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While demanding the extradition of 20 criminals and terrorists from Pakistan, India has provided Interpol with red-comer notices and details of the crimes committed by them, along with their fake names and Pakistani passports.
The evidence relating to the 20 was provided by India to the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi on January 18, and includes case sheets along with the red-corner notices as well as a two-page covering letter seeking their arrest and a request to hand them in to India. The case sheets provided by the Indian authorities contain details of crimes and in some cases specific details of travel and flight plans, the Pakistan Observer reported on Thursday.
New Delhi will also seek the extradition of Dubai-based under-world don Aftab Ansari, who has claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack on the American Center in Kolkata, minister of state for external affairs Omar Abdullah said. “The government will request the United Arab Emirates authorities to hand over Ansari since India has an extradition treaty with them,” Mr Abdullah said.
The home ministry team, led by special secretary A.K. Bhandari, which returned from Kolkata on Wednesday, has submitted its report on Tuesday’s shootout outside the American center.
According to official sources, the four-page report indicates that “causing terror” was the motive of the crime and that it was linked to Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence besides involving Dubai and Pakistan based underworld figures.
“Obviously, it was not a revenge killing emanating out of inter-gang rivalry. Why should they shoot policemen, and that too only in front of the American Center? It is clearly a symbolic attack, which a frustrated terrorist outfit has tried to execute,” a senior government official said.
Giving details of the incident as it happened and as was reported by the local authorities, the report also indicates the slackness with which the local police authorities had handled the situation. Sources also said that it also mentioned the handicaps faced by the state security apparatus, such as lack of modern weapons.
The report broadly indicates the various leads on which a joint team of security experts has been working. The linkages under investigation range from Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh to Bihar and West Bengal. There are many external ramifications. Since investigations are still under way, the report does not make any definite statement about the nature of the crime, sources said.
The report was submitted to home minister L.K. Advani on Thursday and top central authorities were going through it, sources added.
Following up on the stepped-up cooperation between India and the U.S. and Washington’s promise of help to New Delhi in combating terrorism, the CBI has forwarded to the home ministry a list of 21 persons wanted for crimes here and known to be based or visiting the U.S.
Interpol has issued red-corner notices
against them and the home ministry will forward the list to the FBI for
action, CBI sources said on Thursday. “We would not be surprised if the
FBI investigations show that some of these fugitives have links with Al
Qaida or other such terrorist groups,” said a CBI official.
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