Political parties soft on national security

SIMI men let off by Kerala cops behind Bangalore blasts?

Ananthakrishnan G | TNN

Thiruvananthapuram:
Could precious lives have been saved in Jaipur and Bangalore had Kerala cops not ‘‘bungled’’ in a case involving some senior SIMI activists arrested by them in 2006? If the sloppy manner in which the police handled the issue involving hardline jihadi cadres — who later went on to mastermind the May 13 Jaipur blasts and believed to have played a major role in the July 25 Bangalore serial explosions — is any indication, the answer is in the affirmative.
The case relates to the arrest of five SIMI men who were holding a meeting at Binanipuram near Aluva in Ernakulam district on August 15, 2006. Although a total of 18 SIMI men were rounded up from the venue, the police mysteriously registered a case against only five and let off the rest. The FIR registered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act named five accused — Shaduli, Ansar Moulavi, Nizamuddin, Abdul Rafeeq and Shamas.
Almost two years into their arrest, cops are yet to even file a chargesheet in the case. Not unusual for the police, except for the fact that two of them — Ansar Moulvi and Sahduli — are now in the custody of the Rajasthan police in connection with the Jaipur blasts.
Ansar Moulavi and Shaduli also attended a secret training camp held by the outfit at Vagamon in Kerala’s Idukki district in December 2007, a year after they were arrested by the Binanipuram police and released on bail. A third one is reportedly detained in Bangalore after last week’s serial blasts in the IT city. Nizamuddin fled India and is now said to be operating from Saudi Arabia, while the whereabouts of the fifth person isn’t known.
The extent of bungling dawned on the police only after the May 13 Jaipur arrests. But by then, it was too late. Now, demands have grown in the administration for a probe into the role of two senior cops who are said to have ‘‘sabotaged’’ the investigation.
There was no attempt to pursue the matter or collect evidence and cops didn’t even think of going in for scientific tests like narco analysis. But then it isn’t just the cops. An MLA belonging to the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala is said to have called on the SIMI men in jail a few days after their arrest.
It now turns out that Shaduli’s brother, Shibly Peediackal Abdul, was the outfit’s key operative in south India. Wanted in the 2006 Mumbai serial blasts, he, too, was arrested in MP in March.
Terror alert in Hyderabad
Ahigh alert has been sounded in Hyderabad after an unidentified caller from the UAE told a TV channel that terrorists are likely to strike in the state capital, Mumbai and Nagpur before the Independence Day on August 15. TNN

Regional parties oppose setting up of federal agency

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The Manmohan Singh government’s bid to refurbish its antiterror credentials by setting up a federal investigative agency will require skilful negotiations given opposition from regional parties and BJP’s demand that Gujarat and Rajasthan be allowed to notify special laws.
The proposal to designate terrorism as a “federal” crime to be investigated by a central agency ran into expected resistance on Wednesday with Akali leader Parkash Singh Badal opposing the move and arguing that the Centre should help strengthen state police forces. The Punjab CM laid stress on better coordination rather than a federal agency.
The Akalis have been sensitive to central “intrusion” and their concerns over provisions like Article 356 have been mirrored not just by other regional parties like DMK but also the Left. Opposition governments, particularly those from the NDA stable, have frequently complained of discrimination at the hands of the Centre, and are likely to view the federal agency proposal with suspicion.
The proposal gained urgency in the wake of security gaps exposed by the blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, followed by the recovery of bombs in Surat. Having taken a political decision to do away with special laws like Pota, the government found itself fending off the charge of neglecting the terror threat and fished out the federal agency file. But apart from opposition of states, the Manmohan Singh government will also run into a major political hurdle when it broaches the federal agency with BJP. The saffron party has been demanding that anti-organised crime laws passed by the Gujarat and Rajasthan assemblies be given Presidential assent and may fuse the two issues.
The decision to hold back assent is clearly political, with the Centre signalling that it would not allow BJPruled states to have special laws that will make prosecution easier and faster despite Congress-NCP ruled Maharashtra having a law on which the Gujarat and Rajasthan legislations are modelled. BJP is bound to demand that the Centre do both — clear the state laws and bring back Pota.
This is politically tricky terrain for Congress. The party’s decision to scrap Pota had in good measure rested on the calculation that this would go down well with minorities as Muslim organizations have claimed that the community was being targeted. Having argued that special laws do not prevent terror outrages, the Centre cannot do a U-turn on Pota-type laws. Congress’s bid to win support of sections opposed to MCOCA-type laws is aimed at projecting itself as the barrier standing between BJP-ruled states getting access to “draconian” laws. But with NDA in power in several states, the government cannot hope to move forward on the federal agency without in some measure accommodating the BJP’s point of view.

LIFESAVER: One of the electronic chips that malfunctioned, found inside the bombs defused by the bomb disposal squad on Thursday

UP police let go suspect under pressure

Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui | TNN

Lucknow: An incident in Varanasi, in which the Jaipur police were forced to release a terror suspect after the local Varanasi police feared a law and order problem because of his arrest, has ignited a debate over the kind of compromises the fight against terror could entail.
On July 26, Jaipur police picked up Abdul Mateen, a teacher at Madrassa Jamia-Asharfia in the Madanpura locality of Varanasi. About an hour after the police team left with Mateen, hundreds of locals took to the streets saying he had been kidnapped by the cops. The Varanasi police tracked the Jaipur police team near Kanpur and asked them to bring back Mateen as the pressure of protest was fast spinning out of their control.
On the surety of SP MLA of Varanasi City (North) Abdul Samad and Varanasi chief mufti Abdul Batin, who guaranteed Mateen would be available to police for quizzing, Jaipur police had to let go Mateen.

Mumbai cops get lessons on understanding Muslims

S Balakrishnan | TNN

Mumbai: Police is now making systematic efforts to understand the Muslim community. As a result, all personnel of the Muslim section of Special Branch I at the city’s police headquarters and two staffers of this branch from each zone attended a recent day-long workshop at Police Club hall.
The initiative was taken by additional commissioner (Special Branch I) Sunil Ramanand even before the Ahmedabad blasts. Ramanand is a no-nonsense officer who in his earlier stint as deputy commissioner had done considerable work to clean up the Dadar-Matunga-Antop Hill area off antisocial elements.
The task of Special Branch I is to gather political intelligence.
Ibrahim Tai, a noted social Muslim social worker and trustee of the Muslim Council Trust, collaborated with the police. ‘‘I got maulanas from Barelvi, Deoband, Ahle Hadees and Shia schools of Islam to talk about their respective sects. Policemen asked several interesting questions about the intricacies of Islam,’’ Tai told TOI on Thursday. ‘‘It was a welcome exercise which I hope will help the police understand the Muslim position on many issues confronting the community.’’
More such workshops will be conducted in the months to come and also help the police network better with the community and understand various undercurrents.
Sources said these efforts have assumed importance in view of the fact that fundamentalist Muslim groups like outlawed SIMI and the newly-created Indian Mujahideen are executing sophisticated blasts in different parts of the country.
In the past, senior officers like V N Deshmukh had taken pains to understand the community. In fact, it was his appreciation of the reality vis-a-vis the city Muslims that made it possible for Deshmukh to testify against his own colleagues before Justice Srikrishna Commission.

Countries issue travel advisories

Himanshi Dhawan | TNN

New Delhi: With a terror trail stretching all across India following bomb blasts in Karnataka and Gujarat, countries have issued advisories for their citizens asking travellers to exercise a ‘‘high degree of caution’’ while visiting government offices, malls and other public places that have been a target of terrorists.
The advisories issued by UK, US and Australia have yet again put India on the radar as a destination where safety and security of tourists is in jeopardy. Though the number of foreign tourists to the country has increased over the years, the fact that Indian destinations are a constant target cannot be denied. The US embassy — America sends the largest number of tourists to India — has sent email alerts to its citizens asking them to maintain a high level of vigilance, remain aware of their surroundings, monitor local news reports, avoid crowded places, and take appropriate steps to bolster their personal security. The alert says, ‘‘If unattended packages are spotted, American citizens should immediately exit the area and report the packages to authorities.’’
UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office has said there is a ‘‘high threat’’ from terrorism throughout India. ‘‘Attacks have targeted public places, including places of worship,’’ their advisory says. It also asks citizens to exercise particular caution when in the vicinity of ‘‘key government installations and tourist sites, attending public events ’’.