Though the numbers of infiltrators have come down considerably, security forces cannot afford to relax yet, finds out Vicky Nanjappa.
'If we have to restrict and fight terrorism, first and foremost, we have to ensure communal harmony in the country.'
Rs 200 -- That's all that terrorists have to shell out to infiltrate into India. Along the border area of Bihar and West Bengal, the business of transporting terrorists is flourishing at a menacing pace.
125 Indians on watch-list, Intelligence Bureau agents tell Vicky Nanjappa/Rediff.com
Preparations for Budget 2011-12 are in full swing. Intelligence Bureau sleuths in plain clothes are watching each and every movement of the team which prepares the Budget documents.
Noted danseuse Mallika Sarabhai on Sunday accused Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of using public funds to "bribe her lawyers" in an attempt to derail proceedings of the public interest litigation filed in the Supreme Court by her on the post-Godhra 2002 riots case.
The MHA has also sought an immediate report from the state government besides asking it to fix responsibility and take strict action against those responsible.
Facing demands for his dismissal, Army Chief Gen V K Singh on Thursday said the leak of his letter to the prime minister presenting a grim picture of the force's defence preparedness should be treated as "high treason" and the source of leakage dealt with "ruthlessly."
Blame game over sharing of intelligence has clouded investigations into the serial blasts at Patna's Gandhi Maidan during Narendra Modi's rally on October 27 in which six people lost their lives and 85 others were injured.
An Interpol notice has been issued against Dr Mohammad Shahnawaz and Asadullah Akthar, the men who are believed to have executed the Varanasi bomb blast on Tuesday. Even as investigations continue into the incident, all leads points towards the United Arab Emirates, where these men are based.
The arrest of Mehrajuddin Wani from Kashmir was considered to be a big breakthrough in the 1999 Kandahar hijack case. However, the question is whether the police picked up an informer of the Intelligence Bureau, who many allege is a double agent, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
Riazul Sarkar, the man arrested in Bihar in connection with the Mumbai serial blasts, may have links with the Harkat-ul-Jihadi based in Bangladesh, according to sources in the Intelligence Bureau. But the agency doesn't have too many relevant details about the alleged link, they said. Riazul's remand may be extended since the National Investigation Agency wants to question him. Riazul, who is fluent in Kannada and Bengali, furnished a false address to the investigators.
The National Investigating Agency was attending to a very important task last week when three blasts rocked Mumbai city. The NIA was studying the modus operandi and the regrouping of the Indian Mujahideen, which is the prime suspect in the investigations today.
Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa brings forth the different contours of the proposed NCTC, and also explains the raging debate over its formation.
The intensity and the articulate planning of Mumbai serial blasts, which claimed 18 lives on Wednesday night, indicates the involvement of the Indian Mujahideen. Intelligence Bureau reports suggest that the IM, which was formed in Uttar Pradesh a few years ago, has regrouped in south India. South states have long been considered as the preferred locations for terrorists to set up their hubs. Kerala is considered to be particularly sensitive due to its likely role as a feeder.
Ajit Doval, former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, has raised serious doubts about the statements of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram, who had claimed that they had a blue print to provide security to the people of India. "When the United Progressive Alliance government was voted to power, Dr Singh had promised to implement within a hundred days a fool-proof plan for internal security that would ensure the safety of all citizens," he said.
The Department of Telecom and the Intelligence Bureau are working together on the final MNP guidelines to ensure seamless tracking of mobile numbers by security agencies.
Danish Riyaz has told interrogators that the arrests have severely dented IM's operations and badly affected its recruitment and fund-raising drives. That in turn has reduced the Indian Mujahideen's capabilities to execute serial bombings. Toral Varia reports
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday the Intelligence Bureau's 'chewing gum theory' regarding the alleged bugging of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's office as 'big joke'. The party has demanded a thorough probe into the matter.
The Centre's interlocutor for peace process with various militant outfits in Assam and former Intelligence Bureau Chief P C Haldar on Monday held dialogue with the leadership of the pro-talks faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland.
There may be a lot of confusion over the arrest of Naqqi Ahmed Washi Ahmed Shaikh in connection with the 13/7 Mumbai blasts, and it would be a while before this issue has some clarity. However, the biggest setback in all this is for the Intelligence Bureau, because this man was an informer for them. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Each time anybody smokes marijuana, he or she contributes towards funding terror organisations.
In a notice, issued under section 91 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) on January 13, the SIT had directed Bhatt to produce the original and/or office copy of the alert fax message, which he had attached to his letter of January 4 to the Nanavati Commission, with a copy to the agency.
The investigations into the four incidents of terror -- Jama Masjid in New Delhi, 13/7 blasts in Mumbai, the German Bakery in Pune and Chinnaswamy blasts in Bengaluru -- may appear as though they are taking longer than usual to crack.
Accepting it as a "mistake" and taking "responsibility", Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said the inclusion of terror accused Wazhul Kamar Khan in the list of most wanted fugitives given to Pakistan was a "genuine error" by the Mumbai police and "oversight" by the Intelligence Bureau.
With the Commonwealth Games fast approaching, Indian agencies have expressed concerns over an aerial attack by terrorists on the games. Home Secretary G K Pillai too had expressed a similar concern while stating that Pakistani terror groups have purchased modern paragliders from China and are capable of launching a cross border attack with such state-of-the-art equipment.
In a sensational claim, a former Pakistan army general has said that Osama bin Laden had been kept in a "safe house" of Intelligence Bureau in Abbottabad with "full knowledge" of the then ruler Pervez Musharraf and possibly current Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.
Sikh militant groups are all set to strike India with a vengeance, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
Tracking the ideological journey of Times Square bomb plot accused Faisal Shahzad has led the investigators to an interesting concept known as "jihad tourism," which has made Pakistan, the most preferred destination for people wanting to embrace jihad.
Intelligence sources told rediff.com that the duo had both video footage and photographs of the targets that were attacked on November 26.
Ravi, shifted from Nagaland, said he saw his new role more as an opportunity than a challenge.
Abdul Nasser Madani, chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, who is facing an imminent arrest in the 2008 Bengaluru blast case claimed that the National Investigating Agency (NIA) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) have hatched a conspiracy to finish him off politically. Madani spoke to rediff.com's Arun Lakshman from Anwarassery,in Kerala's Kollam district on Wednesday.
'The ministry of home affairs has all records of money coming in from abroad.' 'Are they saying money is coming in without their knowledge?' 'Does the governor doubt the MHA?'
A question that India would like to ask Pakistan is regarding a man by the name Muzzamil Bhat. Pakistan has been silent on the whereabouts of this man, who imparted training to all the 10 terrorists who carried out the 26/11 attacks. Vicky Nanjappa finds out why.
Several reports put out by both the home ministry and also the Intelligence Bureau show that the seas continue to be the biggest cause for concern and that there is a long way to go before they are secure completely.
The Central government-appointed interlocutor for facilitating peace talks with the banned United Liberation Front of Assam P C Haldar, the former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, arrived in Guwahati for a three-day visit on Wednesday.
Taking a serious view of violence after the assembly poll results in West Bengal, the Calcutta high court on Friday ordered the state home secretary to file a report mentioning the places where the post-poll violence occurred and the steps taken to contain the violence.
