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MUMBAI, SEPTMBER 11, 2010 SATURDAY PRICE `. 1 www.bombaybulletin.co.in

Kalimuddin Khan (l) and Hafij Sarif,believed to be HuJI members,were being

tracked by IB for a week before they disappeared late on Thursday night

WE LOST

THEM: IBS SOS

THAT SPARKED

PANIC Intelligence agencies forced cops to put Mumbai on high alert on

eve of festivities after the two terror suspects went off the radar Two Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI)

terrorists on the loose in Mumbai on

the eve of Ganesh festival,one of the

city's most loved and messiest extrav-

aganzas,is not an easy news to break

to a city scarred so badly by terror at-

tacks.

But after hours of nerve-wracking dis-

cussions that began sometime

around noon at Varsha,the CMs resi-

dence,the state's top political brass

and seniormost police officers de-

cided there was no alternative.

The two men described by Joint Com-

missioner of Police (crime) Himanshu

Roy as "foreign nationals"who had

entered the city to "cause disruption

at crowded and religious places" were

being tracked by central intelligence

agencies and Mumbai police for over

a week.However,late on Thursday

night,the agencies suddenly lost

them.

To convey the HuJI militants'identities

to the media was a desperate move

to deter the duo from going ahead

with its plan.

Sources said the two terrorists

Kalimuddin Khan alias Rameshwar

Pandit,28,a Pakistani citizen;and Hafij

Sarif,25,a Bangladeshi national,en-

tered Mumbai a week back through

the Bangladesh border.Their move-

ments were constantly. The agencies

kept them untouched so that they

could be arrested in the final stages

of their plan in possession of arms

and explosives.Only Mumbai police's

top brass was kept in the loop and a

Crime Branch unit was put on the job

to tail them.

However,panic struck when on Thurs-

day night,just 48 hours from Eid and

Ganesh festival,the agencies lost

track of the duo.A desperate search

was launched to get the two back on

radar.However,neither human intelli-

gence nor surveillance apparatus

threw up any clues.

On Friday morning,in a desperate

measure,the agencies contacted

Mumbai police and threw their hands

up.An IB officer said,"Both had en-

tered India through Bangladesh and

had been on our watch since then.We

didn't expect to lose track of them

right before the festival."

With agencies giving up on the

chase,Mumbai police too pushed the

panic button and informed the state

government."Intelligence agencies

have far better resources.When they

gave up,we didn't know what to

do.With two big festivals staring us in

our face,we had very few

options,"said a Mumbai police officer.

In the afternoon,a meeting was held

at CMs residence.It was attended by

senior police officers and Chief Minis-

ter Ashok Chavan and Home Minister

R R Patil.

It was decided at the meeting that the

agencies had little time to embark

upon any fresh initiative to trace the

suspects and that it was imperative to

let the people know of the danger

ahead.It was also believed,said

sources,that disclosing the identity of

the suspects to the media would deter

the two from going ahead with their

plans,at least for the time being.

An officer said,"This is only the sec-

ond time in the history of city's polic-

ing that people have been informed of

such a thing.We always get inputs

around festival time of disruptive ac-

tivities being planned by terror ele-

ments but never tell people as it will

create panic.Intelligence agencies

merely keep a watch on the suspects

and do not touch them until they are

about to do something."

The only instance of such a desper-

ate disclosure was on December

31,2002,when the then Crime Branch

DCP Pradeep Sawant held a press

conference and informed people

through the media that two suspects

were planning a blast at the Gateway

of India and that people should avoid

going there.

CALL 22633333/ 22625020

IF YOU see anyone who looks like

the suspects,call the city police on the

above listed numbers.Cops received

two calls within two hours on Friday.

At 6.45 pm,an Atul Agrawal informed

police that he had seen one of the

suspected terrorists at Churchgate

Station.Fifteen minutes later,police re-

ceived another call from a Pranay

Kumar saying he too had seen a sus-

pect at Chhatrapati Shivaji Interna-

tional Airport.

CITY www.bombaybulletin.co.in/city MUMBAI, SEPTMBER 11, 2010 SATURDAY

Two scary to ignore: Cops In an unprecedented move,Mumbai police reveal pictures of two suspected foreign terrorists who have sneaked into the city

JATIN RATHODEid and Ganeshotsav celebra-

tions suddenly got wrapped in a coat of

fear,after the Mumbai police,in an unprece-

dented move,announced on Friday that two

foreigners,believed to be terrorists,are

roaming the city.

Photographs of the duo a clean-

shaven Kalimuddin Khan alias Rameshwar

Pandit,28,and a bearded Hafij Sarif,25,were

released by Joint Commissioner of Police

(Crime) Himanshu Roy at a hurriedly called

press conference,setting off alarm bells

after Mumbaikars watched the development

on television.

This was one bouncer the city

was just not prepared for cops admitting

two suspected terrorists,possibly from Pak-

istan,Pakistan-occupied Kashmir or

Bangladesh disappearing from the radar of

intelligence agencies.By Friday evening,as

crowds swelled to celebrate Ramazan,and

to prepare for the first day of Ganpati festi-

val,whispers of tumi yaana pahilat ka were

heard all over Mumbai.

Kalimuddin and Sarif are sus-

pected to be carrying large amount of ex-

plosives,and could target crowded places

with an aim to spark off communal

clashes.JCP Roy said,We have intelligence

inputs that two foreign nationals have en-

tered the city and could try to cause disrup-

tion at crowded and religious places.We

appeal to the citizens to remain alert. Chief

Minister Ashok Chavan added,The informa-

tion came from Central Intelligence agen-

cies.

Following the police press confer-

ence,two telephone numbers 2263 3333

and 2262 5020 were set up for people to

pass on information.The helplines were

soon flooded with calls.A Crime Branch offi-

cial said,We are verifying each and every

information.

Following the inputs,a massive

security cover has been thrown in and

around Lalbaug,particularly at Lalbaugcha

Raja,where over 1,500 policemen have

been deployed round-the-

clock.Besides,personnel drawn from

CRPF,State Reserve Police Force and

Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad have

been stationed at the pandal.

The sniffer dog attached to the

bomb squad will conduct periodic checks at

the parking lot,while Quick Response Team

commandos and a Strike Mobile Van have

also been deployed.With this,the total num-

ber of security personnel stationed at Lal-

baugcha Raja (including the mandal's

private security) will go over 5,000,police

sources said.

Apart from Lalbaug,bandobust

has been tightened at temples,other

ganesh pandals,mosques and buildings.A

police source said,Our officers are also

speaking to the community leaders.Joint CP (Crime) Himanshu Roy with the pictures of the two suspected terrorists,Kalimuddin Khan and Hafij Sarif

ATS stumbled upon Baig through old case papersSOURABH DAS

It was a methodical examination

of scores of terror case papers that first

threw up Pune blast accused Himayat

Baigs name in May.His name figured at

only one place: in the case papers of a

Pune sleeper module busted by the Anti

Terrorism Squad under Hemant Karkare im-

mediately after the 2008 Ahmedabad

blasts.

Baig was named as an abscond-

ing accused in a sleeper module busted by

Karkare-led ATS on August 17,2008,in

Pune.The ATS had arrested two SIMI mem-

bers,Aiyaz Sheikh and Nadeem

Sheikh,while the Mumbai Crime Branch had

nabbed one Bilal Kazagi.All three were part

of the sleeper module being groomed since

2005.

Since the German Bakery blast

had the footprints of local knowledge,ATS

got on the trail of Baig as their prime sus-

pect.

According sources in the

ATS,after the February 13 bakery blast

there were only two names that cropped up

as suspects Mohammed Ahmed Zarar Sid-

dibappa alias Yasin Bhatkal and Mohsin

Chaudhary.Though Baigs name never fig-

ured on the list of suspects,we were con-

vinced there was someone with local

knowledge of Pune who was involved as

well.However,our information network failed

to throw up any clues, said an ATS officer.

That was when ATS officers started a me-

thodical examination of all the terror case

papers of the past five to six years.Since

the blast had IM signature,we scanned all

the IM case papers for clues,but to no

avail.We then started looking at cases that

were cracked around IM blasts and tried to

establish the connections with those named

in these cases and those in Pune or else-

where.It was during this rummaging of pa-

pers that we stumbled upon Baigs name in

the Pune sleeper module case, said the of-

ficer.

Meanwhile,Baig was also under

surveillance of a central intelligence agency

and his sudden disappearance from the

radar just after the blast led to the suspicion

that he could be involved.The agency

shared this information with the ATS in late

May,only to find that ATS was already look-

ing for him.




pect.

Investigations further revealed

that Baig was closely associated with cer-

tain IM members who had masterminded

Ahmedabad blasts.Chief among them was

Akbar Chaudhary,member of IMs media

cell,arrested from Pune in Septem-

ber,2008.It was also learnt that Baig was

known as Umar among the IM cadres.He

had even visited Ashoka Mews (the building

in Punes Kondhwa from where IMs media

cell operated during Ahmedabad blasts),

said ATS chief Rakesh Maria.

According sources in the

ATS,after the February 13 bakery blast

there were only two names that cropped up

as suspects Mohammed Ahmed Zarar Sid-

dibappa alias Yasin Bhatkal and Mohsin

Chaudhary.Though Baigs name never fig-

ured on the list of suspects,we were con-

vinced there was someone with local

knowledge of Pune who was involved as

well.However,our information network failed

to throw up any clues, said an ATS officer.

That was when ATS officers

started a methodical examination of all the

terror case papers of the past five to six

years.Since the blast had IM signature,we

scanned all the IM case papers for

clues,but to no avail.We then started look-

ing at cases that were cracked around IM

blasts and tried to establish the connections

with those named in these cases and those

in Pune or elsewhere.It was during this

rummaging of papers that we stumbled

upon Baigs name in the Pune sleeper mod-

ule case, said the officer.




pect.

Baig was named as an abscond-

ing accused in a sleeper module busted by

Karkare-led ATS on August 17,2008,in

Pune.The ATS had arrested two SIMI mem-

bers,Aiyaz Sheikh and Nadeem

Sheikh,while the Mumbai Crime Branch had

nabbed one Bilal Kazagi.All three were part

of the sleeper module being groomed since

2005.




pect.

Through Akbar Chaudharys

trail,ATS traced Baigs connections with

Yasin and Mohsin,both prime suspects in

the case by then.It also found that he had

maintained connections with absconding

LeT leaders Fayaz Kagzi and Zabiuddin

Ansari.ATSs suspicion was confirmed.

When an ATS team then went to Baigs na-

tive place in Beed,they could not find him

and a massive nationwide search was

launched.During this period,the agency

came close to nabbing Baig several

times,but he always managed to slip

away,until yesterday.Maria added,A special

team of select men was created to chase

(Baig).It is a classic case of how human in-

telligence gathering can help crack a

case.The team will forever remain a secret.

German Bakery blast master-

mind Himayat Baig was men-

tioned in the case papers of a

Pune sleeper cell busted by

ATS in 2008

2

NATION www.bombaybulletin.co.in/nation MUMBAI, SEPTMBER 11, 2010 SATURDAY

Rebel factions join hands for Kashmir before EidDHAVAL DAVE

SRINAGAR: In a significant

development,Hurriyat Conference (M)

Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin

Malik,head of the Jammu Kashmir Libera-

tion Front (JKLF),announced on Friday that

the two factions would join hands to help all

parties arrive at a consensus on the Kash-

mir issue.

Farooq and Malik jointly addressed the Fri-

day congregation at the historic Jamia

Masjid in the old city in Srinagar.After the

prayers,both leaders led a procession from

Jamia Masjid.

Farooq had earlier given a four-

point demand for resolution of the Kashmir

issue.He now said,We want final solution on

Kashmir,not another Eid package. The Cab-

inet Committee on Security will meet to dis-

cuss an Eid peace package for Kashmir on

Saturday.

Malik urged for peaceful protests.The pres-

ent struggle is going through a tough phase,

he said,It is important to maintain discipline

during protests, he said.

At least 69 youth have died during protests

in the Valley since June 11.Curfews and

shutdowns for the past three months have

made life worse for Kashmiris.







Saturday.

Meanwhile,shopkeepers in the

Valley said enthusiasm among shoppers

was missing and business was not on ex-

pected lines.A shopkeeper in

Srinagar,Imran,said,There is just no enthu-

siasm.People are only buying essential

goods.

The Geelani faction of the Hur-

riyat asked people to celebrate Eid with

gusto.The State also lifted curfew and re-

strictions,paving way for hassle-free

Eid.Banks loaded ATMs with cash.







Saturday.

Meanwhile,shopkeepers in the Valley said

enthusiasm among shoppers was missing

and business was not on expected lines.A

shopkeeper in

However,late on Thursday,a Spe-

cial Operation Group camp was attacked in

Anantnag.Around 40 SOG men stationed in

the Janglatmandi camp left their

bunkers,following which a mob ransacked

the place.JKLF chairman Yasin Malik (left) and chairman of APHC

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq lead an anti-India rally in Srinagar

No fresh probe in

Rizwanur case: SC

Rizwanur Rahmans mother after the SC order;his body was

found on the tracks

SEEMA AGARWALKOLKATA:The Supreme Court on Friday

stayed two Calcutta High Court orders to

initiate fresh investigations into the death of

Kolkata-based design professional Rizwa-

nur Rahman.

A Division Bench of the High Court had al-

lowed the CBI to initiate a fresh investiga-

tion.

The Supreme Court stayed two

orders relating to the case the order that

discharged Ashok Todi,Rizwanurs father-in-

law,and the order which directed the CBI to

reinvestigate the case.

A Division Bench of the Calcutta High

Court had quashed the findings of the CBI

around three months ago and directed it to

lodge a case of murder against seven ac-

cused.A fresh case of murder would make

the earlier investigations null and void.

The CBI had dismissed Rizwa-

nurs death as suicide and chargesheeted

the accused for abetment to suicide.

The SCs decision grants re-

prieve to Todi.The apex court has also

stayed all consequential proceedings aris-

ing out of the high court order.

Kalyan Banerjee,the lawyer for Rizwanurs

family,said,The court has dismissed the

order given by the Division Bench of the

Calcutta High Court.We are looking into it

and will take necessary action.

Rizwanur was found dead near

railway tracks in Dumdum area on Septem-

ber 21,2007,a month after he married Todis

daughter Priyanka against his wishes.

Yamuna rises,CM

says dont worry Flood water inundates over 80 villages in Yamunanagar and other districts

PRITI SHARMANEW DELHI Delhi was on edge on Friday

with the water level in Yamuna River rising

one meter above the danger mark,threaten-

ing to flood the nearby low lying areas even

as Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit appealed to

people not to panic.

The water level in the river

touched 205.88 meter at 3 pm and rose fur-

ther in the evening when water released

from Hathanikund Barrage in Haryana

reached the city.

Flood situation in Punjab and

Haryana remained grim with Yamuna and

other major rivers in the region flowing

above the danger level and inundating over

80 villages in Yamunanagar and other dis-

tricts.

Yamuna had crossed danger

level,prompting authorities to evacuate hun-

dreds of people living in the low lying

areas.Seventy-four boats and 68 divers

have also been pressed into service.

Dikshit asked people not to panic

and said though Haryana has released

nearly 9 lakh cusec of water in the last three

days.There may not be much threat to the

city as water has dispersed due to breaking

of embankments along the route.Flood Con-

trol Minister Raj Kumar Chouhan said over

100 booster pumps were fitted along the

banks of the river to pump out water which

may enter the lowlying areas.We are con-

stantly monitoring the situation and ready for

any eventualities, he said.AGENCIES

A man outside his house in Delhi,(right) Flood-affected people queue for food

62 students pass Std X without

taking exam PTI

DHARAMSHALA Around 62 students

have passed the annual matriculation ex-

amination of the Himachal Pradesh Board

of School Education without appearing in

the exams and two persons have been ar-

rested in this connection,police said.

Police have arrested Ashwin Dogra,owner

of an education academy at Gaggle,12 km

from here and a woman in this connection.

Dogra had purchased spare answersheets

from 11 different examination centres dur-

ing the annual exams in April 2010.The an-

swer sheets were then posted to the

evaluation centres,police said.

Confirming the reports,SSP Kan-

gra district Atul Fulzhele said that police

have started investigations after confiscat-

ing the Himachal Education Board 2010

exam record.

Earlier Himachal Pradesh Board

of School Education secretary Prabhat

Sharma filed a complaint claiming around

62 students had passed the exam without

appearing in it.PTI

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ENTERTAINMENT www.bombaybulletin.co.in/entertainment MUMBAI, SEPTMBER 11, 2010 SATURDAY

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