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Hindustan Times
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
How Mumbai police lost the plot on suburban rail blasts
The Mumbai suburban railway bombing, also known as the 7/11 blasts, took place on July 11, 2006. Unfortunately, it took place when we lacked an integrated approach to our intelligence coordination and terror crime investigation. The then Mumbai police commissioner told a security advisory group constituted by the Maharashtra government — of which I was a member — that he had never been given any indication in his meetings with the Intelligence Bureau at the highest level before the attack that the Mumbai suburban railway system was a target. In fact, it seemed that the central intelligence indicated that religious places would be targeted. The 7/11 attacks killed 189 passengers in different trains on the Western Railway in six minutes, compared to 26/11 attacks where the death toll during the 58-hour stand-off stood at 175. An American media report on July 21, 2006, said that the New York Police Department (NYPD) had sent an officer to Mumbai to study the 'simplicity and lethality' of 7/11 attacks, which 'were the equivalent of bombing seven commuter stations between Manhattan and Westchester'. NYPD wanted to understand how the Mumbai suburban attacks were executed with such precision. Post the Twin Tower attacks on September 11, 2001 (9/11), the March 11, 2004, attacks on the commuter railway system in Madrid, and the July 7 London tube bombings, the NYPD had augmented its security network. Therefore, the Mumbai bombings were of interest to it to see what gaps remained. The 7/11 attackers had carried bombs in backpacks common locally, hid these in overhead racks near the exits to enable them to exit the train quickly, and had used timing devices to cause the explosions within 11 minutes to cause the maximum panic, shock, and damage. In sharp contrast, the local investigation into this case was marked by total incompetence, lack of coordination, and confusion. In 2009, I had written in Routledge's annual publication, India's National Security-Annual Review, that the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which originally investigated this case, had charge-sheeted 13 people for 7/11, including four who had undergone training in Pakistan. However, in September 2008, the Mumbai City Crime Branch made a startling claim in a press conference, that they had found evidence of the involvement of Sadiq Shaikh, co-founder of Indian Mujahideen (IM), in these blasts. This claim was fundamentally challenged on May 11, 2009, when the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court discharged Shaikh, finding no evidence against him. Even earlier, the ATS and Mumbai crime branch had publicly differed on many points, with the latter claiming that the bombs for the blasts were assembled in a flat in Sewree and the RDX was procured by IM leader Riyaz Bhatkal even as ATS said that the bombs were assembled in Govandi and RDX was procured by a Pakistani terrorist, Ehsanullah, who had entered India illegally along with 10 accomplices. All this would not have happened had the then Union government set up a central anti-terror agency. Unfortunately, they waited until December 2008 to set up such an agency (the National Investigation Agency, or NIA), after the 26/11 attacks. In September 2015, a special MCOCA court sentenced 12 accused persons, awarding capital punishment to five and life imprisonment to seven for planting the bombs and killing passengers. It is this sentence that was set aside by the Bombay High Court on July 21, 2025 — all 12 convicted by the MCOCA court were acquitted. The special bench had heard the case for the last six months, including appeals by the State and by the convicts. However, an inkling on the course the case would eventually take was available in January this year, from the defence put up by S Muralidhar, former chief justice of the Odisha High Court and now senior advocate, who represented two accused sentenced to life imprisonment. This was reported only in legal journals and not in the mainstream media. Muralidhar had then highlighted the lapses in investigation, especially in obtaining confessional statements of the accused under a special provision of MCOCA, given that the officer who had recorded the confessional statement failed to identify the accused. Muralidhar had told the court: 'This is a very serious legal flaw of the trial court. Thus, this Court should now discard these statements'. He also said that the family and relatives of the accused were tortured physically, just like the accused persons. The HC acquittal on July 21 highlights several lapses like 'cut and paste' confessions made by all the accused persons, custodial torture before the confessions were recorded, and more particularly 'the lack of any reliable material submitted' to grant prior approval to invoke the stringent MCOCA, under which confessions are legally admissible. The Court found no material was provided to the competent authority 'except reproduction of some expressions used in the definition of organised crime'. The court said after examining two confessions recorded on two different dates: 'By any stretch of imagination, it is highly impossible to have the same questions and its sequence in both the statements with the same answers'. This is quite telling of how poorly the investigation was handled by the police, leaving the families of the victims of the blasts and the accused and their families struggling for justice. Law enforcement agencies have a lot to answer. Vappala Balachandran is a former special secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, and was part of the two-member High Level Committee that enquired into the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. The views expressed are personal.
The Irish Sun
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
Football fans must give Trump's World Cup a wide berth after chilling threat – Apple Pie is poisoned after 94 golden era
5 THE World Cup takes place in the United States next year, 32 years after they last hosted the greatest football show on earth. Advertisement 5 Trump met with the Fifa president this week ahead of next year's World Cup Credit: Francis Chung / Pool via CNP Tens of thousands of die-hard Green army men and women made their way by hook or by crook to To this day, I can still see the bouillon of lobster-red tans. If you close your eyes and think, 'Steve Staunton', you'll be with me too. Where were you when Ray Houghton brought the ball down on his chest and lobbed Gianluca Pagliuca from 24 yards in our first outing to beat Italy 1-0 in Giants Stadium? Jammed into a boozer somewhere, no doubt, hot under the collar, warm Advertisement READ MORE IN NEWS How in the name of god did we keep Baggio and co at bay for 80 minutes? Like dancing on the edge of a razor blade. Well, one word, Can you still recall angsty The confrontation wound him up so much he stormed onto the pitch, us 2-0 down to the majestic Advertisement Most read in The Irish Sun Then a few days later, did you lose the will to live while watching the mind-numbing sterility of the nil-nil draw with John Sheridan pinging the crossbar, the only light amid the New York gloom. Donald Trump claims letting Russia qualify for World Cup 2026 could be 'incentive' to end Ukraine war What about the battle with the Dutch? Were you there in that Orlando sweat box? Remember the burst water bags littering the pitch? The red cheeks, Packie's parry, the goals that sent us home? Advertisement All of those golden moments are banked as proper live-forever memories among those who were around back then. America in 1994 was our ancient friend, our ally in freedom, our home from home, our refuge throughout all the tough times of our history. And so it continued to be, even in the aftermath of the Twin Tower attacks on 9/11, 2001. 'IT'S NOT LIKE THAT ANYMORE' America always looked out, embraced the world, saw itself as its leader, morally obliged to be the protector of freedom, of individual liberty. Advertisement Yes, it made mistakes in the wars that were fought, but at heart, It's not like that any more. The Apple Pie is poisoned. When we look upon America under 'A DISRUPTIVE ANARCHY' In his first 100 days in power Trump and his team have swept aside the old established order and replaced it with a disruptive anarchy, where everything is for the chopping block. Advertisement Chaos is the order of the day. America, under Trump has become unrecognisable, an alien place. So he announces tariffs on world trade in the concocted belief America had been taken for a ride. He unleashes his stormtroopers in ICE to detain every illegal and legal immigrant deemed unworthy to remain in the US, including several Irish people who've lived legally in America for decades. He's defunded universities; kids libraries have been raided to bin books seen to promote decent human values, including diversity, inclusion and equality; overseas aid programmes that kept the poorest people in the world fed and watered, are being dismantled; climate change is being vociferously denied, as the 'drill baby, drill' mantra drowns out the notion of responsibility to the planet; drug pricing reforms that would have capped costs for the poorest Americans reliant on Medicaid are being axed too; vaccines undermined . . . the miserable list goes on and on. Advertisement MOST BEAUTIFUL GAME CLAIM Trump sat down with His JD Vance's He said: 'We want them to come, we want them to celebrate, we want them to watch the games. But when the time is up, we want them to go home, otherwise they will have to talk to Secretary (Kristi) Noem.' Advertisement She is Trump's Homeland Security Secretary and has been christened 'ICE Barbie' after getting glammed up for immigration raids which she streams live on social media. If you're in possession of a modicum of self respect, give U.S. 2026 a wide berth. The only excuse for going next year is if you've had a lobotomy. UNFIT FOR PURPOSE PEOPLE don't just get sick Monday to Friday 9 to 5, do they? So it's crazy that in 2025 the HSE still operates a five-day week roster with weekends largely unworked. The HSE's chief executive Bernard Gloster has been pushing to introduce an extended 8am to 8pm working day, where employees would work five days over a seven-day roster. It's eminently reasonable and how the real world works. The move would improve hospital overcrowding and ensure people are treated in a timely manner. But guess what? The unions are dragging their heels. Meetings were due yesterday but clashed with annual conferences, so have peen postponed. More delays are unacceptable. CAUGHT SKORT NO LONGER IT'S utterly bonkers that girls and women are forced to wear skorts while Advertisement A skort is a pair of shorts made to look like a skirt. Whoever invented the skort obviously never had to wear one. Probably because he was a bloke. 5 Players are fighting back against the mandatory kit Credit: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile Apparently, if you talk to Camogie players, a majority say they're extremely uncomfortable with buttons, that if they burst, leave nothing to the imagination. The girls who play the game are fed up with inaction from those in charge of Camogie and have taken matters into their own hands. Advertisement This weekend Cork and Waterford ladies square off in the Munster Final and they'll all be wearing shorts, not skorts. Cork ace Ashling Thompson urged the Camogie Association to listen to players' concerns, saying they want 'a choice in what we wear'. Well, it seems the Camogie Association A Special Congress has been convened for May 22 next to vote on allowing girls/women to wear shorts if they like. Common sense prevails. Advertisement EASY DAIL AT WORK THEY'RE as quiet as mice. Hasn't been a peep out of them for a good while. Of course, I'm talking about our government. Ah, give them time. They're only back from a long Bank Holiday weekend (they got an extra day off on Tuesday). 5 Nicole Ryan of Sinn Fein wore shorts in solidarity with the camogie players' fight Credit: Social Media Collect They started back to work in the Advertisement You see they get Fridays off too. Won't be back till next Wednesday. Well for them, isn't it. They mustn't have much work to do. The only thing they seemed to be concerned about on Wednesday was women wearing skorts in Camogie matches. Several Advertisement The government blathered on about being 'aware of the issue' and the importance of 'engagement'. Christ. And that was their day's work done. Off home again to gaze at their navels while Ireland burns on a bonfire of their ineptitude and listlessness. PAINFUL PRICE POINT HOW does a small bread roll, the size of a baby's fist, cost €1? An egg sandwich €5? A bottle of own brand water €2.50? Prices have gone Doolally. Someone is making a killing, and it isn't the poor saps who must grin and bear being fleeced. DUBLIN CITY TASK FORCE IT'S been 200 days since the government appointed Advertisement 1,000 more cops, an 'agile' public transport plan, and 'dedicated waste management system' were just three of the practical proposals that are easily implemented. Have they been? Not on your life. The report is gathering dust on Tanaiste And it died a death, it seems. Who'd have thought it would? Hands up. Betcha every single one of ye have the lamh suas. The CEO of the Licensed Vintners' Federation, Donall O'Keeffe said: 'It's almost 500 days since the day before the riots took place in the city centre. Advertisement What practical changes have taken place since? I think if anyone looked at Dublin the day before the riots and Dublin today, they wouldn't see any difference.' In other words, it's still a kip. MET GALA CLASS NOW, when it comes to Don't care for the luvvies, the canapes, the outrages clobber, the glitz, the glamour, the champagne, the inanities. Advertisement 5 Nicole Kidman stunned at the famous fundraiser Credit: Angela WEISS / AFP All that nonsense, flush it down the jacks and be gone. But when it comes to certain stars such as The Aussie actor, 57, is versatile, captivating and talented. Advertisement When she arrived at the Met Gala last week she was alone in exuding class, thrilling in a simple black dress that had jaws on the floor. Including mine.
Hindustan Times
02-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Illicit liquor racket busted at residential colony in Greater Noida, 2 arrested
Two men were arrested late Thursday night for selling country-made liquor as premium liquor in Gautam Budh Nagar, police said on Friday. The accused, Atul (single name), and Nitin Kumar,were allegedly caught in the act of refilling bottles of branded Indian made foreign liquor with country-made liquor, police said. The accused were working in the first floor of a house in Sadopur, police said. Police found nine half-bottles of Imperial Blue filled with country liquor, 90 tetra packs of Twin Tower (labelled for sale in Uttar Pradesh), and several empty bottles of Royal Stag, White and Blue, After Dark, and 8 PM Whisky, and more than a dozen varieties of fake and tampered liquor packaging. 'The operation is part of a district-wide drive to eliminate spurious liquor trade. The two accused were found selling country liquor in branded bottles, posing a serious health risk. The two admitted to operating this racket after shop-closing hours, targeting unsuspecting buyers by passing off low-cost country liquor as premium brands. Strict legal action is being taken,' said Gautam Budh Nagar excise officer Subodh Kumar. The raid was conducted by a joint team of the Gautam Budh Nagar excise department and Badalpur police as part of an ongoing enforcement drive under the directives of the Uttar Pradesh government and excise commissioner Adarsh Singh. An FIR has been registered against the two under Section 60 of the Uttar Pradesh Excise Act and Sections 319(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Badalpur police station. Two composite liquor shop licencees in Sadopur's Jhal and Achheja have been served show cause notices due to their alleged involvement in the spurious liquor trade, and their licences have been suspended pending further inquiry, said officials.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate Republican seeks hearings for 9/11 conspiracy theory
A Republican U.S. senator is calling for hearings on September 11 after he went on a podcast promoting conspiracy theories about the 2001 terrorist attacks. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., the chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, is seeking information and documentation to hold hearings on the event nearly 25 years after it happened, according to Politico. Almost 3,000 people died on that day as a result of two planes crashing into the World Trade Center Twin Tower buildings in New York City, a plane crashing into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and another plane crashing into a field in Pennsylvania. During an appearance on a far-right podcast hosted by Benny Johnson this week, Johnson claimed that one of the buildings around the World Trade Center complex in New York was brought down by a 'controlled demolition' following the collapse of the Twin Towers, according to Politico. The building Johnson is referring to is 7 World Trade Center, a 47-story skyscraper that was part of the complex. The building was not hit by a plane but collapsed due to hours of uncontrolled fire as it was hit by flaming debris. The building has been the subject of conspiracy theories, with people saying explosives that were planted there destroyed it. During the podcast, Johnson went on to say the National Institute of Standards and Technology's investigation into the collapse was 'corrupted.' 'What actually happened on 9/11? What do we know? What is being covered up?' Johnson asked. 'My guess is there's an awful lot being covered up in terms of what the American government knows about 9/11.' Johnson did not lay out a timetable for the hearings during the podcast. A spokesperson told Politico that the timeframe for hearings would 'depend on what information/documentation is obtained by our office.' On the other side of Capitol Hill, Johnson's comments have drawn backlash from U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. In a post on X on Tuesday, Lawler said that Johnson should stop peddling conspiracy theories about the attack. 'Crap like this dishonors and disrespects the innocent lives lost, our brave first responders, and all families and survivors who still carry the pain of 9/11 each and every day,' Lawler wrote. Trump MAGA senator talks tough about Hegseth and gets put on blast Advocates push for 'full conversation' on life without parole sentences Could Trump's crackdown on foreign students exacerbate declining college enrollment? Harvard has a $53 billion endowment. Could it be a weapon in its fight against Trump? Harvard's president to talk stakes of Trump admin's demands in new NBC interview Read the original article on MassLive.
