Mumbai shootout 26 Nov

The November 2008 Mumbai attacks were a series of ten coordinated attacks which began across Mumbai (Bombay), the largest city in India and the country’s financial capital, on 26 November 2008 and ended on 29 November 2008 when Indian security forces finally regained control of all attack sites.

Location	Type of attack	Casualties	Rescued
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria) railway station	Shootings; grenade attacks.	55	none
Leopold Café, Colaba	Shootings, grenade explosion.	10	none
Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel	Shootings; six explosions; fire on ground, first, and top floors; hostages;RDX found nearby.	50 approx	around 250
Oberoi Trident hotel	Shootings; explosions; hostages; fire.	24	143
Metro Cinema	Shooting from carjacked police jeep
Cama Hospital	Shootings; hostages	3 policemen	none
Nariman House (Mumbai Chabad House)	Siege; shootings hostages.	6	9
Vile Parle suburb, North Mumbai	Car bomb blast.	3	none
Mazagaon docks	Explosion; boat with armaments seized.	none	none
Girgaum Chowpatty	1 terrorist killed and 1 arrested by a team from the Gamdevi police station.	2	none

Terrorists involved

* Azam Amir Kasav & Abu Ismail Dera Ismail Khan, (attacked CST, police vehicle in cama hospital, Metro cinema, Vidhan Bhavan, Girgaum Chowpatty)
* 4 Terrorists in Taj Hotel, 2 Terrorists in Oberoi Hotel, 2 Terrorists in Nariman House ( Abu Ali, Fahad, Omar, Shoaib, Umer, Abu Akasha, Abdul Rahman (Bara), and Abdul Rahman).

Entry into India

Date	Estimated Time (+0530 UTC)	Event
Nov 21	evening	Ten terrorists leave Karachi, Pakistan in a boat & travel for thirty-eight hours, remaining undetected by the Indian Navy.
Nov 22		Each of the 10 men are given 6-7 magazines of 30 rounds each plus 400 rounds not loaded in magazines , 8 hand grenades, one AK-47 assault rifle, an automatic loading revolver, credit cards and a supply of dried fruit.
Nov 22		A separate group check in to the Taj Hotel with arms and ammunition.
Nov 23		The terrorists hijack an Indian trawler, Kuber, killing four fishermen and ordering the captain to sail to India.
Nov 24		The terrorists kill the captain and sail to Gujarat and raise a white flag. Two coast guard officers approach and question them. They kill one of the officers and force the other to sail them to Mumbai.
Nov 26		They reach within four nautical miles (7 km) of Mumbai and kill the other coast guard officer. They then proceed to board three inflatable speedboats and reach Colaba jetty at dusk.
Nov 26		The ten men get off at Badhwar Park, Cuffe Parade, three blocks away from Nariman House.
Nov 26		Four of the men enter the Taj Mahal Hotel, two enter the Oberoi Trident, two enter Nariman House, and the other two men, Azam and Ismail, take a taxi to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

At the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel

Sources: NDTV, Evening Standard, and BBC

Date	Estimated Time (+0530 UTC)	Event
Nov 26	11:00 PM	Terrorists enter Taj hotel.
Nov 27	12:00 AM	Mumbai Police surrounds the hotel.
Nov 27	01:00 AM	Massive blast in the central dome, fire in the building.
Nov 27	02:30 AM	Army soldiers arrive in two trucks and enter the front lobby. Fire spreads across the top floor.
Nov 27	03:00 AM	Fire Engines arrive. Shootings heard inside lobby and heritage building.
Nov 27	4:00 AM	Firemen rescue people with ladders. More than 200 people evacuated
Nov 27	4:30 AM	Terrorists reported to move from central dome to new tower.
Nov 27	5:00 AM	Commandos and Bomb squad arrive. Police step up heat.
Nov 27	5:30 AM	Fire brought under control but terrorists holed up in new tower with 100–150 hostages.
Nov 27	6:30 AM	Security forces say they are ready for encounter.
Nov 27	8:00 AM	People are brought out of the lobby.
Nov 27	8:30 AM	Another 50 people brought out of Chambers club.
Nov 27	9:00 AM	More rounds of firing, many more people reported to be stuck inside.
Nov 27	10:30 AM	Gunbattle reported from inside
Nov 27	12 Noon	50 evacuated
Nov 27	4:30 PM	Militants set fire to a room on the 4th floor
Nov 27	7:20 PM	More NSG commandos arrive, enter hotel
Nov 27	11:00 PM	Operations continue
Nov 27	2:53 PM	Six bodies recovered
Nov 27–28	2:53 PM – 3:59	Ten grenade explosions
Nov 28	3:00 PM	Marine commandos recover explosives from Taj.
Nov 28	4.00 PM	12–15 dead bodies recovered from the Taj by Naval Commandos.
Nov 28	7:30 PM	Fresh explosions and gun shots at Taj Hotel.
Nov 28	8:30 PM	Reported that one terrorist left at the Taj.
Nov 29	3:40 AM – 4:10 AM	Reports of five explosions at the Taj.
Nov 29	5:05 AM	Revised estimate of one terrorist remaining.
Nov 29	07:30 AM	Fire raging on first floor. Black smoke from second floor. Gunshots heard frequently—apparent gun battle.
Nov 29	08:00 AM	Indian commandos state that the Taj Hotel is now under control. However they are still conducting room to room searches. People celebrate on the streets.

At the Oberoi Trident

Date	Estimated Time	Event
Nov 27	6 AM	NSG arrives, storms hotel.
Nov 27	8:40 AM	Firing heard, Top army, navy officers arrive and take stock.
Nov 27	1:30 PM	Two small explosions. More reinforcements enter building.
Nov 27	3:25 PM	Some foreign hostages rescued
Nov 27	5:35 PM	Sikh regiment arrives, fierce gunbattle.
Nov 27	6 PM	27 hostages come out of Air India building, four foreigners taken to hospital.
Nov 27	6:45 PM	Explosion heard. Two NSG guards, 25 army personnel suspected injured. More people rescued, in all 31.
Nov 27	7:10 PM	1 terrorist arrested.
Nov 27	7:25 PM	Fire breaks out on 4th floor
Nov 27	11 PM	Operations continue
Nov 28	10 AM	Many hostages evacuated from the Trident building.
Nov 28	3:00 PM	Commando operations at Oberoi over, 24 dead bodies recovered. 143 hostages rescued alive. Two militants shot dead.

At Nariman House

Date	Estimated Time	Event
Nov 27	7 AM	Police began evacuating adjacent buildings.
Nov 27	11 AM	Cross-firing between terrorists and police; one militant injured.
Nov 27	2:45 PM	Terrorists threw grenade into nearby lane; no casualties.
Nov 27	5:30 PM	NSG commandos arrive, naval helicopter took aerial survey.
Nov 27	11 PM	Operations continued.
Nov 27	12 PM	9 hostages rescued from first floor.
Nov 28	7:30 AM	NSG commandos airdropped onto the top of Nariman house.
Nov 28	7:30 PM	All 6 hostages including the Rabbi and his wife found killed by the terrorists.
Nov 28	8:30 PM	NSG commandos declared the operations over, 2 terrorists killed.

Casualties

At least 172 people had been killed in the attacks and 293 wounded. Among the dead were 124 Indian civilians, 17 policemen and 31 foreigners. The breakdown of the foreigners was as follows: four Americans, four Australians, three Canadians, three Germans, two Israeli-Americans, two Israelis, two French, two Italians, one British-Cypriot, one Dutch, one Japanese, one Jordanian, one Malaysian, one Mauritian, one Mexican, one Singaporean and one Thai.

In addition, nine terrorists were killed and one was captured.

27 other foreigners of different nationalities were injured in the terror strikes and were admitted to the Bombay Hospital. Hospital sources said the injured foreigners were from Australia, USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Canada, Spain, Norway, Finland, Oman, China, Japan, the Philippines and Jordan.

Andreas Liveras, a British yachting tycoon (of dual Greek Cypriot and British citizenship), was among those confirmed killed. German TV producer Ralph Burkei, and French lingerie tycoon, Loumia Hiridjee and her husband, were also among the dead. Husband and wife, Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and Rivka Holtzberg, both of whom were hostages in Nariman House, also died during the attack.

According to Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, 14 policemen and three NSG commandos were killed, including the following officers:

• Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad Chief Hemant Karkare, who headed the team investigating the politically sensitive 2006 Malegaon blasts. Karkare had also been receiving death threats recently, including a threat to bomb his residence, but it is unclear if these were related to his death.
• Additional Commissioner of Police: Ashok Kamte
• Encounter specialist: Vijay Salaskar
• Senior inspector Shashank Shinde, who had recently been involved in investigating many of India’s recent bombings.
• NSG Commando, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan
• NSG Commando Hawaldar Chandar
• NSG Commando Gajendra Singh

Three railway officials of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus had also been killed in the terror strikes.

The Government of Maharashtra announced Rs. 5 lakh (about 10,000 USD) compensation to the kin of those killed in the terror attacks and Rs. 50,000 (about 1,000 USD) to the seriously injured.

Nationality	Deaths	Injured
Indian	141	256
American	4	2
Australian	4	2
Canadian	3	2
German	3	3
American-Israeli	2	–
Israeli	2	–
French	2	–
Italian	2	–
Cypriot-British	1	–
Dutch	1	–
Japanese	1	1
Jordanian	1	1
Malaysian	1
Mauritian	1	–
Mexican	1	–
Singaporean	1	–
Thai	1	–
Austrian	–	1
British	–	7
Chinese	–	1
Omani	–	2
Filipino	–	1
Spanish	–	2
Finnish	–	1
Norwegian	–	1

Muslim Council refuses to bury militants in India

The Muslim Council of India decided not to allow burial of the bodies of the nine terrorists killed during the Mumbai siege in the Marine Lines Bada Qabrastan (cemetery). The council said it was trying to send a message to all cemeteries in India that none of the bodies should be buried on Indian soil.

Strong Nationalism among general public

The attack has put challenges for the Congress-led Indian government ahead of general elections, and also to persuade Pakistan to act against militants. Many general public want some kind of clear response to the attack that killed 183 people, from identifying and punishing the masterminds to trade sanctions against Pakistan, or passing firm anti-terrorism laws within India

Terrorism in Mumbai

The city of Mumbai, India has suffered several terrorist attacks, mostly bombings, including:

* 12 March 1993 – Series of 13 bombs go off killing 257
* 06 December 2002 – Bomb goes off in a bus in Ghatkopar killing 2
* 27 January 2003 – Bomb goes off on a bicycle in Vile Parle killing 1
* 14 March 2003 – Bomb goes off in a train in Mulund killing 10
* 28 July 2003 – Bomb goes off in a bus in Ghatkopar killing 4
* 25 August 2003 – Two Bombs go off in cars near the Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar killing 50
* 11 July 2006 – Series of seven bombs go off in trains killing 209
* 19 October 2008 – North Indians killed in various part of Maharastra. (killed 20 people).
* 26 November 2008 to 29 November 2008 – Coordinated series of attacks killing at least 189

 

India, US, Israel must ally against terror

An American anti-terrorist and human rights expert on South Asia believes the intelligence failures in Mumbai were systemic and in some ways aped the failures of the United States before September 11, 2001.

Richard L Benkin, founder of Interfaith Strength, said in an interview with this correspondent that one gigantic problem in India is the lack of coordination among intelligence agencies that might have “different pieces to a deadly puzzle.”

“Although Israeli intelligence has been aiding India on a number of fronts, there was little or no multi-national coordination, and that is a particularly deadly mistake with regard to Islamist terror because Islamist terror is an international phenomenon and discreet national efforts will never defeat the enemy at its source,” Benkin said.

“The third systemic failure is the refusal of the Indian government to recognise that Islamist terror is an existential threat whose perpetrators will be satisfied with nothing less than the death of India as we know it,” he said.

By his admission Benkin has traveled to South Asia several times to free political prisoners, visit refugee camps, identify the alliance among South Asian Islamists and Communists, oppose Islamist radicals, and protest the ethnic cleansing of Bangladeshi Hindus.

Since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, Benkin said there have been over 11,000 incidents of terror worldwide. He noted that even before the Mumbai terror attacks , terrorists had murdered over 1,100 Indian citizens this year alone. “What sort of rationalisations could convince anyone that these attacks are discreet and limited? We in the United States made the same mistake when we failed to see the same threat after the 1993 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York,” he said.

“But I do not believe that these delusions are coming from the intelligence establishment itself. Clearly, these agencies are not independent operators and are held subordinate to the political structures and elected leaders in the nation,” he said.

“We have the same problem in the United States. To be sure, India and the United States are democracies and have certain standards of acceptable and moral behaviour but it is a particularly imbecility of our time that holds those structures incompetent if they do not demonstrate their power over the intelligence professionals in some public manner,” he said.

In response to a question whether or not anger generated by the attacks in Mumbai would be translated into a sustained government resolve to overcome terror, Benkin said the first and most important factor is recognising the fact that no matter what happens today, tomorrow, or the next day, or even if the US apprehends Osama bin Laden, the terrorist threat will be diminished perhaps for a time but in no way eliminated.

He said there is a need to recognise that the threat is a transnational one, needing a transnational response.

Benkin favours an alliance against extremism among India, Israel and the United States. “All three countries have been targeted for elimination by the Islamists — and if that is not sufficient motivation for strong action, it is rather impossible to imagine what is. Each of these three nations has withstood unrelenting terror attacks and still thrives,” he said. “Their power in an alliance would be unstoppable — so long as all three discard self-destructive notions like political correctness. Once those conceptual changes have been made, effective action is a matter of filling in the blanks.”

 

‘लिपस्टिक लगानेवालों का विरोध’

मुंबई में हुए चरमपंथी हमलों पर जनता के आक्रोश को भारतीय जनता पार्टी के नेता मुख्तार अब्बास नक़वी ने प्रायोजित बताया.

उन्होंने विरोध प्रदर्शन कर रही जनता की तुलना अलगाववादियों से की.

पत्रकारों से बातचीत में जब उनसे पूछा गया कि मुंबई में जनता का गुस्सा नेताओं पर फूट रहा है तो इसके जवाब में नक़वी ने कहा कि हमारी कुछ महिलाएँ लिपस्टिक और पावडर लगाकर हाथ में मोमबत्ती लिए पश्चिमी सभ्यता के साथ नेताओं को गाली दे रही हैं, ये ठीक वैसा ही है जैसा अलगाववादी करते हैं.

हमारी कुछ महिलाएँ लिपस्टिक और पावडर लगाकर हाथ में मोमबत्ती लिए पश्चिमी सभ्यता के साथ नेताओं को गाली दे रही हैं, ये ठीक वैसा ही है जैसा अलगाववादी करते हैं

मुख्तार अब्बास नक़वी, भाजपा नेता

उन्होंने कहा कि अलगाववादी भी लोकतंत्र के प्रति लोगों में अविश्वास पैदा करते हैं.

उनका कहना था कि विरोध प्रदर्शन कर रहे इन लोगों की जांच होनी चाहिए कि आखिर ये कौन लोग हैं और उनका संबंध किससे है.

पत्रकारों ने जब नक़वी से ये जानना चाहा कि क्या महाराष्ट्र के मुख्यमंत्री विलासराव देशमुख का ताजमहल होटल के दौरे पर फ़िल्मकार रामगोपाल वर्मा को साथ ले जाना सही था, तो नक़वी ने कहा इस मामले को तूल देकर जबरन मुद्दा बनाया जा रहा है और ये कोई बड़ी बात नहीं है.

नक़वी के इस बयान से भाजपा मुश्किल में आ गई है.

इसके तुरंत बाद भाजपा नेता राजीव प्रताप रूड़ी ने बयान जारी किया कि ये नक़वी के अपने विचार हैं और भाजपा का इससे कोई लेना देना नहीं है.

उनका कहना था कि चरमपंथ के ख़िलाफ़ नेताओं और सरकारों को कड़े क़दम उठाने ही होंगे. जब तक ये नहीं होगा, आम आदमी का गुस्सा शांत नहीं होगा.

I think मुख्तार अब्बास नक़वी, भाजपा नेता supportor of terrorist? Mumbai Police Please interogate, People didn’t want any cloud around leader. the latest speech tells the truth BJP and Congress is same. Common man need to take over the Government with the help of Army. We didn’t want Democracy ( लोकतंत्र ) we want save peacefull life.

 

VHP continues attack against Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi, Nov 26 (IANS) The Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Tuesday linked Congress president Sonia Gandhi with the Catholic organisation Opus Dei (God’s Work) and urged the government to conduct a probe to uncover the mastermind behind “the unusual deaths” of her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi, husband Rajiv Gandhi and brother-in-law Sanjay Gandhi.

Describing Sonia Gandhi as the “daughter of Vatican” and Opus Dei, the “global Catholic outfit” that has an anti-India agenda, VHP president Ashok Singhal said: “Investigations must be made into the relationship between Sonia Gandhi and the Opus Dei and in this light, investigations must also be made to find the mastermind behind the unusual death of Sanjay Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.”

He also alleged that Opus Dei was behind the arrest of Sadhvi Prgnya Singh Thakur, and the apparent move by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the CBI to implicate VHP leader Pravin Togadia and other Hindu leaders in the Sept 29 Malegaon blast that killed six people and injured many more.

“For this conspiracy, a foreign woman has been planted and the Opus Dei, with which the woman is associated with, has been appointed three years ago to materialise the anti-India agenda. A foreign woman had revealed this secret to a prominent person three years ago,” Singhal maintained.

Singhal accused the ATS of “disrobing the innocent Sadhvi, tried to show her blue (obscene) CDs and questioned her chastity, thereby outraging the dignity of a chaste woman.”

“The subject of humiliation of Hindu sants (seers) and organisations would certainly be an election issue,” he added.

Gujarat wanted to question Malegaon blast accused: Modi

New Delhi, Nov 26 (IANS) Accusing the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government of being “soft” on terror, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said his police department was denied permission to interrogate the Malegaon blast accused, including an in-service army officer.

“When we arrested terror accused in Gujarat, we allowed interrogation by other states. But when we sought to interrogate the Malegaon terror accused, we were denied the permission,” Modi said, addressing an election rally here.

Speaking about the alleged torture of Sadhvi Pragnya Singh Thakur, a blast accused, by Mumbai Anti Terrorism Squad, Modi said: “Sonia Gandhi herself is a woman but she allowed it to happen. This shows there is something wrong here.”

Continuing his tirade against the Congress and its “soft stand on terror”, Modi, campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also spoke about the Batla House shootout between the police and alleged terrorists.

“A Delhi Police officer was martyred during the encounter but this government is defending terrorists arrested from the Batla House. Some politicians are even demanding judicial probe,” he said sarcastically at the BJP rally in Kalkaji, south Delhi.

Modi said the Delhi government had failed to provide security to women, children and senior citizens.

Electricity charges have been hiked “four times in the last few years but in Gujarat, it has not gone up even once”, he told a gathering of nearly 1,500 people who waited for over 90 minutes to listen to Modi.

Earlier in the day, Modi was disallowed to hold a rally in Balmiki Basti in the New Delhi constituency where BJP’s Vijay Jolly is contesting against Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

“Sonia Gandhi can hold rallies, Mayawati can hold rallies but there is problem in Modi holding rallies,” he said.

The Gujarat chief minister said he had met Dikshit a few days back. Though Dikshit talked to him nicely, “she had told me not come to her constituency… I thought she was joking. But today I realised it was not a joke”.

Malegaon blast inquiry should be impartial: Advani

New Delhi, Nov 26 (IANS) Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Tuesday said he had no objection to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) investigating the Malegaon blast but the inquiry should be impartial and professional.

Addressing an election rally in Delhi’s Rithala constituency Tuesday evening, Advani said: “The affidavit by Sadhvi Pragnya Singh (arrested for the bombings that she was tortured in custody by the ATS is alarming. Anyone who reads the affidavit will be shocked.”

The BJP leader said the ATS had not found any substantial evidence in the case so far. “I have no problem in the case being investigated, but it should be impartial,” he said. He addressed two other rallies in the city late Tuesday evening.

The public meeting was attended by about 6,000 people in the constituency’s Buddh Vihar phase-2 locality. The BJP’s sitting legislator Kulwant Rana is contesting for this seat. Delhi goes to polls Nov 29 to elect 70 legislators.

Advani said that the central government was disallowing the hanging of Afzal Guru in the parliament terror attack case while the same Congress party’s govenment did not object to capital punishment to the assailants of the late prime minister Indira Gandhi.

He said the Congress-led government was incapable of combating terrorism and only the BJP could tackle it.

Advani took a dig at the Congress also for spiralling prices of essential commodities and said that when the BJP was leading the central government under prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee it effectively checked inflation.

“Prices of everything, from vegetables, essential commodities, to cement and iron, had increased and the government was unable to do anything about it,” he said.

Maharashtra top cop gets notice on Pragnya’s torture claim

New Delhi, Nov 26 (IANS) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to Maharashtra’s director general of police and the chief secretary over the alleged torture of Malegaon bomb blast accused Sadhvi Pragnya Thakur, an official said Tuesday.

The NHRC’s move has come after a complaint was filed alleging that Thakur was being harassed by the state’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

Thakur filed an affidavit in a Nashik court Nov 17, claiming the ATS was torturing her and violating her human rights.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani sought a judicial inquiry in the case.

Six people were killed and 20 injured in the bomb blast in Malegaon Sept 29.

Malegaon accused gets further custody in Purna blast case

Purna (Maharashtra), Nov 26 (IANS) A local court Tuesday extended the police custody of Malegaon blast accused Rakesh Dhawde by three days to facilitate further investigation of his role in a blast that took place here in 2004.

Dhawde, a dealer in illicit arms in Pune, was already in custody of the local crime branch police since Nov 21 but Judge Sajid Arif of the junior magistrate first class court granted the police request for extended custody till Nov 28.

While 18 persons were injured in the Purna blast that took place outside a mosque, six people were hurt in a similar blast that occurred the same day in adjoining Jalna town and one person died in a bomb explosion in Parbhani town in 2003.

Dhawde is suspected to have some connection with these blasts, as also in the accidental explosion in Nanded in 2006 in which two Bajrang Dal workers, Himanshu Panse and Naresh Rajkondawar, were killed while trying to make a bomb at Rajkondawar’s residence.

The accused is learnt to have admitted to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra Police that he arranged transport for participants of the Abhinav Bharat-Bajrang Dal training camp in Simhagad, on the outskirts of Pune in July 2003, from four towns in Marathwada.

Both Panse and Rajkondawar had attended the Simhagad camp, in which Malegaon blast accused Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit, Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sadhvi Pragnya Thakur and Dayanand Pandey are said to have played a major role.

Dhawde has also reportedly admitted helping the organisers of the camp with arms and explosives for use in the training.

In fact, the Central Bureau of Investigation officers, who have recently reopened the Nanded blast probe in the light of leads emerging from the Malegaon blast investigations, were all set to move a Nanded court Tuesday for Dhawde’s custody.

The ATS probe in all the four blasts has been taken over by the CBI, which had dropped the chargesheets prepared by the Maharashtra investigating agency.

The extended police custody remand of Dhawde in the Purna blast case is likely to help the police draw a connection between the four Marathwada blasts and the Sept 29 terror strike in Malegaon.

Dhawde is learnt to have attended the Sept 16 Abhinav Bharat meeting in Nashik’s Bhonsala Military School premises along with the other key accused, where the Malegaon blast plan was supposedly finalised.

 

Chennai college clash: Top cop shifted

CHENNAI: Chennai Police Commissioner R Sekar was on Thursday night transferred as a fallout of alleged police inaction during Wednesday’s violence at the Ambedkar Law college here in which three students were seriously injured.

DGP, Civil supplies, K Radhakrishnan is the new Police Commissioner, official sources said.

The opposition parties came down heavily on the city police in the state assembly today for its ”failure” to tackle the violence at the Law College.

The government has already suspended an Assistant Commissioner of Police and an inspector of police besides transferring four sub inspectors.

 

US aid worker killed in Pakistan

Gunmen in Pakistan have shot dead an American aid worker and his driver in the north-western city of Peshawar. The men were killed just outside their office in the University Town area. It is not clear who the attackers were. Violence has surged in the north-west in recent months with a wave of attacks blamed on Islamist militants. A number of missile strikes inside Pakistan’s tribal areas by US troops based in neighbouring Afghanistan have fuelled anti-American sentiment. The BBC’s Mark Dummett in Islamabad says that the security situation across Pakistan has steadily worsened over the past few years, with Taleban militants holding sway over a large stretch of North West Frontier Province (NWFP). But our correspondent says attacks of this kind on foreigners in Pakistan are rare. Across the border in Afghanistan aid workers and other foreigners have increasingly been targeted in recent months. Gunmen attacked the car of a US diplomat in Peshawar in August, but she survived unhurt. Our correspondent says that it is more common for militants in Pakistan to launch suicide bomb attacks against military or government targets. ‘Under investigation’ The US embassy has refused to identify the man until his next of kin are informed.

But an embassy spokesman confirmed that the victim was an American. He said the dead man was not a diplomat nor was he travelling on an official assignment. US media reports identified the aid worker as Stephen Vance. Earlier reports had given his name as Stephen David. Police say the American worked for a US-funded project to help develop the troubled tribal belt – a large swathe of which is now controlled by militants. Eyewitnesses say the aid worker and his driver were shot by a group of masked gunmen as they drove to their office in University Town, a wealthy suburb of the main city in north-west Pakistan. The attackers blocked the men’s vehicle in a narrow street with their own car before opening fire with automatic weapons, officials said. “Several bullets hit them, and they died in the vehicle,” police official Arshad Khan told the Associated Press. Bombings Meanwhile, two Pakistani security officers were killed and several others were injured in a suicide attack in north-western Pakistan, officials said.

Peshawar was hit by a suicide bombing on Tuesday

The suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a temporary security forces camp in Shabqadar area of Charsadda district, 25km north of Peshawar. Areas close to Peshawar – the biggest city in north-west Pakistan – are known to be Taleban and al-Qaeda strongholds. The region has been hit by several bombings and suicide attacks recently. On Tuesday, a suicide bomber walked up to the gate of a stadium in Peshawar and blew himself up. The attack happened as the governor of North West Frontier Province left after a sports tournament. He was unhurt but at least one man was killed and three people were injured.

 

BJP in Madhya Pradesh

For voters in the forthcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, the central poll issue is not bijli (electricity) or sadak (road). It is paani (water).

The capital Bhopal gets fresh drinking water once in two days. The fast depleting Upper lake — the only source of water in the city — has ‘exposed’ the state government which may have done sterling work elsewhere but has failed to provide safe (or even unsafe) drinking water to the capital city and the rest of the state.

Irrigation continues to be a major challenge, and that the government is totally dependent on the monsoon is evident from this year’s shrinking wheat acreage. The government claims that it has brought an additional 480,000 hectares of land under irrigation. But agricultural potential continues to languish because of scanty rainfall.

“Government reservoirs are dry this year and the irrigation potential is likely to be down from 700,000 hectares to 400,000 hectares,” says Pravesh Sharma, principal secretary, Department of Farmer Welfare, Agriculture and Cooperatives. All major foodgrains reported negative to 5.33 per cent growth. The acreage of oilseeds has gone down by 1.89 per cent. The wheat acreage has gone down by 50 per cent this year in Malwa region, the latest state economic survey says.

That the Bharatiya Janata Party government changed three chiefs ministers in five years hasn’t helped the situation.

Raghavji, finance minister of the BJP’s first chief minister Uma Bharti, had the daunting task of financing some populist measures put in place by her. Although she departed unceremoniously from the government and the party in August 2004, Raghavji was kept on as finance minister.

His management of finances was home-made and simple: curtail non-plan expenditure and put the surplus funds in development activities. Madhya Pradesh was rewarded by the Finance Commission twice as a result: Rs 363.06 crore was granted as debt waiver incentive in 2005-06, and an equal amount in the next financial year. His efforts to enact the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act in 2005 ensured his government another incentive of Rs 293.14 crore under debt swap and consolidation schemes.

Raghavji had to face more challenges when the chief minister changed. Bharti’s successor, Babulal Gaur, promised protection to small traders, professionals and industrialists. Incentives, self-assessment schemes, exemptions, concessions and sops to all categories became the order of the day.

The actual fiscal reforms were visible when Shivraj Singh Chouhan replaced Gaur in November 2005. The tax revenue, which stood at Rs 7769.71 crore in 2004-05, grew to Rs 8933.34 crore (revised estimate) in 2005-06. The state kitty swelled to Rs 10,029.46 crore (budget estimate) in 2006-07 and is expected to touch Rs 11,885.68 crore in the current fiscal (2008-09). The non-tax revenue, which slipped from Rs 4,461.86 crore in 2004-05 also grew to Rs 2,059.08 crore in 2006-07, is expected to touch Rs 3,017.70 crore in 2008-09.

By 2005, Madhya Pradesh had a revenue surplus budget. Although this was mainly due to a grant of Rs 2,749.36 crore which the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board returned to the state government, this increased non-tax revenue receipts. In 2008, Chouhan presented the last budget of the 12th assembly with a revenue surplus of Rs 2,839.78 crore.

The government has drastically reduced non-plan expenditure from Rs 1,382.99 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 383.46 crore (budget estimate) in 2006-07. It estimates the budget to go down to Rs 199 crore.

These are more than mere numbers because the BJP government’s performance in building new roads and managing the power situation has been better than the Congress’s. Of the total plan expenditure of Rs 15,634 crore (budget estimate) in Budget 2008-09, the BJP government earmarked an amount of Rs 2,270.01 crore for road-building to add 21,857 km of road in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-12) besides constructing 20,000 km of roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna.

There are many pluses in the government’s report card on fiscal reform:

Revenue surplus was achieved for the first time after 13 years against a revenue deficit of Rs 25.49 crore for the year 2005-06 (revised estimate).

The state did not yield to the temptation of taking ways and means advances even for a day, even during the toughest financial year 2005-06 — something which the state achieved after a long gap of 32 years.

Tax revenue growth has gone up from 7.69 per cent in 2002-03 to 18 per cent (average) during 2007-08 and is expected to maintain the same pace.

But intelligent fiscal management has not changed the lives of ordinary people. The dropout rate among schoolchildren continues to hover around 70 per cent, especially among lower income categories. State economic survey data also reveal the growth rate in primary sector has been estimated at 2.80 per cent in 2007-08 against 4.17 per cent in 2005-06.

The number of unemployed youth registered in employment exchanges increased from 466,000 in 2005 to 1.9 million in 2007 (June). The International Food Policy Research Institute report recently revealed that Madhya Pradesh ranked between Ethopia and Chad on the hunger index, even after completion of 12 stages of Bal Sanjeevni Abhiyan — a drive to insulate eight million children against malnutrition with a huge fund allocation of Rs 633.28 crore in 2007-08.

The state government is silent on how it would address the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rates that are the highest in India, at 74 and 301 per 1,000, respectively.

Budget allocation of Rs 1,240.91 crore to improve power transmission and distribution and an additional allocation of Rs 1,371.40 crore for power sector reforms have failed to bridge the demand-supply gap of 1,000 MW. Age-old thermal power stations break down at regular intervals and daily power cuts are more than 10 hours in rural areas.

As many as 60 companies have queued up to invest in the power sector but poor governance has restricted them to project reports.

The law and order situation in the state is not satisfactory although Rs 500 crore was invested between 2004 and 2007 to modernise police forces. The number of cases of crimes against women has declined by a nominal 4.21 per cent during 2004 and 2005 and 2.7 per cent during 2005 and 2006, but the number is very high at 25,432.

 

Supreme Court issues notice to Maharashtra Govt

The Supreme Court issued a notice to Maharashtra Government, acting on a PIL, which alleged that North Indians were no longer safe in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. The PIL also accused the state government of not doing anything to the rights of non-Marathi people. The court asked the Maharashtra government to ensure safety and security of non-Marathi people.

Maharastra is nolonger safe for north- indians. Now its time to unite non-Marathi people for better counter attack on Marathi Banmanoos.

 

‘Human catastrophe’ grips Congo

‘Human catastrophe’ grips Congo

Killings, rapes and looting have been reported around Goma

Fierce fighting between government and rebel forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo has caused a humanitarian catastrophe, the Red Cross says. Diplomatic efforts are under way to end the crisis, which has threatened to spill over into neighbouring Rwanda. A tense ceasefire is holding in the eastern city of Goma, where tens of thousands fled as rebels advanced. But rebel leader Gen Laurent Nkunda has threatened to take the city unless UN peacekeepers guarantee the ceasefire. Killings and rapes have been reported in Goma and aid has not been reaching the displaced. See detailed map of the area Oxfam and other leading international aid agencies have suspended operations in the city, where a main hospital as well as numerous businesses and homes have been looted. The Red Cross’s Michael Khambatta told the BBC the priority now was providing the vast numbers of civilians forced from their homes with food, medical aid, shelter and some sort of security. Overstretched peacekeepers After several days of fighting, Gen Nkunda declared the ceasefire on late on Wednesday, and his Tutsi forces are positioned some nine miles (15km) from Goma – the provincial capital of North Kivu.

While thousands have sought refuge in Goma, many thousands more have fled into the forests, where the militias cannot find them, and the aid agencies cannot help them Peter Greste DR Congo-Rwanda border Eyewitness: ‘Chaos in Congo city’ In pictures: Goma chaos Timeline: DR Congo

He said he was opening a “humanitarian corridor” so aid could reach the thousands of people trapped between his forces and UN soldiers backing up government troops in the city. Much of the looting has been blamed on retreating Congolese troops. The UN is considering redeploying some of its 17,000-strong force in DR Congo – the world’s largest – to bolster around 5,000 peacekeepers in the city. As the tense ceasefire held early on Friday, a multi-pronged diplomatic effort was under way to resolve the crisis. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon sent envoys to both DR Congo and Rwanda as each accused the other of launching cross-border incursions. The African Union is to hold crisis talks on Friday and EU efforts have been ongoing to bring Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Congolese President Joseph Kabila together. The EU is also to discuss sending troops to the area to aid the humanitarian effort. Fleeing for the forests Meanwhile, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer has held talks with Mr Kabila in DR Congo’s capital, Kinshasa.

Exodus as terror spreads Q&A: DR Congo conflict Country profile: DR Congo

Many in DR Congo say Rwanda supports Gen Nkunda’s forces – something Rwanda denies. In the past two months, more than 200,000 people have been driven from their homes across eastern DR Congo. While thousands have sought refuge in Goma, many thousands more have fled into the forests, where the militias cannot find them, and the aid agencies cannot help them. Gen Nkunda has told the BBC his goal was to protect the Tutsi community from attack by Rwandan Hutu rebels, some of whom are accused of taking part in the country’s 1994 genocide. Correspondents say a race for the area’s mineral wealth is fuelling the conflict as much as ethnic enmities. There are growing concerns for the welfare of 39 wildlife rangers who were forced to flee into dense forest after their headquarters in eastern DR Congo were stormed by rebels.

 

Death tolls 60

he death toll in the serial blasts that rocked Guwahati and upper Assam in the morning, reached 50 with more injured succumbing to the injuries in the hospitals. People, who browsed for ‘NE News’ or ‘Assam News’ in the morning, got a rude shocker, as terrorists carried out 11 blasts in Guwahati, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar and Barpeta. In Guwahati, Dispur Road, Pan Bazar, Fancy Bazar and Ganeshguri Flyover have been targeted.

The impact of the serial blasts was so high that people and vehicles both charred beyond recognition. The dead bodies were seen lying here and there. Over 200 people were injured in the blasts. They are being treated in various hospital. Forensic experts believed that IDE and RDX of high intensity were used to trigger the blasts. The blasts were carried out in a planned manner and Assam government failed to prevent the blasts even though it was repeatedly warned by the Centre.

Although ULFA’s involvement in the serial blasts in Assam is suspected, the intelligence sources believe that Bangladesh-based HuJI could be behind the blasts. The recent communal clashes between local Assamese and Bangladeshis are being attributed to the serial blasts in Assam. Some Islamic terrorist organizations may have carried out the blasts to seek revenge. However, nothing can be said at the moment, as the investigation is still going on. The recent Assam blasts shook the nation, which just celebrated Diwali two days ago.

As expected, Union Home Ministry, Prime Minister and many other leaders have condemned the serial bomb blasts in Assam. Union MoS for Home Shakeel Ahmed tried to take a swipe on BJP and other Sangh Parivar groups even though he was asked about Assam bomb blasts. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi looked lost to find words, while the AGP demanded the immediate resignation of the government.

The BJP, which has been gunning for the head of the UPA government on the issue of terrorism, is on a defensive after the Mumbai ATS proved the Saffron angle to Malegaon blasts. The blame game, which began a few months ago, is not on its peak and no political party is trying to address the real issue. They are just worried about their vote banks. In such a situation, it won’t be surprising, if we witness more terror attacks in the country over the next few months.