Tag: ajmal kasab

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At last, State to reward police who investigated 26/11 attacks

Five years after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, State Government clears proposal to reward investigating police team for their efforts.
by the Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It’s almost like a belated Christmas spirit has taken over the highest offices in Mantralaya. While the Government made the news yesterday for awarding Rs 1 crore each to three women kabaddi players who clinched the World Cup for the country last year, the State has also passed a Government Resolution (GR) to reward a contingent of 46 police officers, mid-level officials and constables, who investigated the horrific 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.

In a GR issued on March 25, 2013 by the Home Department, it is learnt that the Government is setting aside Rs 6,58,000 to be awarded in lieu of cash rewards to 43 of the 46 police personnel investigating the 26/11 attacks. Three officers – Rakesh Maria, Deven Bharati and Ashok Durafe – are to received commendatory letters, the GR said.

It may be remembered that after the terror attacks on November 26, 2008, in which timely and courageous police action helped nab a terrorist alive – probably a first in a terror operation of this kind anywhere in the world – and helped conclusively prove Pakistan’s hand in the strikes, a police crack team got to work to investigate the case. Headed by Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria, and supported by Additional CP (Crime) Deven Bharati and ACP Ashok Durafe, the team probed the attacks and prepared a mammoth 11, 750-page chargesheet in three months after the attacks. Thereafter, a 1,500-page supplementary chargesheet was filed.

A few months after the attacks, the State Government had announced that it was mulling a cash prize for the police personnel investigating the case. However, the final amount and how much each of the 43 officials will receive, has been decided only now.

Of the awardees, the highest cash prize goes to Ramesh Mahale, the chief investigating officer who was in the Crime Branch (and who has resigned from his post a few months ago) – he gets Rs 1,00,000. Five others get Rs 25,000 each, while constables get Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000.

About the case:

– The reward comes in recognition of successful investigation into the attacks, and the capture of a live terrorist, Ajmal Amir Kasab.

– The attacks took place over a period of 62 hours, and resulted in the death of 170 people.

– The trial in the case started on May 8, 2009. The State examined 649 witnesses during the trial.

– Kasab was held guilty on 31 counts, and awarded the death penalty on five counts.

– Kasab filed an appeal against the lower court’s verdict in the Bombay HC, which upheld his death sentence on February 21, 2011.

– Kasab was hanged to death at Pune’s Yerawada Jail on November 21, 2012.

 (Picture courtesy outlook.com)

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Nikam will get Rs 25,000 per result-oriented hearing in Jundal case

Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam will also get other expenses, such as Rs 5,000 hotel stay and Rs 7,000 hourly consultation fees.

In recent times, Ujjwal Nikam has become the go-to man in high-profile legal cases. And why not, the man’s successfully argued for the State of Maharashtra v/s captured 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab, who was given the death sentence by the Bombay High Court (and which was later upheld by the Supreme Court), apart from officiating as prosecutor in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, the Pramod Mahajan murder trial and the Gulshan Kumar murder.

In a GR (Government Resolution) dated January 24, 2013, the Home Department of the State Government of Maharashtra said that while the State had appointed Nikam as the Special Public Prosecutor in the case against Indian Mujahideen’s Abu Jundal, it was also sanctioning official fees for Nikam to fight the case in court. Jundal is accused of being the Hindi tutor and handler of 10 Pakistani terrorists who carried out the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai – Ajmal Kasab was one of them.

In the GR, the Home Department has sanctioned result-oriented hearing fees will be Rs 25,000 (per hearing). Additionally, Nikam will also get Rs 7,000 per hour as consultation fees (discussion of the case and exchange of opinion) and Rs 5,000 per day as hotel and lodging expenses.

In 2011, the Home Department had sanctioned Rs 50,000 as result-oriented fees for Nikam, when the latter was appointed by the Government to fight for Kasab’s execution in the SC. At the time, his per hour consultation fees were Rs 10,000.

The GR further mentions that Nikam is not to be paid any fees on the days that no result-oriented hearing takes place in court.

Nikam’s most high-profile cases:

The 26/11 trial

Pramod Mahajan murder trial

Nadeem extradition case, London

Gateway of India blasts, 2003

Mumbai serial bomb blasts, 1994

Kherlanji Massacre, 2006

Marine Drive police chowky rape case, 2005

(Picture courtesy ibnlive.com)

 

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Serial hoax caller arrested from Gujarat

Youth had earlier threatened to blow up trains and hijack planes if Kasab was not released; picked up from Vapi.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

There sure are some strange 19-year-olds in the country. Vikas Yadav, a resident of Vapi in Gujarat, was arrested by the Mumbai Police three days ago for making three hoax calls since 2011, threatening to blow up trains such as the Rajdhani Express or hijack airplanes. His reason? He was a fan of Ajmal Kasab, the captured 26/11 terrorist who was executed by the Maharashtra Government last year.

The youth’s first such call came in January 2011, when he threatened to blow up the Rajdhani and Garib Rath Express. At the time, he had assumed the identity of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Then, in the period between June and December 2012, he made other calls threatening to hijack an Indigo Airways’ plane from Bangalore airport, and later that he had planted an explosive at Delhi’s International Airport. Both these times, his demand was that 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab be released.

His most recent call came to Jet Airways in October 2012, when he identified himself as Vikas Yadav, and threatened to hijack the Mumbai-Bangalore flight, again with the order that Kasab be released.

Various police stations all over the country were on the lookout for Vikas, but he managed to evade arrest for two years. However, owing to the severity of the threat calls (especially since Kasab’s name was used), the probe into the matter was taken up by the Mumbai Crime Branch under Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy. Some of the calls were found to originate from Bihar, and a team was dispatched there. However, that team found that Vikas lived in Vapi with his family.

Vikas was picked up from his Vapi residence on January 18, 2013. He has been charged under various sections of the IT Act and the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Civil Aviation Act. Five mobile phones and SIM cards were seized from him. “During investigation, he said that he is fan of Qasab because he had dared to kill hundreds of people during 26/11,” a police official said.

(Picture courtesy sofiaglobe.com)

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Event

26/11 heroes’ tribute tomorrow

Government and police will pay tribute to slain police personnel on the fourth anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

This November 26 will mark four years of the ghastly terror strikes that changed the face of Mumbai and resulted in the capture of a terrorist who lived to tell the sordid tale of how the terror plot was hatched. Ajmal Kasab was executed early last week, and it is perhaps with a clearer conscience and a part sense of closure that the city and the country will head into the fourth anniversary of the attacks tomorrow.

The State Government will pay tribute to slain police heroes at the Police Gymkhana at Marine Lines tomorrow; in attendance will be Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, the Governor K Shankarnarayanan, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, State Home Minister RR Patil and Minister of State (Home) Satej Patil, apart from police officials and families of the slain cops. The tribute will include the laying of a wreath at the 26/11 memorial that stands in the Gymkhana premises at 8 am.

(File picture of Kavita Karkare and Smita Salaskar. Picture courtesy DNA)

 

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Ajmal Kasab hanged

Lone surviving terrorist of the 10 who struck Mumbai in 2008 hanged five days before fourth 26/11 anniversary, in Pune.

Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist who the brave Tukaram Omble helped nab in 2008, was hanged this morning at 7.30 am at Pune’s Yerawada Jail. He had been shifted out of Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail two days ago – he had been at the Mumbai jail since his capture.

The hanging comes just five days before the city and the country observed the fourth anniversary of the 26/11 terror attacks that took over 150 lives in three days of sustained terror operations. Kasab was shifted out of his cell in Arthur Road jail two days ago following President Pranab Mukherjee’s rejection of his mercy petition on November 8. However, Rashtrapati Bhavan had announced that the date for execution would be decided by the Maharashtra State government. On November 11, the time and date for the execution was decided by the Additional Sessions Judge; Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan gave the orders to shift Kasab on November 13. The move to Yerawada was done in complete secrecy.

Kasab had earlier appealed against his execution even in the Supreme Court of India. He was recently struck by dengue while in Arthur Road jail.

Update: Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil to address a press conference at 8.30 am.

Update #1: RR Patil starts the press conference with details of the 26/11 attacks.

Update #2: “This is a tribute to all innocent people and police officers who lost their lives during the 26/11 attacks on our nation,” says RR Patil.

Update #3: “Ajmal Kasab was hanged by the neck till dead this morning at Yerawada Jail at 7.30 am,” says RR Patil.

Update #4: Yerawada jail sources say Ajmal Kasab did not have a last wish.

Update #5: Yerawada jail sources said Ajmal Kasab did not have a will.

Update #6: Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said that Kasab’s body would be handed over if Kasab’s family demanded it, else it would be buried here.

Update #7: “We managed to keep the issue under wraps for two weeks, especially the shifting of Kasab from Arthur Road jail to Yerawada Jail two days ago,” said Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.

Update #8: “I had appealed to the President Pranab Mukherjee to reject Kasab’s mercy plea. He had written back saying that he would soon take a decision that would make the entire nation happy,” said Eknath Omble, brother of slain cop Tukaram Omble, who helped nab Kasab.

Update #9: “We had to maintain a high level of secrecy because we did not want any untoward incident to take place,” said Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde.

Update #10: Kasab will be laid to rest in India itself.

 Update #11: Pakistan refuses to accept the letter from Indian Government informing of the death of Kasab. Pakistan has also not yet reacted to the news.

Update #12: Pakistan refuses to claim Kasab’s body. Kasab is buried at Yerawada.

Update #13: “Since there was no response to the fax we sent, we sent a courier to Kasab’s family,” said Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde.

(Picture courtesy www.dayandnightnews.com)

 

 

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Guest writer

Of Ajmal Kasab and Chinese cemeteries

An insider on the monorail system writes on the challenges of the project and why Mumbai will benefit from it.
by Kanesan Velupillai

Mumbai is a densely populated and busy city. It is estimated that over 11 million people here travel by public transport daily, of which more than 60 per cent commute by the suburban railway networks. A huge chunk of the masses commute by state buses, across long stretches from one corner to another. So there is a constant pressure on the existing systems to cope with the urban populace. This highlights a need for better mobility.

The city today requires a transportation network that would act as a feeder service to connect the mass transport systems like the existing suburban rail and the upcoming metro rail in the city capable of serving maximum traffic. Thus, the monorail will be the most suitable mode of travel in Mumbai due to its manoeuvrability that improves connectivity to a great extent. It will easily move through the city’s narrow corridors, taking tight turns, thus saving much travel time and decongesting road traffic to a great extent. The route being linked through major areas in the city will benefit the commuters who travel longer distances with a much better and safer mode of transportation.

In 2008, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authorities (MMRDA) proposed to implement a proven and established Monorail System in various parts of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Scomi Engineering, in collaboration with its consortium partner Larsen & Toubro secured the Mumbai Monorail project from the MMRDA for an amount of USD 545.02 million for a dual phase construction. The first phase runs from Jacob Circle to Wadala and the second from Wadala to Chembur. The other contenders included Hitachi, Bombardier etc. who were bidding in consortium with Indian infrastructure developers.

Why a monorail?

The monorail, as a mass rapid transit system, comes with the minimum infrastructural needs that make it the most viable commute option in Mumbai. It does not involve dismantling of existing buildings and structures for construction. It is made to move in routes where there is no scope for road widening. The lighter and smaller monorail coaches also reduce implementation time. It has also proved to be highly cost-effective when it comes to machinery in its construction; it requires only a single beam and is elevated, so it calls for a smaller section of footprint than other rail networks. This leads to lesser space for tracks, and demand for less material. Hence, there are no constructional hazards in setting up the monorail.

The first 20-kilometre corridor of the system in Mumbai is established in dual phase – it runs across Chembur-Wadala-Jacob Circle area, which is the second longest in the world after the 23.8 km long monorail corridor in Japan. A monorail with four cars will have a capacity to ferry 562 passengers, while one with six cars will be able to accommodate 852 commuters.

Some challenges and a surprise

The few challenges that we faced were in terms of getting clearances from different concerned departments, specially the stay in construction work of the monorail line near Arthur Road where terrorist Kasab was housed in a jail following the terror attacks in 2008. While working, we also discovered that the monorail alignment passes many interesting parts of Mumbai, including a Chinese cemetery!  It was surprising to find this out.

Current status

In association with MMRDA, we have completed a successful trial run on the Chembur-Wadala route in February 2012. The second phase of testing and commissioning is scheduled in November 2012, followed by the commencement of commercial services in January 2013.

Kanesan Velupillai is Group Chief Operation Officer, Transport Solutions, Scomi Group Berhad, that is a Malaysia-based firm bringing the monorail to Mumbai.

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