Faiz’s death: CID quizzes Crime Branch officers

Mumbai, 19 July 2011

The State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has questioned the officers of Crime Branch Unit-VI who had picked up suspected Indian Mujahideen operative Afzal Usmani’s brother Faiz Usmani from his Shivaji Nagar house in Govandi. The department is also looking at the post-mortem report.

Faiz had died of a massive brain haemorrhage on Sunday, hours after he was picked up by the Crime Branch on Saturday night. Statements of the officers have been recorded and the CID will soon be speaking to the neighbours and family members of Faiz. The Crime Branch has also handed over his medical report to the State CID. Faiz’s brother Afzal is currently lodged in Gujarat jail for his role in the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts after he was identified as an Indian Mujahideen operative in August 2008.

“According to preliminary post-mortem report, no external injuries were found. He died because of a cerebral haemmorage and heart attack. There was a 90 gram blood clot in his brain,” said Dr T P Lahane, dean of J J Hospital, adding that the report has also been submitted to the CID.

(Indian Express)

CBI again questions Raja, two others

New Delhi, 19 July 2011

The CBI on Monday interrogated former telecom minister A Raja, former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura and Reliance ADAG group MD Gautam Doshi over fresh leads in connection with the 2G scam.

The investigation, which took place following the permission by the Special CBI Judge O P Saini, took place in the lock-up of the Patiala House Courts for nearly three hours. CBI sources said the fresh interrogation was regarding the alleged links of the accused with Loop Telecom. The CBI is likely to file another supplementary chargesheet in the case soon. The names of a few more telecom firms are likely to figure in the chargesheet.

The accused had objected to the CBI plea for fresh interrogation, saying the agency must give reasons why it wanted fresh probe. The court had overruled the objections saying: “It is between the court and the prosecution.”

(Indian Express)

'Mumbai blasts suspect stayed in Hyderabad'

HYDERABAD, 19 July 2011

Intelligence sleuths claim terror suspect Haroon, who was arrested by the Kolkata police for his role in the Mumbai blasts, had visited the city in June and spent some time with suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Danish Riyaz to discuss about recruitment of youth and carrying out strikes.

According to sources, Haroon, who came to the city in the first week of June, stayed with Danish at his rented accommodation in Tolichowki.


Danish had been working as a database administrator with a small IT firm in Banjara Hills. He was arrested by the Ahmedabad police in the 2008 serial blasts case after he disembarked from the Secunderabad-Rajkot express in Vadodara in the last week of June.


Investigating agencies came to know about the link while they were screening emails of Danish.


During interrogation after the recent blasts, he revealed that Haroon met him in Hyderabad to discuss about recruitment of youth to send them for training to Pakistan.


Initially, investigating agencies suspected that Danish was in the city to keep him off the police radar. "Danish provided shelter to absconding IM operatives like Tauqeer at his residence in Ranchi. First we thought his job in Hyderabad was just to keep off police radar, but following new leads, that he was meeting IM operatives from the city, we again need to probe his activities," an intelligence officer said.


Intelligence sleuths grilled the owner of the house and office staff of Danish. Some incriminating evidence was also collected. After analysing seized materials like computer hard discs, police stumbled on the Haroon link.


NIA sources said during interrogation, terror suspect Faiz Usmani, who died in police custody, told the Mumbai ATS about an IM module in Bangalore. Acting on the lead, the ATS team picked up five members, including a Hyderabadi from Bangalore and they are currently being grilled.


"During Danish's interrogation, it was learnt that to confuse cops they had floated a new outfit, 'Bullet 313', somewhere in December 2010 to recruit youth for jihadi activities. While recruitment was done in the name of Bullet group to attract youth, funds were collected in the name of another outfit called Jamat Ansarul Muslimeen (JAM). We suspect that recruitment was done from across the country, including Hyderabad. We are using informers to get information," an NIA source said.

(The Times of India)

Pakistan extends ‘fullest assistance’ to Mumbai blasts probe

ISLAMABAD, July 16, 2011

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik telephoned his Indian counterpart P. Chidambaram on Saturday and offered condolences on the loss of lives in Mumbai’s triple bomb blasts while assuring his country’s “fullest assistance”.

Mr. Malik offered his sympathies on behalf of the Pakistan government to the Indian government and bereaved families of the victims of the attacks, said an official statement.

He assured his Indian counterpart of Pakistan’s “fullest assistance and was confident that the culprits shall be uncovered and brought to book”.

The Interior Minister expressed the hope that “cooperation and good neighbourly relations between the two countries would continue growing in future due to the noble desire and endeavours of the leadership of the two sides”, the statement said.

As many as 19 people lost their lives in the serial bombings in busy areas of the city on the evening of July 13.

(PTI)

Dhoni more aggressive than Strauss: Vaughan

LONDON, July 16, 2011

He does not quite know which way the series would go but former England skipper Michael Vaughan is quite sure that Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be pushing more aggressively for a win than his “defensive” rival Andrew Strauss in the Tests starting July 21.

Heaping praise on Dhoni, Vaughan said the Indian captain not only gets the best out of his players but maneuvers his field to give the opposition a chance to play aggressive cricket.

“Dhoni has been exceptional. He is a positive cricketer and he thrives on the leadership qualities he has as a captain. He seems to get the best out of all his players. He is quite an aggressive captain,” Vaughan was quoted as saying by the ‘Daily Telegraph’

“He is not scared to make moves and maneuvers his field to give the opposition a chance to play aggressive cricket as well. That will be the challenge in this series,” he added.

In comparison, Vaughan said Strauss is the one who would first like to make sure that the game is safe before trying to attack.

“He (Strauss) is quite a defensive captain. He likes to make the game safe before he attacks, but he has created a unit that plays for each other, and that is why you feel they can go on and be the No.1 team in the world,” he said.

The 36-year-old Vaughan said the outcome of the India-England series would depend a lot on how the two captains respond in different situations.

“It may come down to which captain is the more adventurous because I see a lot of runs being scored. The pitches will be good and it may come down to which captain gambles in those key periods,” said Vaughan.

England are set to host India for four Tests, five ODIs and one Twenty20 International, starting from July 21.

(PTI)

Nirupama Rao named India’s next ambassador to U.S.

NEW DELHI, July 16, 2011

Government on Saturday officially announced the appointment of Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao as the next Ambassador to the United States, an assignment she will take up shortly.

Ms. Rao, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the United States of America and she is expected to take up her assignment shortly, official spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi.

Her appointment to succeed Meera Shankar as the US Ambassador was cleared by the government last month.

The 1973-batch IFS officer assumed the office of the Foreign Secretary on August 1, 2009, becoming the second woman to head the Indian Foreign Secretary after Chokila Iyer.

She was to retire in December last year at the age of 60 but was given an extension till July-end when the government fixed a two-year term for the post of Foreign Secretary.

Ms. Rao has served in various key positions and had been India’s envoy to various countries, including China and Sri Lanka. She has also been the only women spokesperson in the MEA.

She had earlier served in Washington as a junior diplomat.

(PTI)

Mumbai blasts: ATS to grill suspected Indian Mujahideen members

Mumbai, 16 July 2011

Widening its probe into Wednesday’s serial bombings, Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad is likely to question suspected Indian Mujahideen members lodged in Karnataka and Gujarat jails and has sought the assistance of Kolkata Police in tracking possible suspects.

“A police team from Karnataka has come to Mumbai to help us. An ATS team from Maharashtra will also go to Karnataka and Ahmedabad to question the IM members lodged in the jails there,” said a police official.

The ATS is likely to grill suspected IM member Danish Riyaz in Ahmedabad who had been arrested there in connection with the 2008 serial blasts in Gujarat.

In Karnataka, police will also question those who are believed to have an association with family members of Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, the founder members of Indian Mujahideen.

The ATS has also sought assistance from Kolkata Police asking them to verify if any suspects had travelled to Mumbai from that city and subsequently went underground after the blasts, as part of its probe into the triple bombings in Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Dadar that left 19 people dead and injured over 130.

Questions bike owner

The ATS has questioned the owner of a bike, which was found very close to the blast site in Zaveri Bazaar, to put together the sequence of events on July 13.

The maroon colour Honda Activa was one of the bikes which was very close to the blast site and was partially destroyed in the bombings.

The bike belongs to one Ashok Jain who lives in Nagpada area.

Mr. Ashok’s nephew Aniket Jain, whose father owns a jewellery shop in Zaveri Bazar, said his uncle had parked the bike close to the blast site at around 3 pm on Wednesday while the blasts occurred at around 6:55 pm.

“ATS had called Ashok to its office at Nagpada yesterday with all the papers pertaining to the bike,” said Mr. Aniket. The insurance of the bike had expired two months ago. “We did not even realise that the insurance has expired,” he said.

The front portion of the bike was completely destroyed in the blasts and the vehicle is presently in the custody of the police. Police suspect that the blasts were triggered with the use of an IED kept in an abandoned umbrella, on one of the bikes there.

Victim dies

Meanwhile, one of the victims of the blasts today died in a city hospital, taking the death toll in the bombings to 19.

Babulal Das, 42, who was admitted to Saifee Hospital after the blast at Opera House, died around 3 am, they said.

Twenty people, who were seriously injured in the bombings, are being treated at various hospitals in the city.

(PTI)