Bombay Bulletin Since 1909 Open to all Parties, but influenced by none MUMBAI, SEPTMBER 11, 2010 SATURDAY PRICE `. 1 www.bombaybulletin.co.in Kalimuddin Khan (l) and Hafij Sarif,believed to be HuJI members,were being tracked by IB for a week before they disappeared late on Thursday night WE LOST THEM: IBS SOS THAT SPARKED PANIC Intelligence agencies forced cops to put Mumbai on high alert on eve of festivities after the two terror suspects went off the radar Two Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) terrorists on the loose in Mumbai on the eve of Ganesh festival,one of the city's most loved and messiest extrav- aganzas,is not an easy news to break to a city scarred so badly by terror at- tacks. But after hours of nerve-wracking dis- cussions that began sometime around noon at Varsha,the CMs resi- dence,the state's top political brass and seniormost police officers de- cided there was no alternative. The two men described by Joint Com- missioner of Police (crime) Himanshu Roy as "foreign nationals"who had entered the city to "cause disruption at crowded and religious places" were being tracked by central intelligence agencies and Mumbai police for over a week.However,late on Thursday night,the agencies suddenly lost them. To convey the HuJI militants'identities to the media was a desperate move to deter the duo from going ahead with its plan. Sources said the two terrorists Kalimuddin Khan alias Rameshwar Pandit,28,a Pakistani citizen;and Hafij Sarif,25,a Bangladeshi national,en- tered Mumbai a week back through the Bangladesh border.Their move- ments were constantly. The agencies kept them untouched so that they could be arrested in the final stages of their plan in possession of arms and explosives.Only Mumbai police's top brass was kept in the loop and a Crime Branch unit was put on the job to tail them. However,panic struck when on Thurs- day night,just 48 hours from Eid and Ganesh festival,the agencies lost track of the duo.A desperate search was launched to get the two back on radar.However,neither human intelli- gence nor surveillance apparatus threw up any clues. On Friday morning,in a desperate measure,the agencies contacted Mumbai police and threw their hands up.An IB officer said,"Both had en- tered India through Bangladesh and had been on our watch since then.We didn't expect to lose track of them right before the festival." With agencies giving up on the chase,Mumbai police too pushed the panic button and informed the state government."Intelligence agencies have far better resources.When they gave up,we didn't know what to do.With two big festivals staring us in our face,we had very few options,"said a Mumbai police officer. In the afternoon,a meeting was held at CMs residence.It was attended by senior police officers and Chief Minis- ter Ashok Chavan and Home Minister R R Patil. It was decided at the meeting that the agencies had little time to embark upon any fresh initiative to trace the suspects and that it was imperative to let the people know of the danger ahead.It was also believed,said sources,that disclosing the identity of the suspects to the media would deter the two from going ahead with their plans,at least for the time being. An officer said,"This is only the sec- ond time in the history of city's polic- ing that people have been informed of such a thing.We always get inputs around festival time of disruptive ac- tivities being planned by terror ele- ments but never tell people as it will create panic.Intelligence agencies merely keep a watch on the suspects and do not touch them until they are about to do something." The only instance of such a desper- ate disclosure was on December 31,2002,when the then Crime Branch DCP Pradeep Sawant held a press conference and informed people through the media that two suspects were planning a blast at the Gateway of India and that people should avoid going there. CALL 22633333/ 22625020 IF YOU see anyone who looks like the suspects,call the city police on the above listed numbers.Cops received two calls within two hours on Friday. At 6.45 pm,an Atul Agrawal informed police that he had seen one of the suspected terrorists at Churchgate Station.Fifteen minutes later,police re- ceived another call from a Pranay Kumar saying he too had seen a sus- pect at Chhatrapati Shivaji Interna- tional Airport.
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