Some Questions about the Counter-Terror Operation at Jamia Nagar, New Delhi

A team comprising activists, academicians and journalists visited the site of the police operation against alleged terrorists staying in an apartment in Jamia Nagar in the afternoon of 20.09.2008 (Saturday). Two alleged terrorists Atif and Sajid, along with Mohan Chand Sharma, an inspector of the Delhi Police’s Special Cell died in the operation while a third alleged terrorist was arrested.

On the basis of our interactions with the local residents, eye witnesses and the reports which have appeared in the media, we would like to pose the following questions:

1)   It has been widely reported that in early August this year Atif, who is described by the Delhi Police as the mastermind behind the recent terrorist bombings in Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Delhi, underwent a police verification exercise along with his four roommates in order to rent the apartment they were staying in Jamia Nagar. All the five youth living in the apartment submitted to the Delhi police their personal details, including permanent address, driving license details, address of the house they previously stayed in, all of which were found to be accurate. Though the police is now denying the veracity of the verification form, Mr. Rehman, the caretaker of the flat, has vouched, on camera, that he accompanied Atif to the Police Station for the verification.

Is it conceivable that the alleged kingpin behind the terrorist Indian Mujahideen outfit would have wanted to undergo a police verification- for whatever purpose- just a week after the Ahmedabad blasts and a month before the bombings in Delhi?

2)      The four-storeyed house L-18 in Jamia Nagar, where the alleged terrorists were staying, has only one access point, through the stair case, which is covered by an iron grill. It is impossible to leave the house except from the staircase. By all reports, the staircase was taken over by the Special Cell and/ or other agencies during the counter-terror operation. The house, indeed the entire block, was cordoned off at the time of the operation.

How then was it then possible, as claimed by the police, for two alleged terrorists to escape the premises during the police operation?

3)      The media has quoted ‘police sources’ as having informed them that the Special Cell was fully aware about the presence of dreaded terrorists, involved in the bombings in Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Delhi, staying in the apartment that was raided.

Why was the late Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, a veteran of dozens of encounter operations, the only officer in the operation not wearing a bullet proof vest? Was this due to over-confidence or is there something else to his  death during the operation? Will the forensic report of the bullets that killed Inspector Sharma be made public?

4)      There are reports that towards the end of the counter-terror operation,  some policemen climbed on the roof of L-18 and fired several rounds in the air. Other policemen were seen breaking windows and even throwing flower pots to the ground from flats adjacent or opposite to L-18

Why was the police firing in the air and why did it indulge in destruction of property around L-18 after the encounter?

5)      The police officials claim that an AK-47 and pistols were recovered from L-18.

What was the weapon that killed Inspector Sharma? Was the AK-47 used at all and by whom? Going by some reports that have appeared (see ‘Times of India’, 20.09.08), the AK-47s have been used by the police only. Is it not strange that alleged terrorists did not use a more deadly and sophisticated weapon like the AK-47, which they purportedly possessed, preferring to use pistols?

We feel that there are far too many loose ends in the current story of the police encounter at L-18 in Jamia Nagar. We demand that a fair, impartial and independent probe into the incident be initiated at the earliest to answer the above questions as also any other ones that arise from the contradictions of the case.

Signed/- Shabnam Hashmi (Anhad), Satya Sivaraman (Independent Journalist), Manisha Sethi (Forum for Democratic Initiatives), Tanweer Fazal (Forum for Democratic Initiatives), Arshad Alam (Jamia Millia Islamia), Neshat Quaiser (Jamia Millia Islamia), Pallavi Deka (General Secretary, JNU Students’ Union)

Sukhia Sab Sansar Khaye Aur Soye
Dukhia Das Kabir Jagey Aur Roye

The world is ‘happy’, eating and sleeping
The forlorn Kabir Das is awake and weeping

Delhi shootout drama – a timeline

Submitted by Tarique Anwar on 19 September 2008 – 6:13pm.

*       Indian <http://www.twocircles.net/news/indian-muslim>  Muslim

By IANS,
New Delhi : Following is the sequence of events, according to Delhi Police,
of Friday’s shootout in which two suspected terrorists were killed, two
managed to escape and one was captured:
Around 10 a.m.:
* A team of 20 people led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Sanjeev Yadav
reaches Jamia Nagar. The team takes position on the buildings around
apartment block L-18.
Between 11-11.45 a.m.:
* Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, who was not wearing a flak jacket, knocks on
the front door of an apartment on the fourth floor of L-18 building.
* Sharma asks the inmates to come out for police verification. Occupants
open fire from a .3 mm pistol.
* Three bullets hit Sharma; two pass through his body. Sharma falls down as
the policemen take shelter.
* Head Constable Balwan Singh suffers injury on right hand.
* Sharma is taken to the nearby Holy Family Hospital, where doctors
immediately wheel him into the operation theatre to remove a bullet lodged
in his stomach.
* Senior police officials, including Joint Commissioner of Police (Special
Cell) Karnal Singh and Deputy commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Alok
Kumar arrive at Jamia Nagar.
* Various teams of the Special Cell are pressed into the service along with
a platoon of elite National Security Guards commandos.
* Teams wearing protective gear once again try to move into the apartment.
* As both side trade fire, police asked people in the area to remain
indoors.
* Police fired a total of 22 rounds; occupants of apartment retaliate with
eight rounds.
* Two suspected terrorists are gunned down, even as two others managed to
flee from the rear of the apartment, apparently by jumping onto the roof of
an adjoining building; one man is captured as police move into the
apartment.
* Police teams remove the bodies of the dead and take away the captured man
to an undisclosed location.
Around 11.45 a.m.:
* Police declare the firefight over.
* People come out of the their houses and chant anti-police slogans,
expressing their anger to reporters for wrongly reporting that terrorists
were hiding in a nearby mosque.
4 p.m.:
* Delhi Police Commissioner Y.S. Dadwal holds press conference to announce
that one of the dead was Asif, mastermind of Delhi bombings.
7 p.m.
* Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, grievously injured in the police raid, is
dead.

Malaysian Bar Rejects Draconian Internal Security Law

It is instructive that while a section of civil society in India is
clamoring for more POTA-like laws, despite well documented abuses of such
laws by the government (e.g. long incarceration of Vaiko in Tamilnadu and
the incarceration of many Muslims in Gujarat for the Godhra violence even
after admissions of several people that they gave false eye-witness
reports), Malaysian civil society is unified in opposing its version of
POTA, the ISA.

Regards,

Raju Rajagopal

——————————

——————-

A unified Bar rejects ISA

S Pathmavathy | Sep 20, 08 5:59pm

In the end, the decision was unanimous. Malaysian lawyers stood united
against the Internal Security Act and want the draconian legislation out of
the way.

At its extraordinary general meeting today, held especially to condemn the <!–
D(["mb","\u003cbr\u003e\nabuse of the ISA, the Malaysian Bar unanimously voted for its abolishment..\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe close-door meeting in Kuala Lumpur garnered a massive turnout of more\u003cbr\u003e\nthan 700 participants when a quorum of only 500 is required. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe bar reiterated its stand on oppressive laws such as the ISA, Emergency\u003cbr\u003e\nOrdinance (EO) and Dangerous Drugs Act to be repealed immediately and called\u003cbr\u003e\nfor the release all those detained under them.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nSome of the guests at the EGM today were Seputeh MP Teresa Kok and ISA\u003cbr\u003e\ndetainees\u0026#39; wives S Pushpaneela and Norlaila Othman. They recounted\u003cbr\u003e\nchronicles of their sufferings and hardships faced by their families. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026quot;We are deeply concerned by the instances shared with us by our three guests\u003cbr\u003e\nas well as other members of the bar who have had contact with detainees\u003cbr\u003e\nunder the ISA, as to the manner of their treatment,\u0026quot; Bar Council chairperson\u003cbr\u003e\nS Ambiga told a press conference after the EGM. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026quot;We are appalled by the manner in which the ISA detainees are being treated\u003cbr\u003e\n- six to eight (feet) cells without windows, unacceptable food, and lack of\u003cbr\u003e\ncontact to the outside world and sleep deterioration,\u0026quot; said Ambiga. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe bar also reiterated their stand by calling for the unconditional release\u003cbr\u003e\nof Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders M Manoharan, P Uthayakumar, R\u003cbr\u003e\nKengadharan, V Ganabatirau and K Vasantha Kumar.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nFormer Bar chairperson Sulaiman Abdullah, present at the press conference,\u003cbr\u003e\nstressed that the government should take into consideration the challenges\u003cbr\u003e\nand trauma faced by the families of detainees. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026quot;It\u0026#39;s about time the government repeals the ISA since it can be abused\u003cbr\u003e\nagainst those opposing the government,\u0026quot; he said.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nBesides their firm declaration against the ISA, Ambiga added that the\u003cbr\u003e\nresolution also condemned the issuance of the three show-cause letters to\u003cbr\u003e\nSin Chew Daily, theSun and PKR\u0026#39;s Suara Keadilan. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026quot;The bar calls upon the government to uphold its pledges to the United",1]
);

//–>
abuse of the ISA, the Malaysian Bar unanimously voted for its abolishment..

The close-door meeting in Kuala Lumpur garnered a massive turnout of more
than 700 participants when a quorum of only 500 is required.

The bar reiterated its stand on oppressive laws such as the ISA, Emergency
Ordinance (EO) and Dangerous Drugs Act to be repealed immediately and called
for the release all those detained under them.

Some of the guests at the EGM today were Seputeh MP Teresa Kok and ISA
detainees’ wives S Pushpaneela and Norlaila Othman. They recounted
chronicles of their sufferings and hardships faced by their families.

“We are deeply concerned by the instances shared with us by our three guests
as well as other members of the bar who have had contact with detainees
under the ISA, as to the manner of their treatment,” Bar Council chairperson
S Ambiga told a press conference after the EGM.

“We are appalled by the manner in which the ISA detainees are being treated
- six to eight (feet) cells without windows, unacceptable food, and lack of
contact to the outside world and sleep deterioration,” said Ambiga.

The bar also reiterated their stand by calling for the unconditional release
of Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders M Manoharan, P Uthayakumar, R
Kengadharan, V Ganabatirau and K Vasantha Kumar.

Former Bar chairperson Sulaiman Abdullah, present at the press conference,
stressed that the government should take into consideration the challenges
and trauma faced by the families of detainees.

“It’s about time the government repeals the ISA since it can be abused
against those opposing the government,” he said.

Besides their firm declaration against the ISA, Ambiga added that the
resolution also condemned the issuance of the three show-cause letters to
Sin Chew Daily, theSun and PKR’s Suara Keadilan.

“The bar calls upon the government to uphold its pledges to the United <!–
D(["mb","\u003cbr\u003e\nNations Human Rights Council to promote and protect human rights and\u003cbr\u003e\nfundamental freedoms and to promote a free media, including in cyberspace,\u0026quot;\u003cbr\u003e\nsaid Ambiga. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nISA abuse amounts to state terrorism \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nAmbiga added that the participants gave standing ovations to the guest\u003cbr\u003e\nspeakers and wholly rejected all the oppressive laws.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026quot;It amounts to an abuse of the ISA and can be termed as state terrorism.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026quot;The authorities must be held accountable for the way in which these persons\u003cbr\u003e\nare being treated in custody,\u0026quot; she said.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nSpecifically referring to the continued detention of Malaysia Today editor\u003cbr\u003e\nRaja Petra Kamaruddin, Ambiga added that the Bar is concerned about the\u003cbr\u003e\nclaims of mental torture that he is undergoing. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe latest ISA \u0026lt;\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/89544\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\u003ehttp://www.malaysiakini.com/\u003cWBR\u003enews/89544\u003c/a\u003e\u0026gt; crackdown began\u003cbr\u003e\nwith controversial blogger Raja Petra when he was taken into custody on Sept\u003cbr\u003e\n12. Raja Petra\u0026#39;s detention was then followed by the arrest of Tan Hoon\u003cbr\u003e\nCheng, a journalist for the Sin Chew Daily, who however, was released after\u003cbr\u003e\n18 hours. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nMatters gravitated when Teresa Kok, who is also the Selangor senior\u003cbr\u003e\nexecutive councillor, was picked up on the same day after attending a\u003cbr\u003e\nfunction. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nKok was released yesterday after seven days of detention, purportedly for\u003cbr\u003e\ninterfering with matters of Islamic concerns. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nSulaiman then commended the role of the media as source information for\u003cbr\u003e\npublic education and credited the release of Tan and Kok as an effort by the\u003cbr\u003e\npress. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026quot;We acknowledge the fact that the media has credibility to educate people in\u003cbr\u003e\nunderstanding their freedom and rights,\u0026quot; said Sulaiman.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026quot;Never underestimate the power of the press,\u0026quot; he added. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nAsked whether the resolution will be heeded by the authorities concerned or",1]
);

//–>
Nations Human Rights Council to promote and protect human rights and
fundamental freedoms and to promote a free media, including in cyberspace,”
said Ambiga.

ISA abuse amounts to state terrorism

Ambiga added that the participants gave standing ovations to the guest
speakers and wholly rejected all the oppressive laws.

“It amounts to an abuse of the ISA and can be termed as state terrorism.

“The authorities must be held accountable for the way in which these persons
are being treated in custody,” she said.

Specifically referring to the continued detention of Malaysia Today editor
Raja Petra Kamaruddin, Ambiga added that the Bar is concerned about the
claims of mental torture that he is undergoing.

The latest ISA <http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/89544> crackdown began
with controversial blogger Raja Petra when he was taken into custody on Sept
12. Raja Petra’s detention was then followed by the arrest of Tan Hoon
Cheng, a journalist for the Sin Chew Daily, who however, was released after
18 hours.

Matters gravitated when Teresa Kok, who is also the Selangor senior
executive councillor, was picked up on the same day after attending a
function.

Kok was released yesterday after seven days of detention, purportedly for
interfering with matters of Islamic concerns.

Sulaiman then commended the role of the media as source information for
public education and credited the release of Tan and Kok as an effort by the
press.

“We acknowledge the fact that the media has credibility to educate people in
understanding their freedom and rights,” said Sulaiman.

“Never underestimate the power of the press,” he added.

Asked whether the resolution will be heeded by the authorities concerned or <!–
D(["mb","\u003cbr\u003e\nignored like previous attempts and the Bar\u0026#39;s next course of action, Sulaiman\u003cbr\u003e\nsaid \u0026quot;when you bang, you bang against the wall you start making noise\u0026quot;.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026quot;(And) as the noise keeps on somebody is bound to come and investigate why\u003cbr\u003e\nthere is a noise and we need to keep up this noise,\u0026quot; he said.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u0026quot;The Bar Council is the custodian of civil liberties and justice in\u003cbr\u003e\nMalaysia,\u0026quot; Sulaiman asserted. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e \n \u003cdiv\u003e\n \u003cdiv\u003e\n \u003ca href\u003d\"#11c8457744d7d671_toc\"\u003e\n Back to top \u003c/a\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e \u003ca href\u003d\"mailto:rajurajagop@yahoo.com?Subject\u003dRe%3AMalaysian%20Bar%20Rejects%20Draconian%20Internal%20Security%20Law\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\u003e\n Reply to \u003cspan\u003esender\u003c/span\u003e\n \u003c/a\u003e |\n \u003ca href\u003d\"mailto:indiathinkersnet@yahoogroups.com?Subject\u003d+Re%3AMalaysian%20Bar%20Rejects%20Draconian%20Internal%20Security%20Law\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\u003e\n Reply to \u003cspan\u003egroup\u003c/span\u003e\n \u003c/a\u003e |\n \u003ca href\u003d\"http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indiathinkersnet/post;_ylc\u003dX3oDMTJyY2o5NmVjBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzE4NDAwMjUEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDQzNjI4BG1zZ0lkAzE2NzkzBHNlYwNkbXNnBHNsawNycGx5BHN0aW1lAzEyMjE5OTEwMzY-?act\u003dreply\u0026amp;messageNum\u003d16793\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\u003e\n Reply \u003cspan\u003evia web post\u003c/span\u003e\n \u003c/a\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\n \u003ca href\u003d\"http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indiathinkersnet/message/16793;_ylc\u003dX3oDMTM3Y2RpMDBuBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzE4NDAwMjUEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDQzNjI4BG1zZ0lkAzE2NzkzBHNlYwNkbXNnBHNsawN2dHBjBHN0aW1lAzEyMjE5OTEwMzYEdHBjSWQDMTY3OTM-\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\u003e\n Messages in this topic \n \u003c/a\u003e (1)\n \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/dd\u003e\n \u003c/dl\u003e\n \u003cdl\u003e\n \u003cdt\u003e4a. \u003c/dt\u003e\n \u003cdd\u003e \n \u003ch2\u003e\n \u003ca href\u003d\"http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indiathinkersnet/message/16794;_ylc\u003dX3oDMTJyM2htZXExBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzE4NDAwMjUEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDQzNjI4BG1zZ0lkAzE2Nzk0BHNlYwNkbXNnBHNsawN2bXNnBHN0aW1lAzEyMjE5OTEwMzY-\" name\u003d\"11c8457744d7d671_4a\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\u003e",1]
);

//–>
ignored like previous attempts and the Bar’s next course of action, Sulaiman
said “when you bang, you bang against the wall you start making noise”.

“(And) as the noise keeps on somebody is bound to come and investigate why
there is a noise and we need to keep up this noise,” he said.

“The Bar Council is the custodian of civil liberties and justice in
Malaysia,” Sulaiman asserted.

Fishworkers oppose joint naval exercise

Date:25/08/2008 URL:
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/25/stories/2008082555240800.htm

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilaly Federation
(KSMTF) has protested against over the proposed joint naval exercise
between India and the U.S. in the coastal waters of Kerala.

The move initiated by the two governments known as ‘Malabar Exercise,’
to be held in October would surrender the interests of not just the
fishing community, but also the entire country, KSMTF state president
T. Peter said in a press note on Sunday.

The agenda to include American nuclear ships in this exercise is a
major concern, it said. “The proposed nuclear deal between India and
U.S. will lead to the establishment of more nuclear plants in the
coastal area. Already, the Kalpakkam plant has exposed the fishing
community to health hazards like cancer, skin problems and pregnancy
disorders. It has led to a decline in fish stocks in the area,” the
note said.

“The problems caused by nuclear plants do not impact the fishing
community alone. By exposing fish stocks to radiation, they could
threaten the life of the common man who depends on fish as an
affordable source of protein”.

Fact finding mission on illegal arrests of terror suspects: Teesta

Fact finding mission on illegal arrests of terror suspects: Teesta
<http://www.twocircles.net/2008aug21/fact_finding_mission_illegal_arrests_terror_suspects_teesta.html>

*By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net*

<http://www.twocircles.net/2008aug21/fact_finding_mission_illegal_arrests_terror_suspects_teesta.html>

Human rights activist Teesta Setalwad is planning to take the cases of
terrorism suspects, those who have been illegally arrested and tortured and
detained in India’a ‘war on terror.’ TwoCircles.net’s Md. Ali spoke to her
about her views on terror investigations and plans for defending terror
suspects.

*TwoCircles.net:* There are some reports in media that you are going to take
up the case of Abu Bashiar Islahi, the alleged mastermind of the Ahmadabad
serial bomb blast.

*Teesta Setalwad:* We are first of all going on a fact finding mission.
Because it is not only the case of Abu Bashar but a series of cases that
have emerged recently in India in which there have been illegal arrests and
torture on the name of “fight against Terror”.

In fact there have been a series of cases in which the empirical evidences
have been let go by the authorities. Like the use of Ammonium Nitrate in the
bomb blasts in Panwal and Thane and there are lots of others.

There are lots of loop holes in the manner the investigative agencies have
conducted the process of investigation. For instance the hasty departure of
Kenneth Haywood from Delhi though he has been given a look out notice. For
us it is extremely mysterious and we are finding that no political party has
spoken against it.

>> Read more
<http://www.twocircles.net/2008aug21/fact_finding_mission_illegal_arrests_terror_suspects_teesta.html>

http://www.twocircles.net/2008aug21/fact_finding_mission_illegal_arrests_terror_suspects_teesta.html

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