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India-Pakistan
Police Probe Suspicious Phone Call for Clue
2007-02-22
Indian investigators are looking into a suspicious phone call made to Pakistani Kashmir just after bombs on a train bound for Pakistan killed 68 people, an official said yesterday, but Kashmiri militants denied any role.
The governments of both countries have blamed the fire-bomb attack on extremists trying to undermine the peace process between the nuclear-armed rivals.
The governments of both countries have blamed the fire-bomb attack on extremists trying to undermine the peace process between the nuclear-armed rivals. Even though most of the victims were Pakistanis, Indian police say extremists are prime suspects. And intelligence agencies seem to think that a phone call from Delhi to Pakistani Kashmir just after the attack could provide an important lead.

The Times of India newspaper quoted a Home Ministry official yesterday as saying the call had been recorded and could hold “the key to the entire puzzle.”

“Yes, a call was made and it is a vital link,” an official from India’s Intelligence Bureau, told Reuters.

Yesterday, the focus of the investigation moved to the teeming streets of Old Delhi. Police believe the suitcases could have been bought there before being loaded on the train, and said they were questioning shopkeepers. “We are also examining the video recordings of the close-circuit television at the Old Delhi railway station, though the visuals are not of good quality,” a senior police officer said, on condition of anonymity. “The pattern points to terrorists. No other group has the capability of a well-planned operation like this,” he added.
"Only Imperial Storm Troopers are so precise!"
In the state of Haryana where the bombs exploded, Senior Police Inspector R.C. Mishra said his team was trying to find out which militant group could have been behind the attack but had not yet pinned anything down.

In Kashmir, militants vehemently denied any role.
“We strongly condemn the attack on innocent people,” the United Jihad Council said in a statement. “Our fight is against the Indian government and not against innocent civilians.”
“We strongly condemn the attack on innocent people,” the United Jihad Council (UJC), a Pakistan-based alliance of Kashmiri militant groups, said in a statement. “Our fight is against the Indian government and not against innocent civilians,” it said. “Our target is Indian security forces and our aim is liberation.”

Suspicion in India after such attacks usually falls on the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is not part of the mainly Kashmiri UJC and is seen as promoting a more hard-line agenda. But a caller identifying himself as Abdullah Gaznavi, a spokesman for Lashkar, told Reuters in Kashmir that his group was not responsible. “The claims by Indian police that mujahedeen are behind the blasts is malicious propaganda aimed at maligning the image of mujahedeen,” he said. “This brutal act is the handiwork of Indian agencies, Hindu hard-liners including Shiv Sena,” he said, referring to a Hindu-nationalist political party.

But Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray dismissed reports about the involvement of Hindu extremists in the blasts as propaganda. “I can confidently say that no Hindu or Sena activist was involved in the blasts.” Speaking to journalists at his residence in Mumbai, Thackeray said he was against making friendship with Pakistan and added that there was no need for the Indian government to give so much importance to an enemy country.
Posted by:Fred

#2  There were 6 suitcase bombs, not 4
Rubbishing aside the four suitcase bombs version of the special investigating team (SIT) working on the Samjhauta Express incident, forensic experts today claimed that there were six bomb laden suitcases in the ill-fated train. Relying on the scientific evidences, they opined that it was the handiwork of experts.

Earlier the state authorities had claimed that only four suitcases were used in the crime and out of which two blasted while two others were recovered live.

While sharing the forensic findings of the Delhi-Attari Express incident exclusively with The Tribune, Dr R.K. Kaushal, assistant director of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Madhuban, here confirmed that at least two explosives laden suitcases each were blasted in the two coaches.

He said the forensic investigations revealed that the suitcases were placed near the middle doors of both coaches and that caused enormous loss of lives. He stated that it was evident that fire had spread very quickly as most of the dead were found lying down.

An expert in ballistics science, Dr Kaushal is heading the FSL team investigating the incident.

While defusing one of the live suitcase bombs, the assistant director said it had been found that two or more bombs each were used in both coaches that spread fire.

He said the two live bombs were timed to explode exactly at midnight but the criminals erred and had set the time as 12.00 (read pm) instead of 00.00 on the digital timer.

Director FSL Dr J.S. Mahanwal opined that the “local made” equipment were used in making the low-intensity explosives. He said all “Gehi Pet” brand bottles were used to fill “certain” explosives. The brand new one-litre transparent bottles were bought fresh from the market.

He clarified that it was yet to be ascertained if the explosives comprised petrol and kerosene or a mixture of the two or more materials.

Mr Mahanwal, however, confirmed that experts had assembled the “firebombs” as the suitcases were fitted with light-emitting diodes (LEDs), a tiny illuminating device that confirms the smooth functioning of the circuit.

He said the bottles were sealed with a high quality sealant to cover the foul smell, which further helped the explosives to explode with a massive pressure.

He revealed that electronic gadgets and other parts used in the bombs were probably bought from the wholesale electronics market at Bhagirathi Palace opposite the Red Fort in the National Capital.
Posted by: John Frum   2007-02-22 13:53  

#1  Indian soldier died rescuing passengers

An Indian soldier onboard the fire-bombed train to Pakistan died while rescuing trapped passengers from blazing carriages, officials said on Tuesday.

Kashmir Singh was part of a rail security team on the cross-border train. The midnight attack in the northern Indian city of Panipat killed 68 people and injured more than a dozen with severe burns.

“After the twin blasts, Singh smashed through a steel door and an emergency hatch of one of the two blazing carriages and helped five or six passengers get out,” Police Inspector-General Sharad Kumar said. “He kept pushing out people from the coach despite being on fire himself ... and finally flames overwhelmed him.”

Police officer Ranjan Sharma, citing witness accounts, said Singh ignored the risk to his life in the “fire-storm” which engulfed the carriages.—AFP
Posted by: John Frum   2007-02-22 10:50  

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