Gulail Expose – The Squad’s Fall Guys

The Maharashtra ATS persists with the prosecution of 13 innocent Muslims by keeping the evidence of their innocence from the court. Ashish Khetan exposes a sinister conspiracy of the men in uniform.Additional reporting by Thufail PT Not one but two acts of terror visited us on July 11th 2006. The first was inflicted by those who planted seven deadly bombs on suburban trains in Mumbai, snuffing out 188 innocent lives. The second, invisible but equally insidious, was unleashed in its aftermath. It was those sworn to uphold the rule of law, to be fair and just who launched a systematic programme of Muslim persecution.In the name of combating terror, the Mumbai police and its specialized anti-terror squad (the ATS), tortured, humiliated and stripped at least twenty innocent Muslims of all their basic human rights. Their right to live with dignity, their right to be a Muslim, their right to earn an honest living—was mercilessly taken away in one fell swoop. Waterboarding, administration of chemicals through veins and anus, giving electric shock to their private parts, sleep deprivation, threat of raping family members were among some of the techniques of coercion that were applied to extract false confessions. In the course of its investigations Gulail is putting out internal documents running into hundreds of pages that exposes how the anti-terror agencies deliberately misled the Indian Courts, how material facts are being concealed from both the public and the judiciary and how different versions of the same terror plot are touted before different courts. Our expose establishes how the Maharashtra ATS selectively picked and chose from the revelations made in a subsequent terror investigation. This was done to retrospectively validate the bogus 7/11 train blasts investigation. These documents reveal how one version of a terror conspiracy was circulated for the internal consumption of the agencies and another for the judiciary. This investigation by Gulail exposes the false implication of innocent and disempowered Muslims in crimes they never committed. It lays bare the sinister and elaborate conspiracy of the Maharashtra ATS of manufacturing bogus evidence, planting explosives in the houses of innocent accused and dressing up stoolpigeons as eyewitnesses. It shows that the Maharashtra ATS’s investigation was guided by a deep rooted and extreme prejudice against the Muslims. Anyone with a past association with the student organization¬¬¬¬– Students Islamic Movement of India was automatically deemed a terror suspect. The act of publishing Islamic books was equated with sedition. To be a devout Muslim was seen as a sure sign of extremism. Gulail’sexpose shows that the ATS instead of carrying out a methodical, in-depth or scientific investigation opted for the easiest route. They went after the usual suspects. Anyone with a past, formal or informal, association with SIMI was hauled up to the police station and tortured. And as days went by without any leads or break-through and public pressure to show results grew, the ATS implicated a set of former SIMI members who had been kept in illegal detention since the blasts. This story lays bare the absolute farcical method of ATS investigation and utter contempt for the due process of law. More significantly, Gulail puts the spotlight on a deep crisis brewing in our democracy. It is a crisis of a loss of faith in the ideals of justice and perhaps the very idea of a secular India. Every act of police brutality and false implication not just strikes at the rule of law. It also erodes the faith of our minorities in the capacity of this nation to dispense equal justice and to live by the promise made by our founding fathers. This story exposes the deep rot that has set in in our system, one that first condones and then resolutely fails to take any kind of corrective action. For the last seven years thirteen innocent Muslims are facing a farcical trial in the Mumbai train bombings. A good portion of their life has been spent behind the bars, their families have been forced to live a life of deprivation and hardships and their future and the future of their children has been cast with a permanent shadow. Gulail is putting out in the public domain the testimonies of unspeakable torture and humiliation of members of the minority community at the hands of the ATS. These Muslims were tortured to extract false confessions of their involvement in the train blast case. Under the draconian law of MCOCA, confessions made before the police are admissible in court. As soon as these accused were sent to judicial custody, they all retracted their confessions, exposing the coercive tactics of the ATS. All this material amounts to compelling evidence of the deliberate faking of evidence as well as the most inhuman torture of innocent Muslims in police custody to pervert the course of justice.  We hope that these revelations would shock the conscience of those occupying the highest echelons in the judiciary and the government. In keeping with its promise of fighting against injustice and inequities not only in the public space but also in the courts, Gulail has filed a letter petition in the Bombay High Court and before statutory bodies like the National Human Rights Commission and the National Minorities Commission. The Usual Suspects The July 2006 train blasts were the biggest terror strikes in India after the 1993 Bombay blasts. Seven synchronized bombs claimed around 190 lives—an indication of an extremely sophisticated and elaborate conspiracy. So how did the Mumbai police go about the investigation? Did they turn to sophisticated investigative techniques. No, what they did do was haul up the usual suspects, that is, the ex-members or sympathizers of the SIMI to the police station and began interrogating them. These were the same people whom the police had been surveilling for the last 5 years since the ban on the SIMI. They became a familiar sight, hauled into the police station every time there was a bomb explosion in the city. In other words a lazy and malicious police machinery presumed those constantly under their radar to be suspects.Eventually 13 innocent Muslims were oimplicated in the blasts case on the basis of confessions made before police officers. Take the case of 30-year old (age at the time of his arrest) Abdul Wahid Sheikh who was a teacher at Anjuman Islam AbdusSattarSaheb High School, MaulanaShaukat Ali Road, Mumbai. In 2001 when the SIMI was banned, the Mumbai police had registered a case against Wahid and dozens of other Muslim youth from Mumbai for being members of the banned organization.  Since 2001 the Mumbai police had been following the policy of hauling SIMI members to the police station every time there was a bomb explosion in the city. Since 2001 like other alleged SIMI members Wahid was permanently on the police radar. He was interrogated on multiple occasions after a series of blasts at Ghatkopar, Mulund and Vile Parle in 2002-2003 and the Gateway of India Blasts, 2003. Similarly, after the 7/11 blasts Wahid was detained at the ATS police stations. The ATS finally arrested him under the claim that he had been absconding since the train blasts.  During the trial evidence has now emerged of police station diary entries showing his presence on multiple occasions at different police stations after the train blasts. Similarly,Dr Tanveer Ansari, a BUMS doctor was working as a specialist in emergency procedures at Fauzia Nursing Home in Nagpada, Mumbai. In 2001, Tanveer had participated in the medical relief work carried out by the SIMI in Bhuj in the aftermath of the 2001 earthquake.  In 2001, when the SIMI was banned, Tanveer was also arrested, accused of being a member of the SIMI. Like other associates of the SIMI, Tanveer too became a usual suspect, questioned multiple times in the aftermath of the bomb explosions. Post 7/11, after some rounds of questioning, Tanveer was illegally detained and finally arrested. The story of the other eleven accused is more or less similar, except that some of them had absolutely no linkage with the SIMI. Still they were implicated since the ATS needed an array of characters for the fanciful story they had scripted. The Call Data Records of the cell phones owned by these men have now revealed that they were not even present at the blast site. Torture and Coercion  Out of the nine 7/11 accused who were interviewed by Gulail, eight gave a detailed description of the unspeakable torture they were subjected to in police custody (all 13 accused have been behind bars for the past seven years, these interviews were obtained by Gulail with great difficulty in court corridors. Gulail couldn’t speak with the ninth accused MuzammilShaikh in detail as the police escort stopped us from interacting with him). 1 Kala Chowki branch of the ATS was the designated torture chamber. Besides inspectors and constables, senior IPS officers like AN Roy, Naval Bajaj and Jaijeet Singh also participated in torturing these men. Waterboarding. The extremely barbaric technique of torture used by the CIA on Guantanamo Bay detainees was used by the ATS on these 13 innocent Muslims. The accused used to be tied to a handcart with their feet up. Their faces were then covered with a piece of cloth and water was poured onto their faces so that they felt like they were drowning. Narco-analysis in police custody Many of these men while they were in police custody were also administered chemicals through their veins that was meant to make them unconscious and was supposedly meant to extract information. These narco-analysis tests were carried out in police custody without any medical supervision or court permission. These illegal narco tests were done in addition to the narco-analysis that was done on many of these men with court permission at the FSL, Bangalore facility. Some of the other techniques of torture that were used: 180 degree stretching of legs Electric shock to private parts Beating with shoes and belts Chinese water torture: Victims head was fixed to a spot   Manufacturing bogus Evidence The evidence lead in the charge-sheet was of three kinds:-11 MCOCA confessions made to police officers; recoveries of explosives and detonators from some of the accused and  so-called public witnesses (well known stool pigeons or those  under the thumb of the police)  who claimed the unlikely feat of recognising the faces of some of the  accused while getting in and out from the local train though they were strangers to them. However, against most of the accused, the case is based on confessions and recoveries. Gulail’s investigation reveals the circumstances under which these accused were compelled to sign onto pre-drafted confessions. Some accused agreed to sign under extreme physical pain. But there were some who refused to give in. These men were then told that their wives, sisters and mothers would be raped in front of their eyes and their brothers and father would also be implicated. Faisal Shaikh’s 70-year old father was made to march naked in front of his son. The ATS finally got what they wanted. These men too gave in. The ATS extracted 11 confessions on the strength of which they filed the chargesheet in the first week of December 2006.  Since then all 13 men have been in jail. The crackdown on the ‘Indian Mujahideen’ and arrest of Sadiq Sheikh. In August and September 2008, there were serial blasts in Delhi, Ahmedabad and Surat.  Following some leads in these blasts, the Mumbai Crime Branch arrested one Sadiq Sheikh along with 20 other accused from Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. Subsequent to the arrests, the Mumbai Crime Branch claimed to have recorded confessions of more than 10-12 persons including SadiqShaikh, as this was also a MCOCA investigation. This was a crucial juncture in the terror investigations in India. In a span of a little over one year between August 2007 and September 2008, there were terror bombings in Bangalore (seven serial blasts of July 2008), Hyderabad (Lumbini Park and GokulChaat Blasts of August 2007), UP (triple blasts at Court premises in Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad, November 2007), Jaipur (serial blasts of May 2008), Ahmedabad (21 serial blasts in July 2008) and Surat  (aborted attempt as eighteen bombs malfunctioned) and Delhi (five synchronized bomb blasts in market places of Delhi in September 2008). The series of bombings across India hinted at a single, integral terror conspiracy and brought several investigating agencies of different states together and consequent pooling of information. Evidence emerges that 7/11 was not done by the 13 men originally arrested Thus, the confessions of Sadiq Sheikh and others as recorded by the Mumbai Crime Branch, are significant, because they clearly point to the fact that even the July Mumbai local train bombings of 2006 were done by this set of people newly arrested and without any reference or link to those prosecuted by the ATS from 2006 onwards! In other words the set of men arrested following the 2007 and 2008 set of bombings across the country were interrogated by Ahmedabad, Delhi, UP, Karnataka and other police teams and were subsequently made common accused in all these 2007-2008 blasts. Sadiq Sheikh and his alleged ‘Indian Mujahideen’ accomplices were interrogated by different police agencies on different dates. Each agency prepared detailed Interrogation Reports (IRs). Common to all is the view or conclusion that it is this set of men that were behind even the July 2006 Mumbai local train bombings. Gulail obtains internal documents of over half a dozen agencies that show the 13 train blast accused are innocent. Our sources in the Mumbai police and state police agencies of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka who were involved in investigating ‘Indian Mujahideen’ and its alleged involvement in the 2007 and 2008 blasts provided us the Interrogation Reports of Sadiq Sheikh and others prepared by each of these agencies (All these interrogation reports are uploaded on the website). These Interrogation Reports show the dates on which they were prepared and the computers on which they were prepared. All these Interrogation Reports (IRs) based on ‘confessions’ record a massive and integral conspiracy. These IRs contain a meticulously detailed description of more than eight terror strikes that Sadiq Sheikh and his accomplices had plotted and executed since 2003:These are 1. DashashwamedhGhat, Varanasi, 2004 (the bomb packed in a container had failed to explode. The local police dismissed it as an accident. But Sadiq told the police that it was actually a terror plot) 2. Shramjeevi Express Blast,Jaunpur, UP, 2005 3. Diwali Blasts, Delhi, 2005 4. Varanasi Blasts, 2006 5. Mumbai Train Blasts, 2006 6. Hyderabad Twin Blasts (Gokul Chat and Lumbini Park), 2007 7. Ahmedabad Serial Blasts and the failed Surat Blasts. Agencies accept Sadiq’s revelations in cases that were yet to be solved The agencies have themselves claimed (both in court and in public) that Sadiq’s interrogation led to the arrest of over 70 terror suspects by UP ATS, Hyderabad CIC, Ahmedabad Crime Branch, Rajasthan ATS and Delhi Special Cell. The content of these reports, and  ‘confessions’ etc is part of the charge-sheetSadiq and his accomplices in the alleged oufitnamed Indian Mujahideen were charge-sheeted in all those blast cases in which the investigation was still not completed. Hyderabad Blasts (Gokul Chat and Lumbini Park) of 2007, Ahmedabad and Surat (aborted) Blasts of 2008, Delhi Blasts of 2008 were some of the cases in which the alleged Indian Mujahideen members including SadiqShaikh were charge-sheeted. At the same time all of them were equally aware that an entirely different set of persons had been put on trial for the same by the Maharashtra ATS. But those parts of Sadiq’s revelations that go contrary to previous investigations are brushed under the carpet. Now either Sadiq and his accomplices were responsible for 7/11 bombings or those 13 men who were originally arrested. But the agencies accepted and further corroborated only those of Sadiq’s revelations that related to the investigations in which the accused had still not been identified and arrested by the respective agencies. But revelations pertaining to blasts like 7/11 that went contrary to the police theory were conveniently ignored. Can in a country governed by rule of law this policy of pick and choose followed by the agencies in the offences punishable with death penalty be condoned? Thus at least after 2008 September, all the said agencies including ATS Maharashtra were privy to the nature of evidence and revelations pertaining to the July 11, 2006 train bombings and they relied heavily on these revelations in the investigations pertaining to the 2007-2008 bombings. But those revelations that related to the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts were conveniently brushed under the carpet. The lack of bonafides is evident from the fact that no attempt was made to arrive at the truth or exonerate one set of obviously innocent persons. But none of these agencies placed the entire relevant material before the MCOCA court trying an entirely unconnected set of 13 men for this very act. Why? Our intent is not to pass a verdict of guilt against certain accused. But it is only to highlight the blatant discrepancies and contradictions in terror investigations. Evidence that suits a police case is considered credible and evidence that debunks bogus investigations is hidden both from the courts and public view. HOW THE ATS MISLEAD THE 7/11 MUMBAI COURT More here- http://www.gulail.com/squads-fall-story.html

 

Mumbai Police Is Checking What You’re Downloading #Privacy

By Nikhil Pahwa on Apr 3rd, 2013  |  

 http://www.medianama.com

Mumbai Police has set up a Social Media lab, along with team of cyber experts, and with the help of ISPs, is conducting random checks on content that is being downloaded from certain sites, including torrents, and especially Internet users with large data downloads, reports DNA, quoting Himanshu Roy, Joint Commissioner (Crime), Mumbai Police. As per the report, on the basis of a complaint from a copyrights holder, the police warned and let off an IT professional who was using his office computer (and we assume, connection) to download torrents. The company emailed its employees to stay off torrent sites.

Copyright owners have, in the past, got websites blocked, hired people to conduct likely-to-be-illegal DDoS attacks, and got all-encompassing John Doe Orders to get anything they want blocked.

Our Take

While it quotes a “cyber security expert” who says that the Copyright Act, the IPC or section 66 of India’s IT Act can be used in this case, it doesn’t question why the person was let off with a warning. That seems rather arbitrary, because if a complaint has been filed, surely the decision on whether to let the person go or not should be left to the Judiciary, not the Police. Or does the Police usually go warning people and letting them go after copyright owners file a complaint? The report doesn’t mention the complainant, the user, the company involved, the content being downloaded or the torrent site.

Is this tapping of citizens’ Internet connections legal? If you look at the 1996 PUCL judgment on (phone) tapping, it clearly points out:

Telephone – Tapping is a serious invasion of an individual’s privacy. With the growth of highly sophisticated
communication technology, the right to sold telephone conversation, in the privacy of one’s home or office without interference, is increasingly susceptible to abuse. It is no doubt correct that every Government, howsoever democratic, exercises some degree of subrosa operation as a part of its intelligence outfit but at the same time citizen’s right to privacy has to be protected from being abused by she authorities of the day.

The judgment states:

1. An order for telephone-tapping in terms of Section 5(2) of the Act shall not be issued except by the Home Secretary, Government of India (Central Government) and Home Secretaries of the State Governments. In an urgent case the power may be delegated to an officer of the Home Department the Government of India and the State Governments not below the rank of Joint Secretary. Copy of the order shall be sent to the Review Committee concerned with one week of the passing of the order-.2. The order shall require the person to whom it is addressed to intercept in the course of their transmission by means a public telecommunication system, such communications as are described in the order. The order may also require the person to whom it is addressed to disclose the intercepted material to such persons and in such manner as are described in the order.

The Police and their CyberCrime cells proactively scanning Internet connections certainly amounts to invasion of privacy.

Readers should also be aware that India doesn’t have a privacy law, as was pointed out by the Standing Committee that criticised the Indian government’s Unique Identity project, saying that

“In the absence of data protection legislation, it would be difficult to deal with the issues like access and misuse of personal information, surveillance, profiling, linking and matching of data bases and securing confidentiality of information etc.”

Maybe it’s time someone filed a case to prevent government organizations from snooping on its citizens, ad-hoc. If you’re not worried yet, take a look at the Home Ministry’s snooping tender that we’d written about.

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KKM couple court arrest outside Maharashtra legislature

Pic – courtesy Dilnaz Boga

Mumbai, Tue, 02 Apr 2013IANS

Mumbai, April 2 (IANS) An artiste-activist couple from a Pune-based theatre group, accused of having Maoist links, court arrested outside the high-security precincts of Maharashtra legislature here Tuesday.

The duo, Sachin Mali and Sheetal Sathe of the Kabir Kala Manch, have been charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for having Maoist links.

“We wish to come clean of all allegations slapped against us mentioning us as providing aid to and assisting the Naxal (Maoist) movement. We wish to co-operate with the agencies and wish to have our names cleared,” Mali said as he was being escorted away by police under tight security.

The couple, which had gone underground and remained wanted for several years, have contended that their surrender is like a “revolution” and that they expected restraint from torture or being implicated in false cases by the authorities.

However, it was not clear why they chose to surrender in a public place in south Mumbai which is under a high security cover in view of the ongoing legislature session.

After their surrender, the Mumbai police placed them under formal arrest and handed them over to the Anti-Terrorist Squad for interrogation and further investigation.

“A formal arrest has been registered with the Marine Drive Police Station and later they were handed over to the ATS for further investigation. The case is now being probed by the ATS, as it has the primary charge of investigating Maoist activities in the state,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Ravindra Shishwe told media persons after the developments.

Asked for his reaction, Home Minister R.R. Patil said his department was investigating the matter and he would not be able to comment on it till detailed information is received.

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We are social reformers, claims Mumbai women’s body accused of terrorism

 

The Special Branch has put city police on alert about a “women terrorist group” being trained in Kerala. The group’s spokespersons have threatened to sue the cops stating they are social reformers
March 31, 2013

Mumbai
Vinay Dalvi, Mid Day

The Mumbai Police Special Branch(SB)—  has issued a circular, alerting the city’s police force about the possibility of highly-trained women militants posing a threat to the city.

The group, identified in the circular as Girls’ Islamic Organisation (GIO), is a part of the 65-year-old Jamaat-e -Islami Hind and is said to be currently undergoing training in Kerala. “The group is being instructed mostly in the Quran and Hadis under their commanders,” the notice states, adding that the main purpose of the organisation is to tap extremist elements in schools and colleges in India.

 

However, when SUNDAY MiD DAY contacted the Jamat office, an official spokesperson vehemently denied the allegations and said they were planning to sue the Mumbai police for making defamatory statements against them. The SB circular actually names Sahela Baji as the head of the group’s Maharashtra unit. Another woman, Sumaiyya Muslim, is said to be readying the group for Jihad.

The group has a Facebook page with 3,177 likes and is regularly updated. “This is a one-of-a-kind group, which involves women. We have alerted all the police stations and the units across the state,” said a senior officer from the Special Branch on condition of anonymity. When contacted Additional commissioner of police Naval Bajaj refused to comment on the issue stating that they had no information on such an alert. However Mumbai Police’s official spokesperson Satyanarayan Chaudhary said, “The circulars issued by Special Branch are confidential.”

Jamat-e-Islami Hind angry at accusations
“We are not a violent organisation. Our job is to connect with Muslims across the country and do good work. We work for social reforms and fight for women’s rights too. We do believe in Jihad, but in non-violent, spiritual Jihad. We are considering legal action against the Mumbai police,” said Tauffiq Aslam Khan, president of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, the parent body of GIO

 

Mumbai: Cops face camera for #Vaw awareness campaign to encourage women to lodge harassment complaints

Kainaz Karmakar and Harshad Rajadhyaksha of O&M shot a five-part TVC campaign with city cops to encourage women to lodge harassment complaints

March 17, 2013

MUMBAI

Samarth Moray, Sunday Midday

Have you ever been threatened by a man, deterring you to lodge a police complaint? Have you clenched your fist in helplessness, rolled your eyes but decided to let it go? No more. Starting Thursday, five advertisements starring real cops are being aired on a television channel, urging women not to be afraid of approaching the police to lodge harassment complaints against men.

A police woman reaches out to women in one of the ads created by the ad agency

Kainaz Karmakar and Harshad Rajadhyaksha of ad agency O&M have launched this special ad campaign, which puts the focus on the Mumbai Police. Karmakar said, “After the Delhi gang-rape incident in December, Mumbai’s Joint CP Himanshu Roy published a statement in the newspaper saying that the force had undertaken initiatives to train them to deal with sensitive cases. He added that perhaps they needed to publicise them better. That’s where we got this idea.” The duo approached Roy, who put them in touch with Joint CP Sadanand Date, Law and Order. “We deliberately chose ordinary officers with whom the public would interact at police stations,” said Date.

The ads 
“Namaste, ladies. Do you know who my father is? You can’t even imagine what I’m capable of. You don’t know how well connected I am. Don’t be afraid of anyone who uses such phrases and misbehaves with you. Come to the police. No matter how well connected they are. We’ll connect them to jail…” says a silver mustachioed police officer in one of the  advertisements.

In another ad, PSI Vidya Kaldate addresses Mumbai’s women. “I know that you often tolerate harassment from men. You do not even complain against them, worrying how you will tell a male officer what someone said to you, or what a man did to you. That’s precisely why many women police officers like me are present at police stations, for your help and support. So don’t tolerate any harassment…”

Date also suggested shooting similar campaigns to create awareness within the force as well. These internal ad campaigns are played at over 150 city police stations every morning during roll call. They feature ordinary women, reminding cops that they depend on them for safety. “It will help our officers realise that merely registering an FIR is a great help,” said Date.

In another ad, Senior police inspector AR Shaikh of Malwani police station addresses the camera in four languages. “This is meant to counter the impression that police only pay heed to complainants who speak Marathi,” explains Karmakar. Shaikh was delighted to star in the ad. “It was a unique experience and I’m glad I did the advertisement. The message has gone out to women that we are here and ready to help them.”

In fact, it was Shaikh’s co-star senior police inspector (traffic), Rajendra Chauhan’s idea to feature traffic police as they end up being the first point of contact for victims of harassment.  As you cross the shopping district of SV Road Bandra, Deputy Commissioner of Police Harvinder Kaur Waraich, armed with a baton is seen on a billboard. “Ladies should never hesitate to approach the police. The main purpose of the campaign is public awareness. Working women know about policewomen, but housewives may be unaware.”

The ads clear another myth that the police are reluctant to take complaints. “Complaints do get registered and we wanted to bring that out. Every piece is simple and tackles a real fear in the quiet victim’s mind,” concludes Karmakar

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Mumbai Police gets country’s first ‘Social Media Lab’ #monitoring #privacy

 

The Hindu, March 17

 

Bid to understand pulse of citizenry

The Mumbai police on Saturday inaugurated the country’s first ‘Social Media Lab’ to monitor the happenings on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The police have termed this an important step which will help them keep an eye on issues being discussed among youth on the Internet and to bridge the gap between the expectations of the public and delivery of police services.

Inaugurating the 24X7 lab, Commissioner of Police Satyapal Singh said its purpose was not to invoke censorship on discussions of various subjects, but only to analyse them.

“The youth protest at India Gate after the [December 2012] gang rape in Delhi was mainly fuelled by discussions on social networking sites. Taking a clue from that, we thought that the traditional sources of information do not sometimes give the correct picture of societal needs and misgivings and hence we decided to set up the country’s first social media lab.”

Dr. Singh said the lab’s primary work would be to understand the pulse of the citizenry and to prepare “ourselves for it.” “Till now, we haven’t ever tried to understand what is happening on the Internet, but now is the time to change that.” The lab would assimilate relevant information from all open sources in the public domain and 20 specially trained officers would work in shifts.

The project is supported by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and is funded by Reliance Foundation. Actor Abhishek Bachchan, who was present, called the formation of the lab a proactive step from the police.

 

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#Mumbai- Special cell for crimes against women to finally take off on #Womensday

S Ahmed Ali TNN

Mumbai: The Mumbai police’s crime against women cell (CAWC) will start functioning from Friday. The special cell will probe cases of rape, molestation, dowry and other atrocities against women. TOI was the first to report on the state’s initiative to start a separate investigation wing to probe cases of crimes against women.
While the state government had decided to set up the cell in January, the idea remained only on paper. On Wednesday, TOI reported that the cell had not been set up even 40 days after the proposal was cleared.
Home minister R R Patil will officially announce the formation of the cell at a function at the Gateway on Friday. The first-ofits-kind crime detection cell for women will be headed by a DCP.
“DCP Sharda Raut, who currently holds the charge of the police HQ, will hold the additional charge of this cell till we find an appropriate officer to lead it,” said a source.
The cell will be monitored by the joint commissioner of police (crime). It will have one DCP, two assistant commissioners of police, six police inspectors andtwo dozen police constables. The total strength of the CAWC will be 65. Police inspectors Sangita Patil and Neeta Phadke are the women officers selected to the cell. “The officers of this cell will be specially trained to tackle crime against women,” said Addl CP (crime) Niket Kaushik.
The functioning of the CAWC, which will have two units, will be similar to that of other crime branch units, which conduct parallel probes into major crimes in the city. “While one unit will probe cases of rape, kidnapping, molestation and harassment, the other unit will investigate cases like dowry and harassment by in-laws,” said JCP (crime) Himanshu Roy.
The CAWC will have its office in the upcoming building at the police HQ. Till then, it will operate out of the old administrative building.
FAIR PLAY FOR FAIR PROBE 
The first-of-its-kind crime detection cell for women will be headed by a deputy commissioner of police. It will have two units
The functioning of the cell will be monitored by the joint commissioner of police (crime)
It will have one DCP, two assistant commissioners of police, six police inspectors and two dozen police constables
The total strength of the special unit, which will comprise mostly women, will be 65

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PRESS RELEASE-‘Better Policing- Safer City: How to make it Happen

 
MUMBAI CONSULTATION ON POLICE REFORMS: ‘BETTER POLICING -SAFER CITY: HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN

Date: Friday, 22 February, 2013

Venue: USTAV BANQUET HALL, JAMSHEDJI TATA ROAD CHURCHGATE

 

 

PRESS STATEMENT ON THE DELIBERATIONS AT THE ABOVE MEETING: 22/02/13

 

The COMMONWEALTH HUMAN RIGHTS INITIATIVE [ CHRI] Delhi in association with Citizen Initiative for Peace (CIP), Praja, PCGT, M R. Pai Foundation. Akshara, Forum against Oppression of Women and Forum of Free Enterprise organized this event.

 

A meeting of over 80 of the leading activists representing over 30 organisations / civil society in Mumbai voiced deep concern about the state of women’s safety and indeed the safety of all mumbaikars.

 

Attended by no less personage as Shri Julio Rebeiro, [ Former Mumbai Police Commissioner], Dr. Shri A.N Roy [Former Director General of Police, Maharashtra ], Shri Shailesh Gandhi [ former Central Information Commissioner ]. Mr. Satish Sahney [Former Mumbai Police Commissioner], leading Advocates, Women and Rights Activists and concerned Citizens.

 

The discussions pointed out that despite the bitter complaints against the inefficiencies of policing in Mumbai, its bias’s and violence, police performance was failing the public. Bandage remedies such as transfers or punishment postings will not do. There is a need for root and branch improvement. The constabulary have to be better equipped not with arms and ammunition but with a better value system that ensures that there will be more responsive and less illegal policing and better all round every day performance.

 

The leadership must ensure that the ordinary constable has good working conditions decent wages and better hours of work. Training must be imparted to the police personnel in educating on high standards to human rights, gender sensitivity and respecting multi-religious diversity. At the same time they must take responsibility for lapses in policing and be completely accountable.

 

The political administration is responsible for delivering better policing that has the confidence of the public in Maharastra.

 

The meeting also called the State Government to implement the Police Reforms as outlined in the Supreme Court Judgement of 2006. The Supreme Court had given certain directions in view of the urgent need for preservation and strengthening of the Rule of Law. It had prescribed the setting up of three institutions in the state: A State Security Commission, Police Establishment Board and Police Complaints Authority, in other words calling for a systemic changes into the functioning of the PoliceDepartment.

 

It must lay down policing policies and targets to be achieved in the year after creating a political plan. This plan must be made in consultation with local communities and be a public document against which police performance can be evaluated and judged. It is only when communities are engaged with policing that the police will gain public confidence.

 

The meeting called for the State Security Commission to put in place a credible planning process in which enhanced safety of women and vulnerable groups such as children, migrants and minorities is specially addressed.

 

The meeting also agreed to a plan of action to make this an election issue for the forthcoming 2014 elections and demand from the Political parties to not only include this in their manifesto but ensure that the Police Reforms are implemented thereafter .

 

Hence it becomes necessary for the incumbent Government to bring in the police reforms without any further delay during their current tenure.

 

The meeting agreed to work together with police and administration in creating better policing outcomes for the city and asked all Mumbaikars to join in this effort.

 

Issued by Dolphy D’souza, Citizens Initiative for Peace [CIP] & Ms Maja Daruwalla , Director CHRI, Organising Committee and the participants of the meeting .

 

Cell: 9820226227 Email: dolphydolphy13@gmail.com

 

 

Dolphy Dsouza – 9820226227

Citizens Initiative for Peace [CIP]
43, Kalina, Santacruz East,
Mumbai 400 029.
Email: dolphydolphy13@gmail.com

 

#Mumbai-Ex-encounter cop planned builder’s murder

Ex-encounter cop planned builder’s murder

Pranab Jyoti Bhuyan l @pranabbhuyan, DNA

Vashi: A retired state police encounter specialist and a shooter were arrested between Saturday late night and Sunday morning in connection with the murder of Navi Mumbai builder Sunil Kumar Loharia.
Two men on a motorcycle had gunned down the 50-year-old builder in front of his office in Vashi’s sector 28 on Saturday morning, moments after he got off his white BMW. Local people had caught one of the shooters, Venkatesh Shettiyer, 35, from the spot while the other, Wazid Qureshi, 28, managed to flee.
Qureshi was arrested from his home in Mumbra. And Emmanuel Amolik, the 62-year-old retired police officer, was arrested from Naigaon in Dadar late on Saturday night. Police said Amolik had paid a “supari” to Qureshi and Shettiyer to kill Loharia.
Navi Mumbai police commissioner AK Sharma said Shettiyer had spilled the beans during interrogation. “We arrested both based on what he told us. Investigations are on to find out if someone else is involved,” he said.
Amolik, an encounter specialist with the Maharashtra police, served at Thane, Solapur, Nagpur, and Mumbai before retiring as an inspector in 2011. He was an inspector in Navi Mumbai in 2004 and the CID had arrested him in 2003 in connection with a fake encounter.
“Qureshi has several cases registered against him in Mumbai,” Sharma said. “Qureshi and Amolik know each other for the past several years.”

All three have been booked. A Belapur court on Sunday sent Shettiyer and Amolik to police custody till February 22. Qureshi will be produced in court on Monday.
Additional commissioner Fateh Singh Patel said Amolik told them that he had a fight with Loharia more than a month ago over parking at Sanpada’s Moraj Circle on Palm Beach Road.
“He told us that Loharia had flashed his gun and threatened to kill him. He said he wanted to avenge his insult,” the officer said. “In fact, Amolik told us that he would have killed Loharia that same day if he had a gun. We are trying to find out how much he paid Qureshi and Shettiyer.”
Another officer from the Vashi police station said Shettiyer had told them on Saturday that they killed Lohariya over some property dispute in Kharghar. “After Qureshi and Amolik were arrested he, however, told us that he lied to mislead the investigators. We are questioning many people and trying to find out the real reason behind the murder.”
Loharia’s family conducted his last rites on Sunday evening. One of the family members said they were unhappy with the way the police were investigating the matter. Loharia’s son Sunny Kumar said the crime branch of the Mumbai police should investigate. He has written a letter to the chief minister as well, he said.
“We have given the names of a couple of builders and architects who we feel could be involved,” he said. “On Saturday, I got a call on my mobile phone asking me not to name a particular builder. I have told this to the police, but they seem very casual about it.”

Published Date:  Feb 18, 2013

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#India- 5-year-old girl raped, strangled in Navi Mumbai #WTFnews #Vaw

Express news service : Mumbai, Thu Jan 24 2013,

In an incident that sent shockwaves across Navi Mumbai, a five-year-old girl, who had gone missing on Tuesday evening, was found dead outside her residence in Vashi in the early hours of Wednesday. Medical reports say the child was raped. The police are interrogating the building watchman where the child used to stay with her parents.

The police said the girl�s parents returned home from work on Tuesday evening to find their child missing. Her two brothers were playing with their friends some distance away from the residence and didn�t know where she was. The parents lodged a complaint with the APMC police late on Tuesday night.

�They returned home at around 2:30 am on Wednesday and found her dead body near their house. They rushed back to the police station to inform us and we sent a team with them. The victim�s body was taken to the Navi Mumbai municipal hospital for autopsy,� said a police officer.

The police began the probe working on the assumption that the accused could be a resident of the same locality and would have known when the victim would be alone in the house.

Meanwhile, the hospital sent its preliminary medical report to the police late on Wednesday night. �The reports have confirmed that the victim was raped. We have registered a complaint of murder and rape under the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act,� said Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner A K Sharma.

Opinion on cause of death has been withheld pending further examination.

�We suspect that she was strangled to death. Apart from the injuries to the victim�s private parts and some bruises near the mouth, there were no other external injuries,� Sharma said.

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