Delhi Blast a View Part 2

Investigators believe that the blasts were meant to be a reminder of the ones in Mumbai in 1993, thereby indicating a far too obvious-for-comfort Pakistan-connection. The Mumbai blasts and the latest one in Delhi are similar in execution, aimed at fuelling communal tensions and even the explosive used RDX may be the same.

In Sarojini Market, the bomb was placed near a gas cylinder for maximum effect and in the DTC bus the seat where the bag was kept is said to be above the CNG cylinders. Iron nails and screws were packed into the bomb, a feature of the explosives used in Mumbai in 1993. (In the first major success in an extradition battle, the CBI today brought back one of India's most wanted terrorists Abu Salem, a prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts along with his girl-friend Monica Bedi after a three-year legal process in Portugal.)

But, in the Mumbai blasts, Dawood Ibrahim’s and Tiger Memon’s boys made crucial mistakes and a grenade went off accidentally in a vehicle carrying explosives. In the Parliament attack, the cell phones found on the body of one of the dead led the Special Cell to the others. This time the Delhi Police, with no specific clues, have adopted the only strategy they are left with: sweep every inch of the floor. On the night of the blast, the police called for dossiers of criminals linked with Kashmir-based groups and visited Zakir Nagar, a Muslim-majority locality near Jamia Milia University, for information about new tenants.

The walled city also had visitors from the Special Cell. More than 20 Kashmiri youths were taken for interrogation to the Civil Lines camp, but, Special Cell, denied having detained them. In-between, Kashmir-based Islamic Inqilab Mehaz claimed responsibility for the blasts. This group was set up in 1996 with Lashkar-e-Toiba connections. They dint take there words seriously. A possible lead is some cell phone numbers, which were active in the blast sites minutes before the incident. Some of these calls were made to Pakistan. One immediate lead was a man in Saharanpur in western Uttar Pradesh who had made a call to Pakistan. But it turned out that he had a relative there.

The suspect: Mohammad Nawab holding the police sketch


The police are checking whether LeT militant Mohammed Arif’s conviction in the Red Fort attack case the same week was the provocation for the blasts; the Intelligence Bureau and the Special Cell have questioned Arif and his wife. Investigators are interrogating a Mohammad Nawab, who allegedly resembles the police sketch of the man who left the bomb in the bus. This case might take some time to crack. What is worrying is that with terrorists still at large, the possibility of a second wave cannot be ruled out.


On 8th November Police and intelligence authorities in Jammu and Kashmir said they have made the first substantial breakthrough in investigations of the October 29 serial bombing of New Delhi.

Ghulam Mohammad Mohiuddin, an alleged Hizb-ul-Mujahideen operative from the Banihal area of the district of Doda, was detained by troops of the 12 Rashtriya Rifles in a search operation on Sunday. Police and intelligence authorities brought him to Jammu late on Monday night for interrogation. Mohiuddin told to Police that a Banihal area Hizb ul-Mujahideen commander, Abdul Hamid, assigned him to the New Delhi operation. Mohiuddin told his interrogators that his services were requisitioned by the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which said it needed someone familiar with the capital to aid an ongoing operation.

When the Earthquake attack the Kashmir and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Army and Police of India and Pakistan told all terrorist were died in Quack, what happened now?

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Yesterday also The Al-Qaeda Terrorist done a serial bomb blast that targeted three U.S. owned hotels in Amman, Jordan, killed 57 persons and injuring 300 more.

Delhi Blast a View Part 1

It is a big post, so I separate it in Part 1 & 2.

Investigators tracking the Delhi blasts have realized that they are up against the best in the business. The three blasts that rocked the capital on October 29 were perhaps the cleanest leaving almost no clues serial bomb blasts in India. The police do not have a single lead to the culprits.

Synchronized bombing made the work of the police difficult. The bombs went off in three places, the police had to deal with too many other things than catching the criminals. They had to search for explosives at other locations, attend hoax calls, take the injured to hospital and also maintain order in other crowded parts of the city. The city went into panic mode, the terrorists made a quiet exit. Cell phone networks in blast affected areas Pahargunj and Sarojini Nagar were disrupted minutes after the blast. The Delhi Police had jammed the networks so that the bombers would not be able to contact their team members. Given that the lead-time the time the bomber had to escape after planting the bomb was suspected to be about 10 to 20 minutes, the police assumed that the terrorists were in the vicinity of the blasts. The priority was to prevent further incidents that night.

The Pahargunj and Sarojini Market are two of the most congested places in Delhi; it was difficult for people to recall having seen anyone suspicious. These are places where you have to wedge between the people in front of you to move on. The Sarojini Market and Pahargunj investigations seem to be leading towards dead-ends. The police believe the explosives were kept in a cycle-rickshaw in Pahargunj and inside a fruit-juice shop in the heart of Sarojini Market. In Govindpuri (third bomb blast area), the terrorists made a mistake. A third bomber (since the blasts happened in quick succession, it is believed that they were planted by three persons) had boarded a DTC bus and kept a bag on a seat.

When conductor asked him to take a ticket, the man quickly got out. Seeing an unattended bag on the seat, conductor became suspicious and took it to the driver. Driver, who saw wires inside, threw it out of the window immediately. The bomb went off, critically injuring him. The Special Cell sought the help of a passenger who supposedly sat near the bomber and the conductor to draw a portrait of the suspect. By then, three days had passed. The police admit the portrait is not accurate as none of the passengers or the conductor had a good look at the suspect.

Forensic science too did not help much in providing leads. Sources said that only pieces of the battery used in the detonators were found at the blast scene, though bomb squads from the National Security Guard scanned the area for two days. The explosive used is suspected to be RDX but police are not sure. Electronic timers are said to have been used.

Investigators believe that the blasts were… (Continue tomorrow)

Narayanan Passed

The 83 year-old Former President of India, K.R.Narayanan died in Army’s Research and Referral Hospital, Delhi, today morning. He went to coma for a week. Let his soul rest in Peace.



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Will the Bird Flu affect India?. Is below.

Will the Bird Flu affect India?

India prepares for a possible avian flu outbreak as migratory birds fly in.


The Kadris love to eat chicken daily. But with reports of the possibility of migratory birds bringing the avian flu virus to India and infecting poultry, they are fighting temptation. "Dry chicken is what is eaten these days. Now Kadris eat chicken only once a week.

Well-cooked meat won’t carry the virus H5N1 anyway. What Kadris should avoid is close contact with infected birds, their droppings or the air contaminated with faecal vapours. Kadris is only being extra cautious, like many others around the world these days, in case the virus should jump from birds to humans and trigger a pandemic. Like in 1957, when the H2N2 strain emerged in China and killed around 7,50,000 people worldwide, or In 1968, when the H3 strain showed up in Hong Kong and claimed 7,00,000 lives around the world.

Though some experts believe it may not happen because the virus might become less lethal after mutation, around 30 nations met recently in Canada to discuss the preparedness. In India, 3,207 blood and faecal samples of poultry from various states, sent to the High Security Animal Diseases Laboratory in Bhopal, India, from July to September, have tested negative. But with migratory birds starting to descend on the country, testing times are ahead for the government, which has set up an inter-ministerial task force to watch out and ensure availability of medicine. Government cannot wait for the outbreak to happen, they are coming out with a national strategy as per WHO codes.

Having warned all the Indian states, the government is monitoring 50 bird sanctuaries. So far they have not found any sign of the virus. They are working with the Bombay National History Society. Government are asked to report sick or dead birds, there is a little early to predict as India gets avian visitors till May. The danger areas are the eastern borders and the Himalayan range. While birds coming from China could be a cause for concern for the northeastern states, Siberian birds from Europe could pose danger for Kashmir. In Gujarat, which has five bird sanctuaries and over 20 big wetlands, bar-headed geese, which are believed to carry the virus, could show up in mid-November. The three species great cormorant, great black-headed gull and great brown-headed gull that come to Gujarat will also be watched. Bird watchers and farmers in the state have been told to report to the forest department if birds are found dull and shivering.

However, the Food and Agriculture Organization has discouraged their killing or destruction of their habitats. Destruction, authorities say, would disperse the population but not reduce the risk or change the course of the avian flu infection in poultry. The Bhopal lab has devised a method of testing by scanning the droppings

where the virus can survive for 105 days at temperatures less than 25 degrees C.
Were the flu to spread, experts fear India would be short of vaccines, drugs, hospitals and doctors. There is no specific medicine available, say Doctors. Vaccines are also not fully available in India. Symptomatic treatment is what they can give depending on cough or high-grade fever. Treatments are depending on the quantum of exposure, virulence of the virus and the person’s resistance. Though India is reportedly developing a vaccine, current treatment is to administer neuraminidase (a viral protein that helps release new virus particles from the host human cell) inhibitors, oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir. Since Tamiflu manufacturer Roche has no product patent on the drug in India, there are no legal hurdles for Indian companies to make a generic version of the drug. Other nations, too, are looking at making the drug as the WTO, in 2003, has allowed governments to overrule patents during health crises.

India has banned imports of poultry and poultry products from infected countries. Government set up border check posts and posted quarantine officers at airports. Meat-sellers hope that the avian visitors won’t upset business. So far no virus has been reported even among the birds, and World Health Organization has given a thumbs-up to India’s preparedness. Still, keep your fingers crossed.

New York Marathon 6th November 2005

Known as one of the finest marathons in the world, this is one not to be missed! This truly fabulous marathon is renowned world wide for its overall cosmopolitan buzz and the great atmosphere of its pre and post race celebrations.

Whether you're a first time marathon runner, an old hand or if you just need an excuse to visit one of the most exciting cities in the world then this challenge is for you!