Sunday, October 12, 2008
Goa on SIMI, Qaida hitlists
Goa on SIMI, Qaida hitlists
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Al Qaida and SIMI terrorists have been planning to target American, British and Israeli tourists in Goa, intelligence and police sources say.
While arrested SIMI leader Safdar Nagori—who is alleged to be behind the Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Delhi blasts—revealed during narco-analysis their plan to strike Goa, a Qaida module busted in the US provided provided information about the tourist hotspot being in terror crosshairs.
Sources added both these reports have been submitted to the Goa police. When contacted, DGP B S Brar said, “As of today, Goa is not a target. However, interrogation reports of various terrorists arrested by the police have revealed that they had Goa as a target and we are not taking any chances. All these groups were based outside Goa.”
During narco-analysis, Nagori said, “Nasir (a SIMI activist arrested by the Karnataka police in January 2008) had spoken to Adnan (arrested by the Karnataka police from Indore in March) and others about his target and he had targeted the Americans, Britishers and Israelis as his present target at Goa…”
Nagori was arrested by the Madhya Pradesh police from Indore and the narcoanalysis was done at Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Bangalore, in April this year. Three others were also subjected to the test. The report was submitted in June.
Nagori revealed that they had organized a training camp at Karnataka’s Castle Rock—80 km from Goa’s capital Panaji—to ready for the operation. “Nasir had attended the Castle Rock training camp and had also visited Hubli,” he said. ‘No immediate threat to state’
Panaji: Intelligence sources revealed that the al Qaida had plans to attack Goa in 2007 itself. A laptop recovered from an al Qaida module busted in the US contained information about a proposed strike around “Baja (Baga) beach”, sources said. This information was passed on to Indian authorities by US agencies.
Although there is no immediate threat it does not reduce the vulnerability, top police officials said. In fact, IGP Kishan Kumar has been continuously saying that Goa needs to comes out of the “nothing will ever happen here” mindset.
The police have already beefed up its intelligence gathering and are insisting on CCTVs and proper lighting at popular beaches. The police have also instructed all night clubs to down shutters by 12 midnight. Two companies of Central industrial security force have been stationed at tourist spots and two more will arrive during the IFFI in November.
October 12, 2008,The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Al Qaida and SIMI terrorists have been planning to target American, British and Israeli tourists in Goa, intelligence and police sources say.
While arrested SIMI leader Safdar Nagori—who is alleged to be behind the Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Delhi blasts—revealed during narco-analysis their plan to strike Goa, a Qaida module busted in the US provided provided information about the tourist hotspot being in terror crosshairs.
Sources added both these reports have been submitted to the Goa police. When contacted, DGP B S Brar said, “As of today, Goa is not a target. However, interrogation reports of various terrorists arrested by the police have revealed that they had Goa as a target and we are not taking any chances. All these groups were based outside Goa.”
During narco-analysis, Nagori said, “Nasir (a SIMI activist arrested by the Karnataka police in January 2008) had spoken to Adnan (arrested by the Karnataka police from Indore in March) and others about his target and he had targeted the Americans, Britishers and Israelis as his present target at Goa…”
Nagori was arrested by the Madhya Pradesh police from Indore and the narcoanalysis was done at Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Bangalore, in April this year. Three others were also subjected to the test. The report was submitted in June.
Nagori revealed that they had organized a training camp at Karnataka’s Castle Rock—80 km from Goa’s capital Panaji—to ready for the operation. “Nasir had attended the Castle Rock training camp and had also visited Hubli,” he said. ‘No immediate threat to state’
Panaji: Intelligence sources revealed that the al Qaida had plans to attack Goa in 2007 itself. A laptop recovered from an al Qaida module busted in the US contained information about a proposed strike around “Baja (Baga) beach”, sources said. This information was passed on to Indian authorities by US agencies.
Although there is no immediate threat it does not reduce the vulnerability, top police officials said. In fact, IGP Kishan Kumar has been continuously saying that Goa needs to comes out of the “nothing will ever happen here” mindset.
The police have already beefed up its intelligence gathering and are insisting on CCTVs and proper lighting at popular beaches. The police have also instructed all night clubs to down shutters by 12 midnight. Two companies of Central industrial security force have been stationed at tourist spots and two more will arrive during the IFFI in November.
October 12, 2008,The Times of India, Goa edition
CALANGUTE MURDER;Kelly’s knife found, claim hotel staff
CALANGUTE MURDER
Kelly’s knife found, claim hotel staff
Preetu Nair | TNN
Calangute: The knife which was allegedly carried by Australian national John Kelly to the Club City restaurant in Calangute has been found. However, the Calangute police said that after examining the knife, the fingerprint expert said that there are no fingerprint marks on it. This, the police explained, could be either due to exposure to sunlight and dew.
The restaurant’s bartender, Ervell, said that around 8.45 pm on Saturday while they were shifting flower pots just outside the restaurant they came across the knife.
“I called a staffer who was working on the day of the incident to verify whether it was the same knife which the foreigner was carrying and had allegedly put to waiter Jaikrishna’s throat. One of the witnesses, Matthew Rehman, who works as a cook in the restaurant said that this was the knife being carried by the foreigner,” Ervell told TOI.
“On that day, Kelly had came into the restaurant’s kitchen at around 7.30 am drunk and threatened me with the knife. Then he suddenly apologized and left to sit below a mango tree adjacent to the restaurant where he was drinking.
“He returned later at around 8 am and then got into an altercation with Jaikrishna and threatened him with the knife which forced him to react in self-defence,” Rehman said.
Meanwhile, the police, which had conducted a panchanama at the site soon after the case was registered
as a murder, said that they had fully checked the premises and had not located the knife.
They also said that they were surprised with the sudden appearance of the knife, which has been found just half a metre from the spot Kelly had fallen after he was pushed by the waiter and security guard.
October 12, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Kelly’s knife found, claim hotel staff
Preetu Nair | TNN
Calangute: The knife which was allegedly carried by Australian national John Kelly to the Club City restaurant in Calangute has been found. However, the Calangute police said that after examining the knife, the fingerprint expert said that there are no fingerprint marks on it. This, the police explained, could be either due to exposure to sunlight and dew.
The restaurant’s bartender, Ervell, said that around 8.45 pm on Saturday while they were shifting flower pots just outside the restaurant they came across the knife.
“I called a staffer who was working on the day of the incident to verify whether it was the same knife which the foreigner was carrying and had allegedly put to waiter Jaikrishna’s throat. One of the witnesses, Matthew Rehman, who works as a cook in the restaurant said that this was the knife being carried by the foreigner,” Ervell told TOI.
“On that day, Kelly had came into the restaurant’s kitchen at around 7.30 am drunk and threatened me with the knife. Then he suddenly apologized and left to sit below a mango tree adjacent to the restaurant where he was drinking.
“He returned later at around 8 am and then got into an altercation with Jaikrishna and threatened him with the knife which forced him to react in self-defence,” Rehman said.
Meanwhile, the police, which had conducted a panchanama at the site soon after the case was registered
as a murder, said that they had fully checked the premises and had not located the knife.
They also said that they were surprised with the sudden appearance of the knife, which has been found just half a metre from the spot Kelly had fallen after he was pushed by the waiter and security guard.
October 12, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Bangalore techie Meghna Subedar found alive in Pune
Bangalore techie Meghna found alive in Pune
Andrew Pereira, Preetu Nair & Yogesh Naik | TNN
Panaji/Mumbai: Meghna Subhedar, the 28-year-old Bangalore-based software engineer who went missing in April from CST railway station and had been thought to be dead till recently was found alive six months later on Friday. The CST railway police received a call from her father on Friday saying that Meghna had turned up at her grandfather’s house at Paud Road, Pune.
Investigating officer Anil Mane of the CST police told TOI, “We got a call from her grandparents that she was in Pune. We reached Pune and found that the girl was at their residence. She looked mentally disturbed and was talking irrelevant things. She did not answer our questions too.”
ACP Bapu Thombre said that Meghna told the police that this morning a crowd of people threw stones at her, which led to her getting a head injury. Police said a doctor who examined her suspected that the blow may have led to her remembering that she had relatives in Pune. Sources said that at around 5.30 pm on Friday, Meghna called up her uncle in Kothrud, Pune from a PCO. She said that she was scared and was being chased by goons. Her uncle picked her up from the PCO. LOST AND FOUND
‘Meghna said she was scared, chased by goons’
Panaji/Mumbai: The Bangalore-based software engineer Meghna Subhedar, 28, who went missing in April from CST railway station and was thought to be dead was found alive on Friday.
Meghna called up her uncle in Kothrud,Pune from a PCO on Friday and said she was scared and being chased by goons.
She was reportedly in a bad state and had injuries all over her body. Her uncle who picked her up from the PCO said that she had just Rs 3 in her pocket. The CST railway police left for Pune after being informed.
Investigating officer Anil Mane of the CST police said that Meghna told the CST police that she had been been several cities which she visited by train. “She has told us that she went to Kolhapur and some south Indian towns. She came to Pune from Hyderabad in a train. She used to beg and eat,'' Mane said.
Since Meghna is mentally stressed, her relatives told the CST police to make inquiries later. “We will soon call her for an interrogation and ask her a few questions,” said Mane. The police feel that she requires immediate counselling and told her relatives to summon a psychiatrist. Mane said that Meghna looks much weaker and stressed. Her parents are reportedly on their way to Pune from their home in Chhatisgarh.
Meghna’s mother Dr Anjali Subedar said, “Meghna called us around 3.30 pm on Friday and said that she was in Pune. She said that she was not feeling well and had suffered a lot. She sounded worried and tense.”
“As she sounded upset we didn’t ask her any questions and advised her to go to Pune to a relative’s place. Now she is with our relative and my husband has left for Pune,” said the mother.
Though the mother suspects that her daughter may have been tortured, she said that she doesn’t have the details and will only be able to tell where her daughter was for seven months and why she didn’t call when they meet.
“At the moment our only concern is that our daughter is fine. She sounded traumatised and we just want to ensure that she is okay.
“Finally our prayers have paid off,” said Dr Subedar, who had been praying and even fasting for her daughter’s wellbeing and safety.
Meghna was employed with an IT firm at Bangalore and went missing from Mumbai while on her way to her hometown Korba in Chhattisgarh. She had come from Bangalore to Mumbai at 4.50 am on April 10. She last called her father on April 10 saying she was at CST, Mumbai and would board the Geetanjali Express. However, when Meghna failed to reach home the next day, her mother, a gynaecologist, made enquiries with relatives and friends. On April 14, she asked her husband, Dr Mohan Subhedar, to lodge a missing person’s complaint with the CST police.
During a police probe it was disclosed that Meghna had two credit cards of ICICI Bank and SBI Bank. She had withdrawn Rs 5,000 from an ICICI ATM in Andheri. The credit card was used the next day to withdraw money from an ATM in Goa.
Meghna’s parents initially suspected that she had been kidnapped in Mumbai and the abductors were using her credit card. So they went to Goa, but were surprised to see CCTV clippings from ATMs showing that Meghna herself had withdrawn money in Goa. From the ATM video footage, her parents said Meghna seemed extremely frightened. Her parents thought she had been either blackmailed or kidnapped. However, investigations drew a blank.
In July, Goa police found a decomposed body on the Candolim beach, North Goa. While her parents initially believed it to be that of their daughter, DNA tests proved otherwise.
Meghna had divorced her husband in 2004. She had reportedly quit her job and was on her way back home when she went missing.
October 11, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Andrew Pereira, Preetu Nair & Yogesh Naik | TNN
Panaji/Mumbai: Meghna Subhedar, the 28-year-old Bangalore-based software engineer who went missing in April from CST railway station and had been thought to be dead till recently was found alive six months later on Friday. The CST railway police received a call from her father on Friday saying that Meghna had turned up at her grandfather’s house at Paud Road, Pune.
Investigating officer Anil Mane of the CST police told TOI, “We got a call from her grandparents that she was in Pune. We reached Pune and found that the girl was at their residence. She looked mentally disturbed and was talking irrelevant things. She did not answer our questions too.”
ACP Bapu Thombre said that Meghna told the police that this morning a crowd of people threw stones at her, which led to her getting a head injury. Police said a doctor who examined her suspected that the blow may have led to her remembering that she had relatives in Pune. Sources said that at around 5.30 pm on Friday, Meghna called up her uncle in Kothrud, Pune from a PCO. She said that she was scared and was being chased by goons. Her uncle picked her up from the PCO. LOST AND FOUND
‘Meghna said she was scared, chased by goons’
Panaji/Mumbai: The Bangalore-based software engineer Meghna Subhedar, 28, who went missing in April from CST railway station and was thought to be dead was found alive on Friday.
Meghna called up her uncle in Kothrud,Pune from a PCO on Friday and said she was scared and being chased by goons.
She was reportedly in a bad state and had injuries all over her body. Her uncle who picked her up from the PCO said that she had just Rs 3 in her pocket. The CST railway police left for Pune after being informed.
Investigating officer Anil Mane of the CST police said that Meghna told the CST police that she had been been several cities which she visited by train. “She has told us that she went to Kolhapur and some south Indian towns. She came to Pune from Hyderabad in a train. She used to beg and eat,'' Mane said.
Since Meghna is mentally stressed, her relatives told the CST police to make inquiries later. “We will soon call her for an interrogation and ask her a few questions,” said Mane. The police feel that she requires immediate counselling and told her relatives to summon a psychiatrist. Mane said that Meghna looks much weaker and stressed. Her parents are reportedly on their way to Pune from their home in Chhatisgarh.
Meghna’s mother Dr Anjali Subedar said, “Meghna called us around 3.30 pm on Friday and said that she was in Pune. She said that she was not feeling well and had suffered a lot. She sounded worried and tense.”
“As she sounded upset we didn’t ask her any questions and advised her to go to Pune to a relative’s place. Now she is with our relative and my husband has left for Pune,” said the mother.
Though the mother suspects that her daughter may have been tortured, she said that she doesn’t have the details and will only be able to tell where her daughter was for seven months and why she didn’t call when they meet.
“At the moment our only concern is that our daughter is fine. She sounded traumatised and we just want to ensure that she is okay.
“Finally our prayers have paid off,” said Dr Subedar, who had been praying and even fasting for her daughter’s wellbeing and safety.
Meghna was employed with an IT firm at Bangalore and went missing from Mumbai while on her way to her hometown Korba in Chhattisgarh. She had come from Bangalore to Mumbai at 4.50 am on April 10. She last called her father on April 10 saying she was at CST, Mumbai and would board the Geetanjali Express. However, when Meghna failed to reach home the next day, her mother, a gynaecologist, made enquiries with relatives and friends. On April 14, she asked her husband, Dr Mohan Subhedar, to lodge a missing person’s complaint with the CST police.
During a police probe it was disclosed that Meghna had two credit cards of ICICI Bank and SBI Bank. She had withdrawn Rs 5,000 from an ICICI ATM in Andheri. The credit card was used the next day to withdraw money from an ATM in Goa.
Meghna’s parents initially suspected that she had been kidnapped in Mumbai and the abductors were using her credit card. So they went to Goa, but were surprised to see CCTV clippings from ATMs showing that Meghna herself had withdrawn money in Goa. From the ATM video footage, her parents said Meghna seemed extremely frightened. Her parents thought she had been either blackmailed or kidnapped. However, investigations drew a blank.
In July, Goa police found a decomposed body on the Candolim beach, North Goa. While her parents initially believed it to be that of their daughter, DNA tests proved otherwise.
Meghna had divorced her husband in 2004. She had reportedly quit her job and was on her way back home when she went missing.
October 11, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
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