Author: Shibu Thomas
Publication: The Times of India
Date: December 2, 2010
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/HC-poses-set-of-five-questions-on-26/11/articleshow/7026327.cms
Introduction: Was Hearing PIL Based On Ex-IG'
Book
"Was there a Marathi-speaking 26/11 terrorist?"
the Bombay high court asked the Union and state governments on Wednesday.
A division bench of justices B H Marlapalle and U D Salvi questioned whether
a systemic failure led to the state's inability to adequately respond to the
terror attack that killed 175 people and injured 300.
"(Pakistani gunman Ajmal Amir) Kasab
has been caught, he has been convicted. Does the matter end there?" asked
the judges, adding, "If intelligence inputs (about a terror attack) were
not forwarded to the authorities, then there was a systemic failure. There
has to be accountability. The people of this country are entitled to know.
Either the government of India or the Maharashtra government will have to
answer."
Referring to the ATS's nabbing of two alleged
terrorists from Thane earlier this week, the judges remarked, "Terrorists
are freely moving in India. Are we ready and prepared to prevent any future
terror attacks? Are the (security) agencies coordinating and are they being
forwarded relevant information?"
The court was hearing a PIL filed by a former
Bihar MLA, who has sought a probe into the circumstances leading to ATS chief
Hemant Karkare's death.
The petition was based on former inspector-general
of police S M Mushrif's book Who Killed Karkare, where he has blamed Hindu
extremists for the act.
The judges said they had read the book and
do not agree with the conclusions. But there are some issues raised in the
book that the state should answer.
The court pointed out six anomalies to the
authorities.
One. The book alleges that information was
forwarded by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) on November 19, 2008, about a suspicious
trawler entering India. But this was not passed on to the Maharashtra government
or the police.
Two. Intelligence agencies carried out surveillance
of 35 suspicious cell numbers; three of the SIM cards were bought in Maharashtra.
Though 284 calls were intercepted between the terrorists and their Pakistani
handlers, no calls were made to the terrorists at CST and Cama - Kasab and
Abu Ismail. Two of the SIM cards were traced to Satara. "What was the
result of the interrogations (of the persons who owned the SIM cards,"
the judges asked.
Three. Many of the CCTV cameras at CST were
not working during the attack. The number of cameras was 22 on the suburban
line platforms and 16 on the passenger train platforms.
Four. The Pradhan committee's queries to the
IB were stonewalled.
Five. One of the terrorists at Cama hospital,
who killed Karkare, was allegedly speaking Marathi. "If he was speaking
Marathi, he could not have come from Pakistan," the judges observed.
If intelligence inputs (about 26/11) were
not forwarded to the authorities, then there was a systemic failure. There
has to be accountability.
