Mumbai Carnage: The Police Story stands shattered
By Amaresh Misra
Today, 18th December 2008, is a historic day. It marks the beginning of a process wherein my `theory' about the Mumbai attack might just turn out to be true. But there is no joy. There is just an emptiness, a sadness at Karkare's death and the killing of hundreds of innocents by the Hindutva-Mossad-CIA combine using factions in the ISI and International/Israeli mercenaries.
The Minorities Affairs Minister AR Antulay was once a firebrand leader. But he has been quiet for long--too long; today he spoke and questioned directly Karkare's killing in the Parliament. Antulay is a cabinet Minister; he is not known to speak out of line. Despite Abhishek Singhvi's remark distancing the Congress from what Antulay said, the latter, it seems, definitely has the sanction of the Congress High Command at some level. Anyone supposing something else is deluding himself/herself.
Here is the text of the Times of India report:
Maintaining that "there is more than what meets the eyes", Antulay said Karkare was investigating some cases in which "there are non-Muslims also", an apparent reference to the Malegaon blasts case in which sadhvi Pragya Thakur and a Lt-Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit were among the 11 persons to be arrested.
"Unfortunately his end came. It may be a separate inquiry how his (Karkare's) end came," he told reporters outside Parliament.
Antulay said "Karkare found that there are non-Muslims involved in the acts of terrorism during his investigations in some cases. Any person going to the roots of terror has always been the target, he said.
"Superficially speaking they (terrorists) had no reason to kill Karkare. Whether he (Karkare) was victim of terrorism or terrorism plus something. I do not know," he added.
When he came under attack in Lok Sabha on the issue, Antulay sought to wriggle out saying he had not talked about who killed Karkare but about "who sent him in the direction" of Cama hospital, outside which he was killed.
"Who had sent them to Cama hospital (a lane opposite which he and two other officers were killed by Pakistani terrorists on Nov 26). What were they told that made them leave for the same spot in the same vehicle.
"I repeat what I had said. I had not said who had killed them but only questioned who had sent them there (Cama Hospital) in that direction," he said in Lok Sabha where BJP and Shiv Sena members attacked him for his remarks.
Anant Geete of Shiv Sena accused him of "misleading" the house and sought Chidambaram's clarification.
Earlier in the day, describing Hemant Karkare as a very bold officer having great acumen and vision, Antulay asked "How come instead of going to Hotel Taj or Oberai or even the Nariman House, he went to such a place where there was nothing compared to what happened in the three places?"
"Why all the three (Hemant Karakre, Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamte) went together. It is beyond my comprehension," the minister said.
The minister's remarks came under immediate attack from BJP which asked the prime minister to clarify whether his remarks are an "individual misdemeanour or the collective wisdom of the Cabinet".
"The remarks are obnoxious and deserves a clarification from the prime minister," BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters.
Reacting to Antulay's remarks, Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi they should be treated his "personal views" and Congress party does not agree with them and does not support such a formulation.
To a question, he said there was no question of embarrassment to the party.
Samajwadi Party MP Amar Singh, who himself was in the centre of a controversy when he had raised doubts over the killing of a Delhi police official in an encounter recently, said a senior leader like Antulay should before issuing any statement uphold the cherished tradition of collective wisdom of the cabinet.
Not completely disapproving the remarks, Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan said Antulay must be having "more information" since he hails from Maharashtra.
The issue came up when the house was discussing two bills brought in by the government to tackle terror against the backdrop of Mumbai terror attacks.
Geete said the prime minister and several senior union ministers have gone on record to say that Karkare was killed by terrorists.
Not satisfied with Antulay's reply, Geete charged the union minister with "misleading" the house, which he "did not "expect".
The basic evil/criminal intent of BJP-Shiv Sena politics along with their pathetic `soft' and `hard' supporters, stands exposed; the questions here are vital: a cabinet minister, not an Independent analyst, has questioned the Police theory about Karkare's death. Note what Antulay is saying: WHO sent them there (Cama Hospital); how come they were traveling together?
This is exactly what we have been asking---Antulay's statement means that that he is hinting at the role of some top functionary WHO SEND THEM THERE--(TO THEIR DEATHS)! Now put this in context with proceedings that have begun against AN Roy, the Mumbai DGP, Hasan Ghaffoor, the Mumbai Police Commissioner and the Maharashtra Home Secretary.
What do you get? That the entire Police story put forward by the likes of Rakesh Maria is suddenly under suspicion--so much for those savvy journalists like Rajdeep Sardesai and Barkha Dutt. Rajdeep in fact quoted Maria as his source and a reliable, honest officer--if he had to sell himself I am sure he could have found a better buyer. He should have learnt from Javed and Teesta.
This means that the entire police version might be wrong! Which means that there is a question mark over Kasab and Ismail killing Karkare, Salaskar and Kaamte. Which means that Kasab and Ismail might not have killed the three; which then raises the question: who killed them? Was it the Mumbai Police top brass? Or the Gujarat ATS under Narendra Modi? Or a combination of the two--again--WHO SENT THEM THERE?
This means that there is sufficient doubt over Kasab's version! Which means that Kasab's entire story of how he killed the three officers, plus the entire thing that he is a Jehadi etc, is a plant, something which our Police excels in! Which means that the so-called CCTV grabs etc showing the footage of Kasab and Ismail were all fake! Aziz Burney of the Rashtriya Sahara Urdu and the Marathi Press has said this in so many words!
The Mumbai and the Indian Police has been known for keeping informers, ex-militants and Pakistani spies in illegal confinement or on their payroll. And then planting them in situations where either Police or the corporate-politician-bureaucrat nexus or foreign powers or Hindutva forces have carried out attacks and bomb blasts. This happened on numerous occasions say, in 2006 when the RSS Headquarters in Nagpur were attacked allegedly by `terrorists', who then died in an encounter with the Nagpur Police. It later turned out, and this was proved by Jusice Kondse Patil's report on this issue and by Suresh Khairnar, a veteran socialist and human rights activist, that these `terrorists' were in fact people who had been killed by a non-Maharashtrian Special Crime Branch Police in a fake encounter and then brought and placed before the RSS Headquarters. The Nagpur chief of Police in fact went on record to say that his Police actually did not engage in any encounter!
Now comes a report that Kasab was actually kidnapped by RAW officials in Nepal in 2006. In fact a PIL has been filed in a Pakistani court and the Times of India carried a report on this in its 17th December Mumbai edition.
In my last piece I had mentioned the Red Fort case. Indians, including some leaders of so-called secular parties are so ill informed that they do not even remember there was a Red Fort attack! They only know of the Parliamentary attack, which was again a fake drama staged by the Delhi Police--the best part is that our wily parliamentarians know this! That is why they did not turn up to commemorate the `martyrdom' of Police personal who died defending the Parliament!
Kasab is a fake; the real terrorists who came to Mumbai wreaked their mayhem and went back safely--some of them, as testified by eye-witness near Nariman House were definitely Israeli. The main aim of the entire operaiton was to eliminate Karkare and to create something so big that the Malegaon blast investigation pales in comparison.
But Karkare killers and Hindutva forces had the backing it seems of Manmohan Singh. Why else would Advani meet Singh before 26th November on the issue of `torture' of Praggya Singh? Has anyone heard of a leader of the opposition meeting the Prime Minister on such an issue?
Apparently a deal was struck between them; and remember Advani could not have met Singh like this, without American mediation.
Was Sonia in the knowhow? Probably not--the Sonia angle is very important--there are reports that probably she was unaware of what happened on 26th November and that depite throwing in her lot with the Manmohan Singh lobby on other issues, she saw that their plan included upstaging her!
Karkare's killing is the result of the larger fight between Hindutva-pro-Israeli, pro-American lobby which is now deeply entrenched in India and whatever is left of Congress' old legacy in the establishment. Both these factions often unite, as they did against the Left on the nuclear deal issue. But the `old legacy' faction does not realize that pro-US, pro-Israel lobby is planning to overthrow it--and maybe sink Sonia and Rahul as well!
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST FAILURE OF THE CURRENT ESTABLISHMENT? NOT THAT THERE WERE SECURITY LAPSES AND INTELLIGENCE FAILURE--THE BIGGEST FAILURE IS THAT THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO COOK UP A FALSE STORY ABOUT A TERRORIST ATTACK--THEY FAILED TO ESTABLISH A CONVINCING COVER-UP! EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED THE POLICE THEORY HAS TO ANSWER. THE VENGEANCE OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE WILL BE UPON YOU.
AND NOW COMES THE STARTLING FACT--KARKARE WAS KILLED BY A 9 MM BULLET--WHICH COULD NOT HAVE COME FROM AK-47 OR 56! WHERE IS HIS POST-PARTUM REPORT?
[ Please Find Another Article here;
posted by Sukla Sen
in various HR forums ]
Acts of Terror and Terrorising ActUnfolding Indian Tragedy
In some circles, it is argued that the judiciary places unnecessary curbs on the power of the investigating agencies to tackle terrorism. In India, those who subscribe to this view also demand changes in our criminal and evidence law — such as provisions for longer periods of preventive detention and confessions made before police officials to be made admissible in court. While the ultimate choice in this regard lies with the legislature, we must be careful not to trample upon constitutional principles such as 'substantive due process.'
...
The role of the judiciary in this regard should not be misunderstood.
Adherence to the constitutional principle of 'substantive due process' is an essential part of our collective response to terrorism. As part of the legal community, we must uphold the right to fair trial for all individuals, irrespective of how heinous their crimes may be. If we accept a dilution of this right, it will count as a moral loss against those who preach hatred and violence.
K. G. Balakrishnan, Chief Justice of India
It is a matter great shame and concern that the amended UAPA Act which had been placed before the Lok Sabha on Tuesday evening was passed unanimously the very next day, on Dec. 17.
Similarly, the Rajya Sabha passed it the following evening.
This is almost a rerun of the shameful saga concerning the saga of the highly controversial and contested SEZ Act in early 2005. There is, however, at least one crucial difference. In the earlier case, it was a rather quiet affair, almost a hush-hush. This time it was done amidst ugly chest-thumping. Last time, in the Lok Sabha, the BJP did not even participate in the deliberations. This time they claimed with full gusto the credit (sic) for the passage of the Bill overshadowing its official sponsors.
While the full details remain to be accessed and analysed, it is pretty much clear that most of the provisions of the earlier scrapped POTA, on account of strong reactions triggered by a history of huge misuse against the minorities, other marginalised sections of the society, people struggling against social and political injustices and also known opponents of those in positions of power have been brought back. Only the provision for legal admissibility of a "confession" made in police custody is left out. But there are other areas, where its reach has further extended. The most important aspect, however, is that the court has to treat an accused as guilty till proved otherwise and unless the court finds the accused prima facie innocent it won't grant any bail to the accused. In case of a "foreign national", there is just no provision for any bail, whatever. This evidently runs counter to the recent Supreme Court directive that during a trial granting of bail should be the norm, and rejection an exception.
Even the BJP's start speaker in the Rajya sabha, Arun Jaitley, had to thus admit in course of his shrill advocacy for a draconian Act while supporting the Bill:
Quote
It is obvious that an anti terror law is not a substitute for stronger intelligence and security responses. You need a powerful intelligence mechanism which infiltrates into the enemy camp and brings you advance information of what the enemy is planning. The intelligence has to be coordinated and then effectively passed on to those who will take preventive measures. Your security responses have to be fast. Your commando reactions must send fear into the enemy mind. Obviously, an anti terror law is not a replacement of all these.
Unquote
It is not necessary here to get into the utterly perverse nature of Jaitley's foundational assumption of some perpetual enmity and a permanent "enemy camp" except for noting that this is the central element of mobilization strategy of the Hindutva Brigade in pursuance of its "Hindu Rashtra" project – ideological negation and physical liquidation of "secular democratic" India.. But what is more relevant is that even he cannot run away from the obvious fact that draconian laws are no substitute for good intelligence gathering (to prevent acts of terrorism) and prompt and effective response to such acts when they take place nevertheless.
A rider, a forewarning, issued by the incumbent Chief Justice of India, in a recent article of his is extremely instructive in the current context:
Quote
(T)he trauma resulting from the terrorist attacks may be used as a justification for undue curtailment of individual rights and liberties. Instead of offering a considered response to the growth of terrorism, a country may resort to questionable methods such as permitting indefinite detention of terror suspects, the use of coercive interrogation techniques, and the denial of the right to fair trial. Outside the criminal justice system, the fear generated by terrorist attacks may also be linked to increasing governmental surveillance over citizens and unfair restrictions on immigration.
.....
This implies that we must be wary of the use of torture and other forms of coercive interrogation techniques by law enforcement agencies. Coercive interrogation techniques mostly induce false confessions and do not help in preventing terrorist attacks. Furthermore, the tolerance of the same can breed a sense of complacency if they are viewed as an easy way out by investigative agencies.
Unquote
[Source: <http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/16/stories/2008121653310800.htm>.]
Pretty unfortunately, but rather expectedly, the entire thrust of the discourse spearheaded by the outraged elite is to "tighten the law" to ensure "conviction" of the accused by granting more powers to the law enforcing agencies whose performance in stalling terrorist attacks amidst repeated claims of busting the "terror modules" and capturing, and also "neutralising" through encounters, the (innumerable) "masterminds" remains utterly and increasingly dismal. Highly conspicuous is any anxiety to ensure an efficient investigation and effective intelligence gathering and making those responsible for failures accountable for their failures.
Draconian laws, let there be no confusion, will only tend to turn the highhanded, corrupt and lousy police force even more so and thereby further worsen the situation. Not that there will not be more convictions and many more arrests, indefinite detentions, custodial and encounter deaths. The continued incarceration of Dr. Binayak Sen – a dedicated doctor of highest distinction and a human rights activist of national stature - behind the bars since May 2007 on apparently trumped up charges despite national and global protests, even without the aid of the newly brushed up UAPA Act, is enough of a pointer. But that will not stop or deter terrorism, rather further aggravate. It is a great tragedy that such measure is being sold and consumed considered as the silver bullet in spite of clearly proven track record of gross failures. The attack on the Indian Parliament, the Red Fort, Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar and also the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar are just a few examples. All these are, incidentally, of somewhat nature as that of the latest attack in Mumbai.
The latest terror attack in Mumbai, which is somewhat atypical in the context of endless terror attacks in India since the one on March 12 1993 - flowing directly from the preceding bloodbath sparked on January 6 1993 – has, however, one common characteristic. That is the gross failure of intelligence.
Intelligence gathering and sorting out of the same through interactions of various agencies into actionable knowledge has various stages and levels. The gathering itself has essentially two categories – domestic and external. The external element is of course the charge of a very specialized agency mainly through a set of trained "spies", and tips from other "friendly" agencies. The internal gathering process is, however, far more varied. Even then the base, and the most crucial element, is constituted of intelligence gathering at the grassroots level. Here the present practice is to obtain information through paid "informers" – all sorts of shady characters, petty and professional criminals. Given the extremely negative image of the police vis-à-vis the local communities, it could hardly be otherwise. But this method cannot but be far less efficient than would have been in case of voluntary and free flow of information from the common citizenry. But that would call for a very different image of the police. A very different relationship with the local communities. Instead of an institution symbolizing and embodiment of torture and oppression, the police has to have a people-friendly image in order to make that possible. But in such an event, not only intelligence gathering would be far more efficient – but that would rather be a fringe benefit – the maintenance of "law and order" itself would be much smoother.
Nothing can be truer and more forthright than a recent assessment of the current state of Indian policing as contained in a statement issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the last December 2, in the wake of the terror attack in Mumbai.
Quote
The fact remains that the Maharashtra State Police, like any other state police force in the country, can hardly do anything to avert these incidents. The state of policing in the country is in such demise that it has completely severed its contact with the people. Most police officers contact the members of the public only to demand bribes. Corruption in the police service is at such levels that even in order to lodge a complaint the complainant has to pay a bribe.
Police brutality is so rampant in the country that the sight of a police uniform is enough to scare an ordinary person, particularly among the poor population. Information, independent of its nature, has to be forced out of the ordinary people. Information obtained under the threat of violence is tainted and cannot be acted upon. Terrorists are different from the ordinary people in the sense that they have money, better training and equipment at their disposal to achieve their goals. They can bribe the police and are in fact doing so.
…..
To expect an ordinary Indian to approach the local police with information is an impossibility in the country. An example is the statements made by the parents who lost their children in the infamous 2006 December Noida serial murder case. The case began after the recovery of the skeletal remains of missing children in Nithari village in the outskirts of Noida city close to New Delhi.
Unquote
[Source: <http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2008statements/1789/>.]
The unfortunate "unanimous" passage of the freshly amended Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is only an indicator of the deep rot in the system. It is no less revealing that during the debates no one reportedly raised the very sensible and in fact obvious demand for a credible public enquiry covering all the aspects of widely alleged intelligence failure, response lags and lapses, who are behind the attack and why to work out a set of thoughtful and rational responses to make the system at least somewhat less vulnerable the next time round; to make the reoccurrence significantly less probable;. to make such a tragedy far less costly if it manages to happen nevertheless. We had only chest thumping demagoguery, clamour for draconian laws and war cries all around.
Instead of helping contain terrorism, let alone eradicating, it will only further aggravate social tensions through legitimization of corrupt highhandedness of the police force and targeting of specific segments of the society with full protections of the law. It is perhaps Gorky who had pronounced that if order is injustice then disorder is the beginning of justice. Unfortunately, law itself predictably turning more and more unlawful and tyrannical, more and more youngsters would tend to embrace that as a piece of divine wisdom with disastrous consequences on all sides to follow.
That even the sage words of the serving Chief Justice of India stand so casually dismissed only goes to further underscore the depth of the tragedy we have dug ourselves in.
Only an awakened common citizenry refusing to succumb to the easy lure of ugly blood lust triggered by such disasters as the last terror attack in Mumbai and steadfastly demanding thoughtful actions and radical reforms to prevent recurrence of such shameful failure is the way to get ourselves out.
Sukla Sen19 12 08
sent by N.I.S.A.R.A.H.M.E.D.
www.kasaragodvartha.com
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