recruits conducted a reconnaissance of at least 11 possible targets in the city in August. The places (see box) include locations like the Zaveri Bazaar-Kalbadevi-Mangaldas Market-Mumbadevi mandir zone which has been targeted in the past. 

    The revelations by IM founder Yasin Bhatkal during interrogation are giving security agencies sleepless nights. “The arrests over the years were a good signal, which we thought crippled the IM’s network. Initially, 22 IM operatives were arrested by Mumbai police in 2008, then over a dozen each were held by Delhi police and Gujarat police the same year. Again in 2011, more than six were arrested by Delhi police. But every arrest reveals details of more shocking plans,” said a source
in the security establishment.

The Times of India, September 25,2013

10cr suit filed against cops for defamation

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Jamat-e-Islami Hind on Tuesday filed a Rs 10 crore defamation suit against the city police for issuing a circular in March this year about its sister wing, Girls Islamic Organization (GIO). 

    The special branch (SB) police had issued a fortnightly report to city cops which stated that GIO was trying to “motivate girls towards Islam and asking them to practise the religion”. The report had indicated that the GIO was preparing Muslim girls for jihad.
 

    TOI, in its March 31 edition, had carried a story titled, ‘Women’s group under the scanner of Mumbai police’. This sparked off protests and people associated with GIO met SB additional police commissioner, Nawal Bajaj, who assured them of a probe. “We waited for the probe report and even sent a letter asking about it but got no reply. We had no option but to file a defamation suit against the Mumbai Police,” said Taufique Aslam Khan, president of Jamat. Bajaj could not be contacted. 

 

 

The Times of India, September 25, 2013

Synagogues, Zaveri Bazar put on terror alert

Security has been increased outside four synagogues in the city after the recent alert

Many Areas In City On IM Radar, Says ATS Note

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: A two-page confidential report, signed by state ATS chief Rakesh Maria, has asked city police to review and provide heavy security to 11 spots in the city which featured in a reconnaissance mission by Indian Mujahideen operatives in August. 

    The places mentioned in the report include four synagogues: Magen Hassidim Synagogue (Agripada), Magen David Synagogue (next to ATS head quarters at Nagpada), Shaare Rason synagogue (Dongri) and Shaar Harahamim synagogue (Pydhonie). The other places reportedly on
the IM hit list include the Mumbai police commissionerate, Zaveri Bazar, Mumbadevi temple, Mumbai Central bus depot, Mumbai Central railway station, Crawford market, Kalbadevi/Mangaldas
market and Lohar chawl. 

 
    Security personnel posted outside the Jewish places of worship are not even allowing passers-by to stop near the places.     The alert was sounded following revelations during the custodial interrogation of IM founder Yasin Bhatkal. 

 

    “Interrogation of the arrested accused Yasin Bhatkal and Asadullah Akhtar of the IM have revealed that synagogues and other locations in Mumbai were surveyed by their operatives in the first week of August 2013,” said the report, a copy of which is with the TOI.    “A detailed study has been conducted of the places supposedly recced by IM operatives. It is also requested to ensure that no unidentified object is allowed to be placed in or around the potential targets apart from other professional steps to thwart any such terror attack in Mumbai and around. This may be accorded top priority,” the report added. 

 
    The report has been sent to Sanjiv Dayal, directorgeneral of police, K L Prasad, commissioner, state intelligence bureau (SIB) and Gurbachan Singh, joint director, SIB.
    Meanwhile, the security agencies are trying to verify an intelligence input that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamat-ud-Dawa are chalking out a plan to carry out attacks on the Indian Army and an Indian security agency. 

    The intelligence input stated that the ISI , the Pakistani intelligence agency, and radical trainers from that country, besides China and a Gulf country, are training over 100 terrorists to trigger mobileoperated suicide vests, at at least three camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The input was part of a power-point presentation by Vinayak Apte, deputy director, state intelligence bureau, at a subsidiary multi-agency centre (SMAC) meeting held days before Bhatkal was captured. 

The minutes of the meeting, which are with the TOI, stated, “Hizbul Mujahideen and the ISI are also planning to push fidayeen squads into India through the Line of Control/Nepal border. Following the conviction of Mirza Himayat Baig, IM elements may carry out revenge attacks.” 

Bhatkal and Akhtar were shown as arrested on August 28. Bhatkal faces at least 16 cases of terror conspiracy/attacks in India, including the German Bakery blast in Pune.
 

 

Times View
    Afzal Usmani’s escape seems scarier seen in the light of what Yasin Bhatkal has been telling his interrogators. Some action has started on Usmani’s guards. But the process must end in punishment which will deter this type of shoddiness that can prove costly for the nation and its citizens.  

 

 

BANNED OUTFIT CASTS SHADOW ON CITY
 

THE 11 SPOTS PUT ON ALERT Mumbai police commissionerate, Zaveri Bazar, Mumbadevi mandir, Mumbai Central bus depot, Mumbai central railway station, Crawford market, Kalbadevi/Mangaldas Market/Lohar chawl, Magen Hassidim Synagogue (Agripada), Magen David Synagogue (next to ATS headquarters at Nagpada), Shaare Rason Synagogue (Dongri) and Shaar Harahamim Synagogue (Pydhonie)
 

OLD TARGETS FACE RENEWED THREAT  

Mumbadevi Mandir A powerful bomb went off near Mumbadevi mandir at Zaveri Bazar on August 25, 2003, killing more than 30 people. The attack was allegedly carried out by the ‘Gujarat Muslims’ Revenge Force’, which claimed it wanted to avenge the 2002 Gujarat riots
 

Zaveri Bazar A powerful RDX bomb went off on July 13, 2011, killing 15 people and injuring over 50 others. The bombs were allegedly planted in various parts of the city by operatives of the banned outfi t, the Indian Mujahideen
 

Mumbai Central Station A bomb went off at McDonald’s, located within the premises of Mumbai Central railway station, on December 6, 2002, injuring 25 persons
 

AREAS COMMON TO PREVIOUS INTELLIGENCE INPUTS  

Mumbai Police Commissionerate After the arrest of suspected IM operative Faheem Ansari, police claimed that he had surveyed 12 places in Mumbai in 2007-08, including the city police commissioner’s office. It prompted tighter security. Later, in 2012, police reviewed the security of the commissionerate after a new threat
 

Mangaldas Market/Lohar Chawl After the arrest of two suspected terror suspects in 2010, the state ATS claimed they wanted to blow up Mangaldas market near Lohar chawl, besides Borivli’s Thakkar Mall and the ONGC headquarters
 

Anti-Terror Squad Offi ce (Not part of the current alert) An earlier input in June this year said that some terror suspects were trying to target the state ATS headquarters at Nagpada. Following the alert, the parking of police vehicles in the compound was banned. Moreover, new door metal frame detectors, CCTV cameras and hand detectors were installed in the building. ATS offi cers were also instructed to meet their sources outside the offi ce to prevent any untoward incident in the building

The Times of India, September 25, 2013