Confusion over 13/7 suspect

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Confusion prevailed over the arrest of Murshidabad resident, Jiarat Sheikh, 27, for supplying ammonium nitrate to the 13/7 Mumbai bombers. While the National Investigation Agency (NIA) denied any such arrest or detention, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officials were tightlipped about Sheikh.

There were reports that Sheikh, a resident of Suti in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, was picked up by the security agencies. Sheikh is allegedly the biggest supplier of explosive- grade ammonium nitrate. Sheikh was produced before a first class judicial magistrate in a Jangipur court on a transit and was taken to some unidentified location. NIA has denied any knowledge about the detention in connection with the 13/7 serial blasts. Sources in the NIA said that they had picked up one person from Malda in connection with a fake currency note case and the accused had nothing to do with the Mumbai blasts case. Maharashtra ATS chief Rakesh Maria met chief minister Prithiviraj Chavan at the latter’s residence.The ATS on Friday detained two persons, suspected to be associated with some terror groups.

The Times of India, August 6, 2011

‘Fraud’ scheme kingpin held in Chennai

Mateen Hafeez /TNN

Soon after an alleged ponzi scheme kingpin, Chitra Sillu Kumar alias Kumaran, landed at Chennai airport from Malaysia, a police team took him in custody and brought him to Mumbai. Kumaran (36) had promised an annual return of Rs 3.65 lakh on a one-time investment of Rs 1 lakh. “Kumaran, who was running a multi-level marketing scheme, was wanted in the case since 2010. We received details about his passport and issued a lookout notice against him. Last week, we came to know that he was in Malayasia and would return in a day or two. With the help of immigration officials and the Chennai police, we picked up Kumaran soon after he landed at Chennai airport,” said an officer from the economic offences wing (EOW).

Kumaran, who hails from Chennai, had floated a scheme, Wealth Line Promoters, and described himself as its national chief. He promised investors a return of 1% per day on an investment between Rs 7,000 and Rs 2 lakh. Similarly, if someone invested Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, he would be entitled to 2% profit per day. On an investment of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh, the profit would be 2.5% per day. “We had earlier arrested Geroge Karkuna Srill (35) and Shivkumar Hiremath (35) in this case. However, Kumaran managed to escape that time,” said senior police inspector S V Shelar.

The Times of India, August 5, 2011

SpeakAsia victim’s email account hacked

5 Company staffers In Custody

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Five office bearers of Speak Asia were on Thursday remanded in police custody till August 12. The firm is accused of cheating investors of Rs 14,000 crore by promising them huge returns on their investments. Meanwhile, the complainant in this case, Navneet Khosla, approached the police saying his e-mail account has been hacked into. “I was the only member (aka panelist) and never recommended others to become a member. However, now my email account on this firm is showing that I have nine sub-members (sub-panelists) under me. It came to my notice only after I registered the police complaint,” Khosla said. The hacking case may be referred to the cyber crime investigation cell (CCIC) of the crime branch. Police officials said that they have contacted the Computer Emergency Response Team in New Delhi to block the firm’s website. The economic offences wing (EOW) produced the firm’s chief operating officer Tarak Bajpai (36) and his four colleagues—Rajeev Mehrotra,technicalheadfor the portal, Shaikh Rais Latif (32), assistant for daily portal operations and in-charge of regular pop-ups, Ravi Janakraj Khanna (44), finance accountant, and Deepankar Sarkar—in court, which remanded them in police custody. “We have found Rs 139 crore in the company’s 35 frozen accounts. We are still waiting for the details of some bank accounts and hence need their police custody,” the police told the court. The police said that the fraud amount has crossed Rs 2,276 crore, but going by the number of investors, the amount could be over Rs 14,000 crore. “The firm had tranferred crores to an account in the United Bank of Singapore. We are yet to receive the report on the financial transactions,” said Rajvardhan Sinha, additional commissioner of police (EOW). Meanwhile, one of the investors sent an email to other investors, stating, “Our COO Tarak Bajpai was just detained for three days and not arrested by the police. He has been released and our company is working without any problem. Have faith in us.” mateen.hafeez@timesgroup.com The Times of India, August 5, 2011

SpeakAsia victim’s email account hacked

5 Company Staffers In Custody

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Five office bearers of Speak Asia were on Thursday remanded in police custody till August 12. The firm is accused of cheating investors of Rs 14,000 crore by promising them huge returns on their investments. Meanwhile, the complainant in this case, Navneet Khosla, approached the police saying his e-mail account has been hacked into. “I was the only member (aka panelist) and never recommended others to become a member. However, now my email account on this firm is showing that I have nine sub-members (sub-panelists) under me. It came to my notice only after I registered the police complaint,” Khosla said. The hacking case may be referred to the cyber crime investigation cell (CCIC) of the crime branch. Police officials said that they have contacted the Computer Emergency Response Team in New Delhi to block the firm’s website. The economic offences wing (EOW) produced the firm’s chief operating officer Tarak Bajpai (36) and his four colleagues—Rajeev Mehrotra,technicalheadfor the portal, Shaikh Rais Latif (32), assistant for daily portal operations and in-charge of regular pop-ups, Ravi Janakraj Khanna (44), finance accountant, and Deepankar Sarkar—in court, which remanded them in police custody. “We have found Rs 139 crore in the company’s 35 frozen accounts. We are still waiting for the details of some bank accounts and hence need their police custody,” the police told the court. The police said that the fraud amount has crossed Rs 2,276 crore, but going by the number of investors, the amount could be over Rs 14,000 crore. “The firm had tranferred crores to an account in the United Bank of Singapore. We are yet to receive the report on the financial transactions,” said Rajvardhan Sinha, additional commissioner of police (EOW). Meanwhile, one of the investors sent an email to other investors, stating, “Our COO Tarak Bajpai was just detained for three days and not arrested by the police. He has been released and our company is working without any problem. Have faith in us.” mateen.hafeez@timesgroup.com The Times of India, August 5, 2011

Zaveri Bazar blast: Cops have footage of ‘suspect’

Nine people were killed in the Zaveri Bazar blast on July 13

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Investigators probing the 13/7 triple Mumbai blasts have zeroed in on a person who was moving around in a suspicious manner near the Zaveri Bazar blast site about half an hour before the explosion occurred.
The police are working round the clock to get a breakthrough. However, no arrests have been made yet. Nine persons were killed at Zaveri Bazar when a highintensity bomb planted near a two-wheeler exploded around 6.54 pm on July 13. Two other bombs went off at Opera House and Dadar, killing 17. “We have collected all the CCTV camera images from the shopkeepers and are scanning them. At the Zaveri Bazar site, we found a person loitering near a scooter and a bike and keeping something there. Now we are in the process of verifying whether the stuff the man kept there was a bomb,” said an anti-terrorism squad (ATS) officer.

According to the police, they found a clear picture of the man who was loitering there in a suspicious manner about half an hour prior to the blast. However, his identity is not known. “We have got a clear photo of his but do not know anything about him,” said an officer. Investigators said that they have made the computerized sketch of the person and also took the photograph from the images itself. “The sketch and photograph both will help us to find who the man was,” said the officer. The photo has been distributed among all the police officers working on the case and will be given to police informers as well. “We are getting information about this person’s identity but we don’t want to take any risk. First we will verify everything and take further action, if required,” said a senior official.

The ATS had faced severe criticism last year after it detained one Samad Bhatkal in connection with the Pune German Bakery bomb blast case. According to the ATS, the man shown in one of the CCTV images, carrying a bag which contained the bomb, was Bhatkal. He was arrested in May soon after he landed in India from Dubai. The Union home ministry announced a breakthrough in the Pune blast case with the “crucial arrest of Bhatkal”, but later it was proved that the bomb planter was not Bhatkal. The ATS had to issue a statement saying that Bhatkal had nothing to do with the Pune blast.

The Times of India, August 4, 2011

Red-corner notice sought against global head of SpeakAsia

INVESTORS LOST . 14,000 CRORE

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Investors have lost over Rs 14,000 crore in Speak-Asia’s schemes, police said. The cops recently froze the company’s 35 bank accounts that had a balance of around Rs 139 crore. The company promised a return of Rs 52,000 on an annual investment of Rs 11,000. There are morethan 20lakhinvestors across India who was known as panelists. “One account in a Mumbai bank had a balance of Rs 80 crore,” a police officer said. The economic offences wing (EOW) is also collecting information about the company’s globalhead,Haren Kaur, a Singaporean national of Indian origin, to issue a red corner notice against her. “As per our information, sheisin Dubai. Wewillsoon issue a red corner notice (RCN) through the CBI to arrest her,” another officer said. The police registered two fresh cases in Indore following investors’ complaints. Police officials said that they have contacted computer emergency response team in Delhi to block the firm’s website. The server on which the website is hosted is located in the US and it will take time to block it globally, the police said. The EOW has arrested five officials of SpeakAsia so far. The Esplanade court remanded the five accused in police custody tillAugust4. “More arrests are likely soon,” said investigating officer, B P Shelke. mateen.hafeez@timesgroup.com The Times of India, August 3, 2011

Unaware of Ramzan, Kasab feasts on bananas in prison

Ajmal Kasab

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, who along with his nine accomplices killed scores of people in the name of ‘jihad’, is not observing Roza during Ramzan.
The Pakistani gunman has been eating bananas, apples and taking medicines, while fasting is compulsory for every adult Muslim during this period. Ramesh Dhamane, superintendent of the Arthur Road jail, said, “Kasab does not know that the month of Ramzan began on Tuesday. He is eating in jail.”

Kasab, who is being kept in an isolated cell in barrack 12, keeps himself busy reading books. “We will inform him about the holy month. It will then be up to him whether to fast or not,” said a source from the jail. Kasab’s cell does not have a calendar so he is unaware about the day, date and month. Soon after his arrest by the crime branch on November 27, 2008, Kasab had claimed to be part of a ‘jihadi mission’ acting in the name of religion. However, several Muslims have already said Kasab and his associates were completely ignorant of the true meaning of the word ‘jihad’. “A genuine Muslim does not kill people,” said a Muslim religious leader.

The Times of India, August 3, 2011