Latest news with #Headley
New Indian Express
29-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Kochi Dialogues: 'Police will want at least 10k more personnel to handle workload,' says Loknath Behera
Another major contribution you made was starting an NIA office in Kochi... Was there any specific threat perception? Not really. When we started the NIA, we got more cases from Kerala, including that palm-chopping case, that Binanipuram case, the Kashmir case. If I am correctly remembering, of 20 cases we were investigating, 11 were from Kerala (rough estimate). At that time, we had only two offices — Delhi and Hyderabad. So, we decided to start a satellite office of the Hyderabad unit here. Subsequently, it became a full-fledged branch, or what's called a field office. It has served a good purpose. I can say with the help of ATS, which also I had started in Kerala, the state's security scenario is good. Wouldn't it have been alarming that such a high number of cases were coming up from one particular state? Kerala registers the maximum number of FIRs in the country. That's why some people say that it is the 'crime capital', but that's not the case. Here, if you go to the police station, they will register a case if it is an offence. But maybe in many places, they don't do it. When I used to go for DGPs' meetings, people used to remark: 'Hey, how many cases from Kerala! You are registering more cases than UP and MP…' I would say yes, and that I took pride in it. Similarly, it was the disposition of the people here that they wanted certain cases to be probed from a national security angle. So cases having national security implications were handed over to the NIA. Tahawwur Rana, wanted in the Mumbai attack case, is now in NIA custody. You were one of the officers who interrogated David Headley, who was one of the 26/11 conspirators... Headley was arrested by the Americans, the FBI. They investigated his role in a planned attack in Copenhagen. Then he was prosecuted for giving material support to the Mumbai attackers. But in that case, he got acquitted. But he made some revelations. We had a diplomatic victory by getting access to him. He told us most of the things that you people know now. The Headley interrogation report is in the public domain, and anybody can download that. He has not only talked about Mumbai, but he has also talked about many other things. So, that gave us a good perspective about terrorist networks. He spoke about Rana as well. We were unable to extradite Headley because he did a plea bargain as per American law. Now, Rana is a big catch. His interrogation is crucial. He might reveal something that we do not know already. What if Rana reveals he had somebody else who helped him? He came to stay, for example, in Kochi. He even put a job recruitment ad in a newspaper. Did Headley visit Kochi? No. The Abhimanyu murder happened when you were DGP. A student was stabbed to death on Maharaja's College campus, but the main accused has still not been caught… There were some rumours that he had fled India. That makes it complex. But if you see the record of Kerala police, culprits have been brought to justice even after 15 or 20 years. During your time as DGP, you had initiated concepts such as humanless and paperless police stations. What's the status of that? I was trying to replicate a model I saw in Dubai, where they have these smart police stations without manpower. I opened two here — one in Kochi and the other in Thiruvananthapuram. But they did not take off as people who go to the police want to physically talk to officers. Such innovations are needed. For example, we have over 900 panchayats. At present, we have about 500 police stations. So, ideally, another 400-450 stations are needed to match the people's aspirations. This is not easy. But we can use technology solutions. With the kind of internet connectivity in Kerala, the state will embrace this concept. Kochi recently saw a police crackdown on illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. How big is the issue? Most of the workers in Kerala, from petrol bunks to beauty parlours, are migrant labourers, or 'guest workers'. Kerala, to them, is how the Gulf has been for Malayalis. But the issue is when illegal immigrants enter in disguise. So the police should be alert. Now, the labour department is thinking of a digital registration system. These illegal immigrants manage to get fake documents, including Aadhaar cards.... That is a big story (smiles). Every system has got a flip side. This should not be happening, but the reality is that it does. The solution is to detect them and to take legal action.
Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
26/11 Mumbai terror attack: meet the new team of lawyers chosen to bring Tahawwur Rana to justice
The Centre on Thursday announced a team including Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor-General S V Raju to lead the National Investigation Agency's prosecution against Tahawwur Rana, who has been extradited from the US nearly 16 years after his arrest for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Last week, New Delhi's Patiala House Court sent Rana to judicial custody in Tihar Jail till June 6 after he was produced before Special NIA Judge Chander Jit Singh a day before his NIA custody ended. The NIA collected Rana's voice and handwriting samples before the judge. In a gazette notification issued on Thursday, Abhijit Sinha, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, said, 'In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 15 of the NIA, read with sub-section (8) of section 18 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, the Central Government hereby appoints a team of Special Public Prosecutors headed by Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India with S V Raju, Additional Solicitor General along with Dayan Krishnan, Senior Advocate and Narender Mann, Advocate (already notified as Special Public Prosecutors) for conducting trial and other matters related to NIA case RC 04/2009/NIA/DLI on behalf of the National Investigation Agency before the NIA Special Courts at Delhi, Hon'ble High Court of Delhi and Hon'ble Supreme Court of India for a period of three years from the date of publication of this notification or till the completion of trial of the said case, whichever is earlier, on the terms and conditions as prescribed in Department of Legal Affairs' notification dated October 1, 2015.' Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan and Special Public Prosecutor Narender Mann now represent the NIA before the Patiala House Court. Legal aid counsel Piyush Sachdev and Lakshya Dheer appeared for Rana. Rana, a close associate of 26/11 main conspirator David Coleman Headley, was brought to India on April 10 after his extradition from the US. Last month, the Centre formed a legal team headed by Krishnan, who is also considered an expert in extradition law and had led India's arguments for the extradition of Rana in a US court. He was also the special public prosecutor in the proceedings seeking the extradition of Headley, the Lashkar-e-Taiba scout for the 26/11 attacks, from the US. He was also part of a four-member team that visited Chicago to question Headley. Rana is accused of aiding and abetting the reconnaissance carried out by Headley, with whom he went to school in Pakistan, for the 26/11 attacks and of participating in the conspiracy by providing crucial logistical support to the attackers. Rana was arrested in Chicago in 2009, months after the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008, in which 166 people were killed. Mahender Singh Manral is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. He is known for his impactful and breaking stories. He covers the Ministry of Home Affairs, Investigative Agencies, National Investigative Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Agencies, Paramilitary Forces, and internal security. Prior to this, Manral had extensively reported on city-based crime stories along with that he also covered the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government for a decade. He is known for his knack for News and a detailed understanding of stories. He also worked with Mail Today as a senior correspondent for eleven months. He has also worked with The Pioneer for two years where he was exclusively covering crime beat. During his initial days of the career he also worked with The Statesman newspaper in the national capital, where he was entrusted with beats like crime, education, and the Delhi Jal Board. A graduate in Mass Communication, Manral is always in search of stories that impact lives. ... Read More
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
India DEMOLISHES Pakistan's Propaganda Machine, Exposes Propaganda Footage Post Op Sindoor
25 minutes, 9 Targets: How Operation Sindoor Destroyed Terror Camps Inside Pakistan, PoK Indian military has revealed the details of the Operation Sindoor, India's first tri-services operation since 1971, that struck terror camps in Pakistan and PoK. The Indian Army and Indian Air Force showed satellite imagery of the precision strikes carried out as a "proportionate response" to the Pahalgam Attack. The Army said terror camps where Kasab and Headley trained, have been taken out besides other LeT, Jaish and Hizbul camps. 859.8K views | 13 hours ago
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Putin's FIRST RESPONSE To Indian Strikes On Pak; 'Russia Against All Forms...'
25 minutes, 9 Targets: How Operation Sindoor Destroyed Terror Camps Inside Pakistan, PoK Indian military has revealed the details of the Operation Sindoor, India's first tri-services operation since 1971, that struck terror camps in Pakistan and PoK. The Indian Army and Indian Air Force showed satellite imagery of the precision strikes carried out as a "proportionate response" to the Pahalgam Attack. The Army said terror camps where Kasab and Headley trained, have been taken out besides other LeT, Jaish and Hizbul camps. 112.9K views | 4 hours ago
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
25 minutes, 9 Targets: How Operation Sindoor Destroyed Terror Camps Inside Pakistan, PoK
Indian military has revealed the details of the Operation Sindoor, India's first tri-services operation since 1971, that struck terror camps in Pakistan and PoK. The Indian Army and Indian Air Force showed satellite imagery of the precision strikes carried out as a "proportionate response" to the Pahalgam Attack. The Army said terror camps where Kasab and Headley trained, have been taken out besides other LeT, Jaish and Hizbul camps. Read More
