Terrorists did recee,set up control rooms in luxury hotels

Mumbai, Nov.27 (PTI) Terrorists who struck Mumbai had set up advance "Control Rooms" in the luxury Taj and Trident(Oberoi) hotels which was also targeted and did prior reconnaisance executing plans worked "over months", Union Cabinet minister Kapil Sibal said tonight.
Sibal said the unprecedented terror attack in the country's financial capital was planned "over months" and the terrorists were not carrying AK-47 rifles but sophisticated weapons like MP-6.

"The terrorists have identified the targets earlier. Somebody had told them earlier. Enormous planning went into the incident. The terrorists were dropped by a mother ship and travelled in rubber boats which they docked (at Mumbai)," Sibal told CNBC.

Terrorists were not attacking people at random. It was a well though out plan, Sibal said.

They had targeted certain key police officers even when they were wearing vests and protective head gears, he said, adding the terrorists shot them dead within minutes of their arrival.

As security agencies pieced together various leads in the probe on India's worst ever terror strike, there were reports that a likely marine arm of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba may have been involved in the well-planned attacks that left 125 persons dead.

The Union Home Ministry said the terrorists chose the sea route and came to the city in boats before spreading out in the metropolis to carry out the sinister strike.

The assessment by the Centre as Mumbai continued to be under siege for the second day came amid reports that the leader of the armed terrorists involved in the attack was killed by his own men. PTI

Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar, Ashok Kamte, 3 top cops dead

Three police officers, including chief of ATS Hemant Karkare, encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar and additional commissioner Ashok Kamte succumbed to their injuries in Wednesday's terror attack.

Karkare, IPS officer of the 1982 batch, had served in RAW for nine years and was made the ATS chief in January this year. He had solved the serial bomb blasts in Thane, Vashi and Panvel. The credit for the stunning revelations in the investigation of the September 29 blast in Malegaon goes to his credit. Karkare is known for his discipline and fair investigation. During the Malegaon investigation, Karkare had told his officers not to create false evidence, saying, "We have done our job and it is for the court to decide."

Vijay Salaskar, officer of the 1983 batch, had till recently killed around 75 dreaded criminals in police encounters. After being out of the spotlight for quite sometime, the encounter specialist was given the plum posting of heading the anti-extortion wing of the crime branch.

Ashok Kamte was the DCP, Zone 1, in Mumbai and was also the key officer in state police. He had also served as the commissioner of Solapur and was always known to be in the thick of action.

Mumbai Terror Attack: Deccan Mujahideen claims responsibility

Another terror attack and another new outfit. An unheard of outfit called as the Deccan Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks in Mumbai.

The brand new outfit took nearly six hours to claim responsibility for the attack. Intelligence Bureau officials says that the Deccan Mujahideen is an unheard of outfit.

The IB however does not rule out groups like the SIMI [Images] or its version 2 the Indian Mujahideen [Images] to be operating in another name. The modus operandi is very similar to what the SIMI had done earlier. When the heat was stepped up on the outfit, it had revamped into the Indian Mujahideen. This seems like a similar ploy considering the fact the heat was stepped up on the Indian Mujahideen say IB sources.

The key to the details of this outfit will depend on the interrogation of the nine youth who have been detained by the police. The IB says that every time a new outfit is floated there is a tendency of doing something big so that the world sits up and takes notice.

Even in this case, the terrorists wanted to gain a lot of attention and hence the target was obviously the foreign nationals. Eye witnesses pointed out that the terrorist who were holed up in the Oberoi hotel in Mumbai had specifically asked for American and British nationals. The terrorists repeatedly asked the tourist for their nationality and depending on their answer they were taken hostage.

The IB says for newer outfits which branch out of older ones it is necessary to create and impact since it only helps bring in more funds. The new outfit, Deccan Mujahideen is following a similar pattern as was followed by the Indian Mujahideen.The IM too followed a similar pattern in the beginning by carrying out bold attacks coupled with a lot of arrogance.

Mumbai terror attack: ATS chief Hemant Karkare dead

ATS (Anti Terror Squad) chief Hemant Karkare (in the center of the above pic, wearing helmet), two senior police officers and 78 others were killed when terrorists struck with impunity in Mumbai on Wednesday night in coordinated multiple blasts and gunfire in a dozen areas including at iconic landmarks CST railway station and two five star hotels--Oberoi
and Taj.

Karkare (54), who is probing the Malegaon blasts case, was gunned down when he was leading an operation at Hotel Taj against terrorists who had taken 15 people, including seven foreigners, as hostages. He was hit by three bullets in his chest. One MP Krishan Das and 200 people were stranded in Taj hotel.

Another IPS officer Ashok Marutirao Kamte, a 1989 batch IPS officer, was killed while fighting terrorists at Metro Cinema in the city along with encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar who also gunned down as one of the worst terror strikes brought Mumbai to the knees.

Army moved in to assist local police in flushing out terrorists holed up in Taj and Oberoi hotels. 200 NSG commandoes were also rushed to Mumbai.

As indiscriminate firing and explosions at iconic landmarks showed no signs of easing since the first attack at Leopold restaurant in Colaba area at about 9.30 PM, hospitals like GT and Cama where gunfire was reported were also targeted. Police and eyewitnesses said AK-47s, rifles and hand grenades were used at will by an unspecified number of terrorists.

Sixty bodies and over 200 persons injured were brought at St George's Hospital, hospital sources said. Seven bodies were brought to GT hospital while two bodies were brought to Cooper hospital. Four bodies were brought to Mumbai hospital.

A little known outfit "Deccan Mujahideen" claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Mumbai terror attack: Blasts and firing in Mumbai

The city which never sleeps was brought to its knees on Wednesday night as it came under an unprecedented multiple terror attack bringing areas from the South to the North of the metropolis under its grip.

As the siren blazing Toyota Qualis of the Mumbai police blazed passed, people could be seen running helter skelter, at times even crawling to save themselves from at least five near-simultaneous firings and explosions rocking areas in the vicinity of posh hotels in South Mumbai.

Even as heavily armed police stormed into Taj Hotel, just opposite Gateway of India where suspected terrorists were still holed up, blood soaked guests could be seen carried out into the waiting ambulances.

Bellboys could be seen rushing the injured out on luggage trolleys.

The scene at the nearby Trident hotel was more horrific as the glasses lay shattered on the ground even as fire could be seen raging out of the lobby.

Windshields of cars parked nearby had broken because of suspected bomb being set off at the hotel.

At the crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal (CST) railway station, hordes of mediaperson could be seen jostling for space as the area was cordoned off with no media being allowed near it even as an encounter went on inside.

Armed with AK-47 rifles and grenades, a couple of terrorists had entered the passenger hall of crowded railway station and opened fire and threw a grenade killing two to three persons on the spot.

The busy city which is known for its night life wore a deserted look as shops closed down even as police wearing bullet-proof jackets could be seen frisking people in fear of terrorists taking advantage of the chaos to escape.

Man arrested for bigamy, cheating women

Times News Network

Mumbai: A serial groom was brought to book after his third wife learnt about his previous marriages during their honeymoon and informed the police. Nitin Joshi alias Vidyadhar Phatak (38) was recently arrested by the MHB colony police in Borivli on charges of cheating and bigamy. Police suspect that Phatak, who is employed with a cellphone service provider, splurged his wives’ money.

They are probing if he has cheated other women too.

According to the police, Phatak met the complainant, Kalpana Parab on a matrimonial site on the internet. Kalpana (38) works for a private insurance company. Phatak introduced himself as Nitin Joshi to her and after a two-month courtship, they decided to tie the knot.

“The couple got married on December 13. Phatak also borrowed Rs 70,000 from Kalpana’s parents, saying he had to pay a deposit on a room he had rented for the two,’’ said an official. The couple went to Mahabaleshwar for their honeymoon.

Meanwhile, Phatak’s second wife, Vidula, who lives in Nala Sopara, was trying to contact him. She called up his office and was given a landline number in Ghatkopar. “When Vidula called the number, she was told it was the residence of Phatak’s in-laws. She told them Phatak was already married to her and had left home on work,’’ the officials said. Kalpana’s family immediately called her back from Mahabaleshwar.

On returning, Kalpana was shocked to learn that Phatak had also been married to another woman, Anagha, before Vidula. Anagha lived in Nagpur and had a 9-yearold son from Phatak.

“Vidula was a widow and had two children from her deceased husband when Phatak met her. When Phatak was planning to marry Kalpana, he told Vidula he had to go to Nagpur to settle some financial matters,’’ the official said.

The police found documents on Phatak which identify him as Nitin Joshi. “Phatak has confessed to having been married in the past but hiding this fact from Kalpana. His modus operandi was to befriend vulnerable women, usually those savings, and marry them with an intent of cheating them,” said senior PI N Sambatwad.

Kingfisher Airlines hit by Rs 17 cr fraud through credit cards

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: Kingfisher airlines on Wednesday complained to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the city crime branch of an online ticket booking fraud through credit cards saying the airline was duped to the tune of Rs 17 crore. The EOW suspect a nationwide organised racket behind the fraud.

This is the first time an airline has lodged a fraud complaint. In most cases, the bank whose credit cards are used lodges a complaint.

The airline handed over an application to the top cops of the EOW who asked the banking unit to probe the matter. Documents submitted by the airline say that they were charged back Rs 17 crore from the banks. According to sources, usually when the amount involved in the fraud case is not very high, subsidiary banks charge back the amount to big banks. However, in this case ICICI Bank has charged the amount back to Kingfisher.

"The accused book tickets online using credit card numbers mostly obtained from some restaurant, petrol pump or shopping mall employee,’’ an officer said. They then sell the tickets at a discount. A middle man, a commission agent and many others are also involved. We suspect the involvement of an organised syndicate in the matter.’’ EOW sources said that online tickets for Kingfisher were booked from various parts of the country including Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, New Delhi etc.

Officials of the airline met the police in the crime branch near Crawford Market on Wednesday and were asked to furnish documents of all the transactions and credit card numbers. “The transactions in this case took place between July 2005 and November 2006,’’ said a police officer. The police have also asked the airline to produce the exact amount of fraud in the Mumbai jurisdiction. A formal FIR is yet to be registered, sources said.