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)

Sai Baba's Maha Samadhi opened to public

Puttaparthi, Jul 15, 2011

Satya Sai Baba's 'Maha Samadhi' was on Friday opened to devotees for darshan at Prasanthi Nilayam here on the auspicious occasion of 'Guru Purnima'.

Thousands of devotees assembled at the Sai Kulwant Hall in Prasanthi Nilayam, where the Samadhi is located, bringing back festive atmosphere in the town. Sai Baba used to give darshan at the Sai Kulwant hall and 'Guru Purnima' has importance in the calendar of events in Puttaparthi. The rectangular-shaped 'Maha Samadhi' is a white marble edifice which was decorated with flowers.

Andhra Pradesh ministers J Raghuveera Reddy, J Geeta Reddy, senior VHP leader Ashok Singhal were among those who had darshan of the memorial after it was unveiled. Police have put elaborate security arrangements in place in Puttaparthi.

Satya Sai Baba passed away on April 24 due to cardio-respiratory failure after undergoing treatment for about a month in the super-specialty hospital run by the Satya Sai Trust. The mortal remains of Satya Sai Baba were laid to rest with state honours at the Sai Kulwanth hall on April 27 as a host of prominent personalities and thousands of devotees watched the event.

(PTI)

Nuclear Suppliers Group’s restrictions on ENR will not affect India: Russia

MOSCOW, July 15, 2011

Russia has assured India that new international restrictions on the transfer of sensitive nuclear technologies will not affect the clean waiver India was granted in 2008.

The official spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry said the new guidelines adopted by the Nuclear Suppliers Group last month to ban the sale of enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) technology to NPT non-signatories will not apply to India.

“The decision to strengthen ‘sensitive’ nuclear export controls adopted at an NSG plenary session in 2011 does not affect in any way the September 2008 decision of the Group to unfreeze peaceful nuclear cooperation with India,” spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement posted on the Foreign Ministry website late on Thursday.

It is for the first time that Moscow has clearly stated its position on the new NSG guidelines. The statement was issued the same day Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov returned from Washington where he had wide-ranging talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and was received by President Barack Obama. The talks also covered issues of nuclear non-proliferation.

Immediately after the June 20-24 NSG meeting in Noordwijk, Holland, the Russian Foreign Ministry refused to say that India was exempted from the new ENR restrictions, even as it confirmed its compliance with the Group of Eight 2008 ban on the sale of ENR equipment to nations that have not signed NPT.

Unrestricted nuclear cooperation

In its new statement Moscow reiterated its commitment to the March 2010 bilateral accord with India on unrestricted peaceful nuclear cooperation, which called for a separate agreement on ENR transfer, and the December 2010 joint statement by the leaders of the two countries.

“We are ready to continue their effective implementation,” Mr. Lukashevich said.

He recalled that Russia has been consistently working to ensure India’s membership in the 45-member NSG.

“We have repeatedly raised the issue of establishing regular contacts between the NSG and India and create a mechanism to allow New Delhi to participate in the development of export control norms in the nuclear field,” Mr. Lukashevich said.

“In Noordwijk, we reaffirmed our strong commitment and willingness to ensure full participation of India in NSG," he said.

Russia views nuclear cooperation with India as a “pivotal element in bilateral strategic partnership,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

(THE HINDU)

2G: BJP demands probe into Chidambaram’s role

New Delhi, July 15, 2011

In an unusual move, a BJP delegation on Friday met CBI Director A.P. Singh, demanding a probe into the alleged role of then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in the 2G spectrum scam.

It is not a normal practice that the CBI Director meets members of political parties but on Friday he met the five-member delegation led by party MP Prakash Javdekar.

Mr. Javdekar, accompanied with fellow MPs Maya Singh, Shivakumar Udasi and BJP office bearers Bhupendra Yadav and Jagat Prasad Nadda, submitted records received through RTI replies and other evidences which allegedly indicate that Mr. Chidambaram had sanctioned the policy for sale of spectrum.

The delegation also demanded that the CBI should quantify the entire loss caused through the telecom spectrum allocation scam which the Comptroller and Auditor General had pegged at around Rs.1.76 lakh crore.

“A. Raja, the then Telecommunications Minister, is in jail and has been formally chargesheeted for conspiracy behind the loot and corruption of thousands of crore in the award of 2G licence and allocation of precious spectrum.

“However, it seems surprising that the CBI for reasons unknown has not investigated the role of P. Chidambaram who was the then Finance Minister,” the delegation said in its representation.

When asked whether they would approach the Supreme Court, Mr. Javdekar told reporters that they would see what action the CBI takes on their representation and then take a call on the future course of action.

The BJP said the Cabinet, in 2003, had decided that Finance Ministry and Telecom Ministry “would settle” pricing and allocation of spectrum and both the ministries are “equally responsible” for any decision taken.

(PTI)

Scooter, CCTVs give Mumbai blasts probe hope

Mumbai, July 15, 2011

Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said on Friday that investigators are examining forensic evidence and footage from closed circuit televisions for clues about the triple bomb blasts that shook Mumbai and killed 17. Chavan told CNN-IBN news channel that investigators had collected "enough" evidence such as blood samples and explosive materials from the bombing sites and were also analysing security footage for more clues into the attacks.

There were fears that the torrential downpours that have hit Mumbai since the rush-hour blasts on Wednesday evening may hamper the probe, washing away vital forensic clues.

Investigation agencies are scanning 11 CDs of CCTV footage for clues into the Mumbai serial bombings, home secretary RK Singh said on Friday.

"There are about 11 CDs (of CCTV footage) which have to be gone through, so it's a voluminous work. People who are not recognised by local people have to be put through a data base... the suspicious people are being verified," Singh told reporters.

"We also have identified the scooter in which one of the bombs was planted. There are various leads based on our previous databases, various people are being questioned, so investigation is going on," he added.

Forensic examination of debris has already indicated that the bombs, hidden in the crowded streets, used ammonium nitrate, a fertiliser ingredient commonly used in improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

No one has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attacks and investigators have named no immediate suspects.The bombings were the worst terror attack in Mumbai since a 2008 siege in which 166 people were killed over three days.

(hindustantimes)