Paper No. 5403 Dated 21-Feb-2013
By B. Raman
Eleven persons are reported to have been killed and over 20 injured in two well-timed explosions in the Dilsukhnagar area of Hyderabad around 7 PM on February 21,2013.
2. Initial reports indicated that one of the improvised explosive devices had been placed in a cycle or motor-bike and the other inside a tiffin box.These reports are yet to be confirmed. The two blasts appear to have been well-timed and not remote-controlled.
3.I do not so far see any sign of sophistication in the assembly of the IEDs and the synchronization of the blasts. There are no reports of any crater on the ground.If a powerful explosive material had been used, there would have been craters at the place where the IEDs had been placed.
4.The deaths and injuries seem to have been caused by the power of the blasts and not by the use of any projectiles such as nails, bicycle ball-bearings etc.When an IED is placed in a cycle or motor-bike, there would naturally be projectiles in the form of the splinters, but no other projectile has been discovered.
5.Reports of damages to nearby buildings also do not indicate the use of any powerful explosive material. The timer might have been of a conventional nature in the form of a mechanical ( with a clock attachment) or chemical device.
6.Two timed IEDs of this nature could have been easily assembled and planted by one or two terrorists. The involvement of a large team is unlikely.
7.The limited geographical area of the blasts also rules out the involvement of a large team of terrorists.The objective of the perpetrators was obviously to cause fatalities as an act of reprisal.
8.The indications till now are that the two blasts are the handiwork of locals who were in a position to assemble the devices quickly and use them.
9.Till more evidence is forthcoming, it would be advisable not to speculate on the motive and the possible identity of the perpetrators.
( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi. Twitter @SORBONNE75 )
http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/node/1174
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Hyderabad blasts bring focus back on National Counter-Terrorism CentreHyderabad blasts bring focus back on National Counter-Terrorism Centre
INDIA TODAY ONLINE | New Delhi, February 22, 2013 | 14:11
Hyderabad blast site.
Thursday's Hyderabad blasts, which claimed 16 lives and left several others injured, have led to a fresh debate on the issue of proposed National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC).
The NCTC was a brainchild of then home minister P. Chidambaram, but its constitution was deferred indefinitely following strong opposition from various states, particularly those ruled by non-Congress parties.
Advocating the setting up of NCTC, Congress spokesperson Renuka Chaudhary said, "Parliament should take an adequate stand for security. National security is not for one person. If it means NCTC then have it."
Senior Congress leader Satyavarat Chaturvedi said, "We cannot ignore security because of our personal issue. There was a discussion to establish NCTC, an anti-terrorist organisation in India. It could not be fulfilled unfortunately yet. We should stand united."
Emphasising on an urgent need for the NCTC, Union Minister Salman Khurshid said, "It's a matter of concern for all of political class. Stop looking at small political gains and decide on larger political goal."
BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar rubbished Congress's emphasis on the urgency for NCTC, saying, "Here NCTC is not an issue. There was specific information, but the government failed to act."
Senior BJP leader Balbir Punj blamed the Congress for going slow on terror by repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA).
"Congress has been interested in vote bank politics. They have sent a wrong message. Fight against terror gets compromised. They repealed POTA. But any anti-terror mechanism is welcome. Country doesn't have the resolve. It is not about shrill but resolve," he said.
Opposing NCTC, Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay said, "Government will have to work out a consensus and not debate over the issue of setting up such a centre which supersedes federal structure."
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/hyderabad-blasts-national-counter-terrorism-centre/1/251288.html
Indian Mujahideen chief Yasin Bhatkal had slipped out of Kolkata Police's hands 3 years ago
ASHISH KHETAN | New Delhi, February 22, 2013 | 18:19
Policemen at the site of twin blasts in Hyderabad.Thursday's twin blasts in Hyderabad and many other major terror attacks in India could have been avoided had the West Bengal Police not have let the mastermind of these incidents- Indian Mujahideen(IM) chief Yasin Bhatkal- go as a petty criminal more than three years ago.
Headlines Today has learnt from intelligence sources that the founder of the home-grown terror outfit was arrested in Kolkata in late 2009, but was let off after a few days after being put behind the bars in a fake currency case.
The expose comes as one of India's biggest intelligence botch-ups as Bhatkal has emerged as the primary suspect in not just the latest Hyderabad blasts , but is also the key accused in Pune's German Bakery blast three years ago and a year-and-a-half later in Delhi.
The Kolkata Police had arrested Bhatkal alias Ahmed Siddibappa when they busted a fake currency racket. However, Bhatkal identified himself as Mohammed Ashraf from Darbhanga district in Bihar.
He told police that he was waiting for a consignment of fake currencies from Bangladesh and was able to convince them. When the consignment did not arrive, the police booked Bhatkal for theft and sent him to Kolkata's Alipore Jail.
The Kolkata Police failed to confirm Bhatkal's real identity even as he was lodged in jail for a month. However, they were left kicking themselves after they realised their mistake after surveying the footage from German Bakery blast, which took place on February 13, 2010 and claimed 17 lives.
The Pune blast took place hardly a month after Bhatkal's release from the Kolkata prison. As per the footage, Bhatkal himself planted a bomb that blew up the popular eatery.
Further confirmation of the Kolkata Police's blunder came from IM operative Mohammed Salman during his interrogation in Delhi Police's custody.
Bhatkal allegedly conspired the blast outside the Delhi High Court on September 7, 2011 in which 12 people were killed.
The man responsible for hundreds of deaths in India slipped through India's hands just because the Kolkata Police had no relevant details about Bhatkal. Clearly, lack of coordination between Centre and states is responsible for the failure, which is still costing India dear.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indian-mujahideen-chief-yasin-bhatkal-had-slipped-out-of-kolkata-polices-hands-3-years-ago/1/251366.html
Hyderabad blasts: Blame game over intelligence inputs, IM under scanner
PTI | Feb 22, 2013, 09.46 PM IST
HYDERABAD: A blame game over intelligence inputs erupted on after the twin bomb blasts here as the role of banned militant outfit Indian Mujahideen was being increasingly suspected by probe agencies who got some "leads". The death toll in the blasts in a crowded area at Dilsukhnagar on Thursday night rose to 16 with the number of injured being put at 117 even as the multi-agency investigative teams combed the blast sites at Dilsukhnagar rocked by near simultaneous explosions.
All but one of the dead were men. Eight CCTVs installed in the area were of no use for the investigators pinning hopes on them for evidence as they malfunctioned. Union home ministry sources denied that the CCTV wires were snapped by the perpetrators of the attack. Forensic experts who collected evidence from the blasts site submitted a preliminary report indicating that ammonium nitrate were used in the bombs, which were planted in tiffin boxes and fitted to two bicycles, police sources said.
"This is an explosive mix in which aluminum sharpeners were added to nails and iron pieces used to create more impact," a forensic expert noted. Investigators were also looking for a timer device. Cyberabad Police commissioner Dwaraka Tirumala Rao said they had gathered enough clues about those involved but added the information could not be divulged.
He denied having "detained" anyone in connection with the case. Nothing has been officially said but the accusing finger in the case is being pointed towards the IM that has an "established network" in Hyderabad.
The modus operandi in strapping improvised explosive device (IED) to bicycles was similar to blasts triggered by IM in the past. Hyderabad along with Bangalore, Coimbatore and Hubli were specifically alerted by the central security agencies about possible attacks by Pakistan-based terrorist groups to avenge the hanging of Mumbai attack convict Ajmal Kasab and Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
Apart from a general advisory sent to all states on February 19, Union home ministry officials said the specific information about possible attacks was shared with authorities in the four cities on Thursday morning. Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said all states were alerted about a possible terror strike by militant groups.
However, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy had said those were general alerts which often keep coming from the Centre. It has also emerged that two of the alleged IM operatives arrested by Delhi Police for their involvement in Pune blasts last year did a recce of Dilsukhnagar on a motorcycle in July 2012.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hyderabad-blasts-Blame-game-over-intelligence-inputs-IM-under-scanner/articleshow/18633029.cms?prtpage=1