In a shocking negligence, India has still not shared any evidence of attack with Interpol. How do they expect to enlist support without sharing evidence?
However, the US intelligence has interviewed a Mumbai witness in American soil about the atttack. Is there a breach in protocol here? We want replies from the Indian Government regarding this incident. Has the Indian Government authorities interviewed this witness?
The CBI is too busy sharing information about NRI dowry allegations with interpol to concentrate on more crucial issues like Global terrorism.
India has not shared any evidence of attack: Interpol
24 Dec 2008
NEW DELHI: Interpol chief General Ronald K Noble said in Islamabad on Tuesday that India had neither shared any evidence about the involvement of Pakistani nationals in the Mumbai attacks nor given any names to the agency.
While it may surprise some, the fact remains that even approaching the France-based global agency in the past has been of little help for India.
According to senior Indian police and security officials, it’s neither mandatory nor a norm to share probe details with Interpol. “Whether or not to approach Interpol is entirely up to the country concerned. Even after the role of an accused is established and he is chargesheeted, there are other ways of nabbing him, like issuing a letter rogatory to the country where he might be hiding,” a senior police officer said.
CBI chief Ashwani Kumar said the agency had not shared any information with Interpol because it did not want to give half-baked findings to the international agency. “We did share some (basic) information with Interpol. But unless the investigation is complete, how can we share the full details?” he said.
There are some who believe that India could have approached Interpol for a red corner notice against Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, whose involvement in 26/11 has been disclosed by Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist in the Mumbai police custody.
However, as in the past, Red Corner notices in the case of Pakistan have rarely worked. The best example is that of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar against whom the same notice was issued in 2004 by Interpol. Azhar continues to live merrily in Pakistan and can often be seen on local TV channels preaching his brand of jihad against India.
After the Mumbai attacks, India has renewed its efforts to get Azhar, but Pakistan remains indifferent. In fact, days after admitting that Azhar was in their custody, the Pakistanis did a turnaround and said that he was not traceable.
In any case, the Interpol red alert for any person, according to senior officials, comes with the caveat that the person should be considered innocent until proven guilty. This, they say, takes away from the bite.
In fact, among all seven types of Interpol notices, the UNSC-special notice is considered most effective as it has the backing of the United Nations. This particular notice, issued under provisions of the 1267 resolution, provides for freezing all assets of terror suspects and puts a travel ban on them.
“Interpol can do some basic things, like circulating information among its 180-odd member nations. However, it can neither act on its own nor force any country to act,” said an official, adding that Interpol doesn’t have policing powers.
The agency’s annual budget stands at a meagre $65 million. This, according to officials who have served in the agency, prevents it from increasing its operational significance. “It’s also a well-known fact that powerful Western countries refrain from sharing their data with Interpol, which comprises members from countries like Cuba and Syria. India too may not want to share sensitive investigation details with it for similar reasons,” said the official.
26/11 witness says she was taken to US, questioned
15 Jan 2009
MUMBAI: Anita Uddaiya, the woman who saw the six terrorists involved in the November 26 terror attacks arrive in the city, claims she was taken to the US and questioned by investigating agencies there.
“I was informed that the (US) officers who questioned me about the Mumbai attacks here earlier would take me to America. They came on Sunday morning and had taken me to America in a flight,” Uddaiya said.
“I had lied to the police when I returned home stating that I went to Satara district as the officers told me not to disclose anything about my visit to America,” Uddaiya said.
Uddaiya went missing on Sunday morning and returned to Mumbai on Wednesday around 1.30 am.
She had claimed that she had seen the terrorists land in a rubber dinghy on the beach at the colony. But when she asked them where they had come from, she was told to mind her own business.
Giving details, she said on Saturday that around 10.00 pm, the investigating officers were supposed to come to her home.
“Since we were informed about Uddiaya’s America visit, we sat with her throughout the night waiting for the American investigators. Nobody turned up till morning 5 am. Uddaiya went to toilet from where she was whisked away by the investigators,” said Madhusudhan Nair, president of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Nagar slum area where Uddaiya resides.
Uddaiya said four officers were inside the posh vehicle and one of them knew Hindi.
“First, I was taken to St George Hospital to see my husband Rajendra. I told him that I would return home in a couple of days,” Uddaiya said.
