Author: Gaurav Kala
Publication: Times News Network
Date: September 27, 2001
NEW DELHI: Diplomatic niceties prevented
the Delhi Police from questioning an African diplomat suspected to be involved
in Osama Bin Laden's thwarted plan to blow up the US embassy here. The
diplomat, suspected to be an intelligence agent, has since left India.
In June, the Delhi Police had arrested
several people, including a Sudanese student, Abdel Raouf Hawash, for allegedly
plotting to blow up the US embassy. The police suspected Hawash was part
of Osama bin Laden's organisation, Al Qaida, and was being controlled by
two of Laden's associates. While one of the controllers was identified
as Abdul Rehman Al Safani, the other was said to be a first secretary in
an African nation's mission here.
When the diplomat's name surfaced,
the Delhi Police wrote to the Centre, seeking permission to question him.
The Centre did not reply for several days. During this time, the diplomat
left India. The police were never told why the Centre did not answer.
Questioning of the diplomat could
have provided crucial leads, considering the FBI had asked Indian authorities
to share intelligence about the attempted attack. But more important, the
diplomat could have helped identify the elusive Abdul Rehman Al Safani.
"The FBI later stated they suspected
Al Safani was also involved in the attack on USS Cole. During questioning
Hawash said Al Safani had claimed that he had not only been part of the
attack on USS Cole but was also part of the teams that attacked US embassies
in Africa in 1998," a source said.
The FBI has revealed the Al Safani,
probably not his real name, was travelling on a forged German passport
and had made several trips to India. "Investigations suggested that the
last trip was made in February this year. He offered Hawash an astronomical
sum if the attack on the embassy was a success. It would have been a major
achievement if Al Safani's identity could have been established," the sources
added.
Since the police had managed to
bust bin Laden's Indian network, the next logical step would have been
to question the diplomat to identify people who were running the operation
from abroad.
Sources said Hawash had told the
police he had met a minister of the diplomat's government in a hotel. Though
the minister was also identified, the police could not establish his role
in the conspiracy. "Hawash told the police that the minister had asked
him to try and recruit nuclear scientists to work for them. The diplomat
could possibly have provided more information about the minister as well,"
the source said.
The diplomat allegedly had knowledge
of the operation's finances. "His questioning would have helped establish
the source of the money and the manner in which it was being moved to finance
the strike at the embassy," the source said.