Maoists return to former fortress

By U Sudhakar Reddy
Hyderabad : Maoists have begun to regroup in North Telangana with the cadres including North Telangana zonal committee member Ganesh returning from Chhattisgarh. They have begun targeting the police information network mostly comprising former Naxals. Saturday’s attack in Karimnagar in which three alleged police informers were killed is a part of this operation.
The killings came not long after the police in Chhattisgarh cautioned that Andhra Pradesh’s success against the Maoists may be temporary. A senior police official told this correspondent: "There are 69 underground cadre in Karimnagar. All of them had dispersed and are working in other states."
"Six Maoists were here (in the district). For Saturday’s attack Maoists regrouped under the leadership of Ganesh," he said. After severe setbacks in their erstwhile strongholds, the Maoists clubbed all the committees to form the Karimnagar-Warangal-Khammam district committee. Ganesh is the secretary of this committee. Committee member Damodar alias B. Chokka Rao, Arunakka of the Mahadevpur local squad and 18 others were involved in the Karimnagar attack.
This is the largest congregation of Maoists in North Telangana after the reduction of violence in the past two years. "This is an alarming attack. It is a wake-up call," said a police official.

(Published in Deccan Chronicle on January 28 2008)

Suspect's kin: No mention of wires by police

By U SUDHAKAR REDDY
Hyderabad : Syed Kaleem, the brother of Syed Saleem of Hyderabad who died in Thursday's blast in Ajmer, has said that the police did not tell him about wires recovered from the pocket of his brother.
"They told us there was only Rs 100 and some change in his pocket," Mr Kaleem told this correspondent. "They did not tell us there were wires. It cropped up later."
"He has a wife and three children. How would he end his life by becoming a suicide bomber," Mr Kaleem, a real estate agent, asked. "My brother was psychologically fit," he added.
Rajasthan police had said that electrical wires were recovered from the pocket of Saleem, 42, of Janakinagar Colony in Tolichowki, who died in the blast at the Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti dargah in Ajmer. His body was found close to the site where the bomb went off.
The police is checking whether the wires were similar to the ones used in the bomb. The police is investigating whether the cellphone used to trigger the blast belonged to Saleem.
Mr Kaleem said that Rajasthan chief minister Vasundara Raje Scindia had spoken to him "at least for 15 minutes."
"She said that she would extend any support. Even Rajasthan police spoke well to us and they helped us in dispatching the body home," Mr Kaleem said. Personnel from the Central crime station spoke to Mr Kaleem on Saturday evening.

(Published in Deccan Chronicle and Asian Age on October 15 2007)

Study finds retinal degeneration is widespread

By U. Sudhakar Reddy
Age related macular degeneration (AMD), an irreversible condition, has suddenly risen to become the third biggest eye disease in India, next only to cataract and diabetic retinopathy and corneal scars.
AMD is recognised as the biggest cause of irreversible vision and retinal blindness in the US and Europe.
The sudden rise of AMD in India was revealed in a study conducted in Andhra Pradesh by L.V. Prasad Eye Institute. Earlier the estimated prevalence of retinal diseases was 10.3 per cent of which AMD constituted 2.7 per cent. That has now doubled, the study showed.
AMD generally strikes at about age 50. A person whose vision blurs in the centre may have AMD. It is a complex disorder and unlike other eye diseases treatment is limited and expensive and there is no reliable cure.
Change in food habits, smoking, hypertension, increase in cholesterol are cited as reasons for the increase in AMD incidence.
The eye institute also found a genetic basis for AMD. The Brien Holden Eye Research Centre of the institute stated in a report published in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences that variation of a gene Complement Factor-H increased the risk of AMD by five to ten times.
Dr R. Narayanan, a retinal diseases consultant of the institute, said that the disease affects the macula, a part of the retina. Macula is the part on which light rays are focused.
Intake of anti-oxidants like Vitamin E, Vitamin C and Zinc can slow the onset of AMD if not prevent it. "There is no awareness of the disease in the public," the doctor said. "We see at least two to three patients a day at our institute alone. When we compare the figure with those three years ago, it is almost double."
Treatment can be lengthy and expensive. In photo dynamic therapy, a cold laser shrinks abnormal blood vessels and decreases swelling. It costs around Rs 60,000 per sitting and is spread over three sittings.
Macugen, a medicinal drug, is injected into the eye. Each injection costs Rs 40,000 and Between 10 to 20 per cent of patients show improvement.
Between 20 to 30 per cent of patients show improvement with Avastin, a drug used for intestinal cancer treatment. It costs Rs 1,000 injection.
Lucentis was launched in the US in July this year but it costs $2,000 a shot. Repeats indicate that 30 to 40 per cent of patients are benefited.

(Published in Deccan Chronicle and Asian Age on October 26 2006)

AP 'Cobras' go in Bihar way

By Venkat Parsa in New Delhi and U. Sudhakar Reddy in Hyderabad

Sept. 13: CPI(M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury on Monday expressed concern that Andhra Pradesh is going the Bihar way with the emergence of caste-based private armies like Nallamalla Cobra (Nallatrachu). Mr Yechury said that in the north private armies are used primarily to oppress the weaker sections. The police and the administration do not help the private armies’ victims as they lack clout.Most problems are rooted in backwardness and greater development is the answer, Mr Yechury said. In a sense, even the demand for a separate Telangana emerges from backwardness, he said.

The CPI(M) opposes statehood for Telangana. For tackling backwardness, he said, the government should formulate a well-funded specific development plan. Land and land rights are at the core of the problem, Mr Yechury said, adding that violence breaks out when these rights are diluted. The state government should address these issues in right earnest; if timely measures are not initiated, the situation could soon worsen, he said.

If such caste-based private armies are allowed to survive, a majority of attacks would be directed against dalits and the landless poor. Most of the private armies would be operated by rich, upper-caste people. For them, the weaker sections are the target, he said, adding that in addition to organised massacres, private armies use dehumanising programmes to insult the weaker sections.Private armies take the guise of anti-Maoist groups and spring up after a major attack by extremists.

Fear Vikas, Green Tigers, Nalladandu, Red Tigers, Tirumala Tigers, Palnadu Tigers, Kakatiya Cobras, Narsa Cobras, Nallamalla Nallatrachu (Cobras) and Kranthi Sena are some of the gangs. The gangs have fiery logos featuring cobras, tigers and guns. Narsa Cobras was formed after the Maoists shot Maktal Congress legislator Narsi Reddy in Mahbubnagar district on August 15. Narsa Cobras has already killed Kanakachari, a backward castes person, for allegedly being an alleged Maoist sympathiser.Tirumala Tigers was formed after the attack on then chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on October 2003 at Alipiri, at the Tirumala foothills. Among the oldest is Green Tigers, formed in the then Naxal base of North Telangana in 1994. The Maoists have since set up base in the Nallamala forests bordering four districts in central Andhra. Among these, the Nallatrachus are said to targetdalits.

The group takes its name from the deadly cobras of the Nallamala forests. On Sunday, this group threatened balladeer Gaddar with death.It has claimed responsibility for the September 10 killing of M. Prasad of Kula Nirmulana Porata Samithi (samithi for eradicating caste). Prasad, who belonged to the scheduled castes, was killed the day KNPS state president Duddu Prabkahar was released on bail.The Nallamala Nallatrachu has threatened to kill residents in a dalit colony in Prakasam district, a report from Ongole said. The police has launched a search for Nallatrachu activists in the area. The scare began after unidentified persons wearing masks went around houses at night, questioning residents.Nallatrachu leader Neelakantu warned Gaddar: "Your brothers Vara Vara Rao and Kalyan Rao are in jail. You are still talking for the Maoists. Stop that or face the consequences."Gaddar told this correspondent, "These gangs are sponsored by the government to curb revolution and people’s democratic movements. I have asked the government to provide me with a licence so that I can get a gun to protect myself. They refused." Two personal security officers were posted for the security of Gaddar.

Gaddar escaped an attack in April 1997. "Green Tigers have already pumped bullets into my spine. Now this is the latest threat." he said. "Let them threaten me, I will not leave this path. I will sing for the people till my last breath. They can’t jail my songs, they can’t shoot my songs, they can’t kill my songs."Director-general of police Swaranjit Sen denied that the police was backing these gangs. "Where is the need? The police is doing everything as per the law to tackle the Maoist menace. The police is not supporting them." Mr Sen added, "The police will investigate (the killings) impartially. I feel that this is a natural reaction against the atrocities of the Maoists."Mr Sen stoutly denied the caste angle. He said "We have no information that the Cobra gangs are caste-based. They are reactionary forces to the Maoists. Their victims are not too many. Only two cases were reported, and these depended on the local situation. Based on two incidents how can we say that the victims or the accused belong to specific caste groups."Former naxalite Nayeemuddin, alias Nayeem, is suspected to be behind some of the killings. Nayeem is said to be associated with the Nalladandu gang.

"The gangs are formed by former naxals, relatives of the victims of naxals, extreme elements. The gangs earlier killed human rights activists Azam Ali and Purushottam. We suspect that these gangs have cyanide weapons that can kill easily," said a senior police official.Some former naxals are fielding their associates in the forthcoming municipal elections. It is alleged that Syed Asgar, an associate of Nayeem, was unanimously elected because no one dared contest against him in a municipal ward in Bhongir town, about 50 km from Hyderabad. He secured a Congress ticket.

(Published in Deccan Chronicle and Asian Age)

Baba promises thin-air babies

By U. SUDHAKAR REDDY
Chowdapur (Andhra Pradesh), Oct. 6: Hundreds of childless couples and ailing persons are lining up before two godmen in Chowdapur seeking miracle cures.
Swas Baba, alias E. Venkataiah, and Biscuit Baba, alias D. Venkataiah, are literally cashing in on their fears and desires.
Swas Baba, who has been attracting devotees for more than a year, claims he can help infertile women conceive a child by blowing air on their stomach. Then he offers them a lemon which he has blessed.
Biscuit Baba goes a step further and claims that he has a cure for every ailment under the sun, including those which have puzzled physicians.
Devotees come to them not only from Ranga Reddy district but also from neighbouring Mahabubnagar and far off Medak.
"Why are you questioning my credentials," Swas Baba asked when this correspondent confronted him. "I have been chosen to make the barren conceive. I am not taking any money from them. I do't even touch them. It is all God's work."
However, local people said he was taking cash offerings from devotees.
Biscuit Baba, formerly a shepherd, claims he was bestowed with "heavenly powers" 16 years ago. "Many people have been cured of their diseases after coming here," he said.
He hates it when he is compared to Swas Baba. "There is no cheating here," he said. "The other swamy may be a cheat. Don't compare me with him."
According to local people, the two semi-literate persons metamorphosed into godmen overnight and suddenly started attracting hundreds of devotees. "All you need for this kind of business is a tree adjacent to a temple where you can sit, and the gift of the gab," said a villager with a cynical smile.
The fame of the two babas has spread far and wide so quickly that even mentally ill persons are brought to them for miracle cures. They don't turn away anyone.
Parigi Ramulu, a villager of Chowdapur, said Venkataiah, who became Swas Baba, was an ordinary villager who worked in the fields. "I don't know how he became a godman," he said.
At least 200 people visit him every day seeking his blessings. "It is a racket," said Ramulu, adding, "He takes Rs 5 from each devotee as a token offering and other cash offerings too."
But devotees strongly believe in his power. "The baba told us to come here for five Saturdays in a row," said Radhamma and her husband Jayappa of Palepalli in Doma mandal, adding, "We have been married for four years and have no kids. We are sure we will have children now."
Chandraiah, another devotee, claimed that his wife gave birth after being blessed by the baba.
However K. Krishnaiah, whose daughter is a devotee of Swas Baba, said he had been collecting money from people promising miracles. "His behaviour is suspicious," said Krishnaiah.
Kulakacharla sub-inspector of police A. Balaiah said the antics of the godmen had come to their notice only recently. "We will look into this," he said. "We will book a case if someone lodges a complaint."
It is pointed out that the failure of the health department to offer medical care to ailing villagers had prompted them to approach godmen. However, Ranga Reddy district medical and health officer L. Shobavathi said there were 39 PHCs in the area. "The villagers go to these swamys and come to the PHCs only when their conditions worsen," she said. "But we take all the blame." She added that there was no scientific basis for the swamys' claims. "But we can't say anything about the beliefs of people," she added.

(Published in Deccan Chronicle and Asian Age on October 7 2007)

Andhra poor brave Iraq death trap

ByP. Sridhar in Karimnagar and U. Sudhakar Reddy in Hyderabad

Andhra Pradesh's agricultural labourers prefer the scorching deserts of Iraq to the barren fields of their home state. The ever-present possibility of violent death does not terrify them: the alternative is a slow death from hunger.Hundreds of agricultural labourers from several drought-hit villages of Andhra Pradesh are migrating secretly to Iraq to make a living doing menial jobs in US military camps, construction sites and transport companies. As they leave their families behind, it is the prospect of decent pay packets that keeps their chins up.

At least they don't have to resort to begging, like many of their compatriots, their families say.The Indian government's "official ban" on visas to Iraq is no hindrance. Dubious agents from Mumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi help them slip into Iraq after they reach Kuwait and Dubai.

Most of them have no idea of the dangers. They have not heard about the Indian labourers who were kidnapped and held for ransom by resistance fighters. Even those who are aware of the dangers don't care. Several are working as dhobis (laundrymen), scavengers, cooks, drivers and construction workers in war-torn Iraq for salaries paid in US dollars.Officials said that about 500 workers from Karimnagar district fly to Gulf countries in search of work every month, and that a major chunk of them slipping into Iraq to make some quick money.

"Dangerous terrain, decent pay" is a formula acceptable to many of them.Special Branch (immigration department) assistant commissioner M. Ramachandra Reddy said that since there was a ban on flying to Iraq, workers go to other Gulf countries before finding their way to the war zone.The majority of the people leaving for the Gulf are from Telangana districts, such as Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Adilabad, and coastal districts, such as East and West Godavari. Migration to the Gulf is not new in any of these districts, but the exodus to Iraq is creating much heartache for the families of the labourers. Most of them spend sleepless nights thinking about what has become of their loved ones.The youth are doing it out of sheer desperation.

The devastating drought conditions and lack of livelihood opportunities in the villages are forcing their hands. Several unemployed youth of Morthad, in Nizamabad, and Khanapur, in Adilabad, are now working in Iraq. The trend is catching on in other villages too.The story of Paidipally Dayakar, 35, of Chalgal village in Karimnagar district, is a typical instance.

Faced with acute poverty, Dayakar, a driver, migrated to Iraq, leaving behind his son, three daughters and elderly parents. He borrowed Rs 1.5 lakh from local moneylenders to pay the agents who promised to get him to Iraq. Dayakar's parents, P. Narayana and Lakshmi, are now very worried about their son. "A person claiming to be our son's colleague called us up and said he was working as a driver," said Narayana. "But our son has not called us. Nor has he written a letter. We hope he is safe." Lakshmi said between sobs that she would not have allowed her son to go abroad had she known that his destination was Iraq.

"Who will take care of these motherless children if something goes wrong," she asked.It is learnt that over 1,000 youth from Chalgal village, which has a total population of 5,000, migrated to different Gulf countries in the last few years. Several hundred of them are now in Iraq.Karimnagar collector C. Parthasarthi, however, said he was unaware of the migration to Iraq and that he would inquire into the matter.A sub-inspector of the immigration wing told this newspaper that most of the youth were employed for menial tasks in military camps, such as washing and ironing clothes and cooking food. "They get about $800-$1,000 a month, which is a big sum for them," he said, adding that there were many travel agents conducting dubious operations from Hyderabad and Mumbai. "Sometimes the travel documents say that a person is an AC mechanic, or an electrician, but most of them are agricultural labourers," he said. The majority of the people who leave for Gulf countries are poor. "We can hardly find a software engineer or a technically qualified person going to the Gulf these days," said the sub-inspector.Mumbai-based agent B. Rajesh admitted that some of the persons he had helped travel to Gulf countries might have gone to Iraq. "I don't have details," he said.Gannarapu Bhoomaiah, who runs Surya Chandra International agency at Metpally, said he was flooded with requests from youth who wanted to go to Iraq.

"However, I bluntly refused to accept their applications. I told them that the government had banned visits to Iraq," he said.But not all agents care about government regulations. Most of them collect amounts ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh from the youth after promising them good jobs in Iraq. The "selected" youth are then sent to Dubai on visitors' visas and, subsequently, to different destinations in Iraq through Dubai-based job agencies that have links with the travel agents.This is a risky venture since some of the youth end up in Dubai's jails after their visas expire. K. Ravi of Chelgal village said most of the youth were so frustrated with the lack of opportunity that they were willing to take the risk. "We have no work here," he said. Their Gulf dreams shattered, several youth from Karimnagar district who went in search of livelihoods have returned home from Iraq.Konka Mahesh, 23, of Mutyampet in Malyal mandal, returned home penniless after spending about one month at the base camp of US-led forces stationed on the outskirts of Baghdad. Two other youth from the same village - K. Ramana Reddy, 24, and S. Ramulu, 24 - also reached home after undergoing nightmarish experiences in Iraq. Three more youth from Mutyampet are currently working in the same camp, known as Victoria Camp.These youth landed in the "desert trap" after being lured by greedy sub-agents of Mumbai-based Gulf job recruiting agencies in the name of attractive jobs in Dubai. Scores of unemployed youth left for Dubai by paying exorbitant amounts, even as much as Rs 1.50 lakh each, taken as loans at high interest rates in the last couple of months.

The availability of cheap labour in Telangana has prompted several Dubai-based manpower recruiting agencies to send job requirement quotations to their allied agencies in Mumbai, Hyderabad and other cities to cater to the requirements of the allied forces, in defiance of the existing ban in India on travelling to Iraq for employment.A visibly shaken Mahesh said that he, along with eight others from Mutyampet, Thatipalli and Gollapalli, left for Dubai on June 23, 2004, by paying Rs 1.10 lakh each to a mandal based sub-agent. "After spending two days at Alkush area in Dubai, we were airlifted to Baghdad by a white man. We realised that we were in Iraq only after landing at Baghdad international airport," Mahesh said. "We were taken to a military camp 15 km from the airport where we were entrusted with tasks like cleaning clothes and washing utensils for $1,200 per month," he said. There were workers from Kerala, Gujarat and other parts of the country besides those from Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad and West Godavari districts, he recalled. "Though we were offered nutritious food, the constant fear of attacks by the rebels haunted us in the camps," he said.So what made him and the others return home? "The bullet injury suffered by one of our Pakistani colleagues while travelling with military troops to Baghdad frightened us. On that particular day we made up our minds to go back home," Mahesh said.Mahesh said they persuaded a "madam" at the camp to leave home by abstaining from work for a day.

"Three of us managed to arrive in Mumbai via Dubai with the help of the compassionate madam," he said. Laxmakka, Mahesh's mother, said that their family was now heavily in debt because her son's trip abroad, for which he had taken a large loan, had proved unsuccessful.The government has as yet not cared to find out ways to prevent the youth from going on this suicidal venture. In fact, the authorities have no information on the youth who have gone to the killing fields to make a life.When contacted, director-general of police Swaranjit Sen said, "There may be instances of youth going to Iraq through the Middle East. However, it's not at an alarming rate, otherwise it would have caught our attention." The DGP added that the police will probe the issue.

(Published in Deccan Chronicle and Asian Age on March 2, 2005)

Hyderabad bride bazaar is global

By U. Sudhakar Reddy

Hyderabad, Oct. 11: Sleuths who raided the office of Qazi Waheed Qureshi were shocked to discover that Hyderabad's "bride bazaar" had been catering to "clie-nts" from across the world, including the US, Somalia and Ethiopia. This is in addition to grooms who constantly sneak in from Yemen, Oman, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. They arrested the qazi for marrying off two young women from Hyderabad to a pair of Omani twins and hiding the fact that were epilepsy patients.

The police arrested a total of three qazis and two brokers for marrying off the two young women. Sameena Begum, 23, and Nazia Begum, 20, are reportedly leading miserable lives at Alkhaboora, in Sohar town in Oman, and have informed their parents that they were being physically tortured by their husbands. The police swung into action after the parents informed them that they had received desperate calls from their daughters, who are virtually imprisoned in their husbands' houses in Oman.

It was discovered that Qureshi himself performed eight marriages in the past two years for grooms from a variety of the countries. "Earlier they used to conduct these marriages over the phone," said a police officer. "Now they are giving power of attorney through a representative and conducting the marriage in the presence of photographs." Qureshi was accused in a similar case in 2005 at Kalapattar police station, where he authorised the marriage of an Oman national to two girls together.

"Without such marriages the parents of these girls will never be able to construct such big houses," said Qureshi, who is now in the custody of the Santoshnagar police. "The bridegrooms come from many countries across the globe."The police also discovered that Qureshi's authority to continue as qazi was put on hold in August, but many marriages were performed prior to that. The seized documents from his house revealed that grooms from Yemen, Sudan, the US, Ethiopia and Somalia had married several women from the city in the last two years.

"We will translate these documents into English to find out whether irregularities have taken place," said Mr Sai Krishna. "We are going to trace the brides to find out if they are being victimised."The girls were married to the Omani twins on July 18 this year. The grooms claimed to be government officials but were epilepsy patients living on meagre social security. "The qazis and the brokers concealed facts," said inspector S. Sai Krishna.

"They told the parents of the girls that the Omani grooms were rich."Apart from Qureshi, alias Sajid, 43, a qazi staying in Old Santoshnagar Colony, Syed Shanawaz, 50, a marriage broker of Riyasatnagar, his sister Mumtaz Begum, 40, Mohammed Zaheeruddin, 50, a chief qazi of Nacharam, and M.A. Rasheed, 33, a nayab qazi of Nallagutta, were arrested.The police has also registered cases against the Omani grooms, identified as Yousuf Bin Salim Thani Al Busadi, who married Nazia, and Mohammed Bin Salim Al Bussaid, who married Sameena. The marriage was performed in the absence of the grooms. Only their photographs were present.

Nazia's mother Surayya Begum, 42, said she had objected when Mumtaz and Shahnawaz suggested that the marriage be performed with a photograph. "But chief qazi Zaheeruddin convinced me that it is permitted in our religion," she said. Nazia left for Oman on September 27. "A day later she called up and said that her husband was a madman," said her mother. "He is torturing my daughter."Sameena's father, Syed Mustafa, said he could not read the marriage documents since they were in Arabic. "The parents of the girls got Rs 4,000 each and the mediators Rs 8,000 each," said inspector Sai Krishna. "Qureshi was paid Rs 26,000 and he gave Rs 1,000 to Rasheed."Qazi Zaheeruddin, however, said the documents brought by the representatives of the Omani grooms were legal. "There is no fault on our side," said Qureshi, adding, "Even the waqf board gave its certification for the marriage."The police said the Indian embassy in Oman has been informed of the plight of the girls. "Our priority is to get them back to India," said Mr Sai Krishna.

A senior police officer said the poverty and greed of the parents were the main reasons for such marriages. "In the latest incident, one girl's mother is a maid servant and the other's father is a radio repairman," he said.

(Published in Deccan Chronicle and Asian Age on 12/10/2006)

2 Bilals: Police says terrorist, father says no

By U SUDHAKAR REDDY
Hyderabad, May 19: Mohammed Abdul Shahed, alias Bilal, the man on whom the police seeks to pin the blame for Friday's blast at Mecca Masjid, seems like two persons.
The police claims 39-year-old Shahed is Andhra Pradeshs most wanted terrorist and has asked the CBI to ask for an Interpol red alert. He is believed to be operating from Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh. The police claims he is the head of operations in South India for Jaish-e-Mohammed and a key operative for Bangladesh's Harkat Ul Jihad Al Islami (Huji).
A welder while he was in Moosarambagh in Hyderabad, Shahed, the police claims, is a bombmaker who trains youth from Hyderabad in terror camps in the Sunderbans and Bandarbans and Chittagong forests in Bangladesh. His main area of operation is said to be Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
The police pins practically every major incident on Shahed: the attack on the IISc at Bangalore, the suicide bombing at the Hyderabad task force office in October 2005 and a plot to kill BJP and VHP leaders.
The police claims that Shahed sneaked into India and went to Bidar a few days before the suicide bombing. Shahed's brother Zahed is in jail for alleged involvement in that bombing.
Mohammed Ibrahim, alias Khalid, a classmate of Shahed, is said to be the main conspirator in a plot to kill then state BJP chief N. Indrasena Reddy and was arrested in Secunderabad in 2006. A month ago, the police arrested one Maqsood who reportedly recruited youth for Shahed.
But the picture that his father draws of Shahed is different. Abdul Waheed says Shahed left home five years ago as "the financial situation was not good". He said Shahed is 25 years old, and not 39 as the police believes. "Shahed never did welding work," said Waheed, denying another police claim. At that time he was an intermediate student of Mumtaz College. "He is less than 25 years old now," Shahed's father Wahed said. "We never saw him or spoke to him after he left home. He has never called us or met us," Wahed told this correspondent.
Shahed has six brothers and three sisters. Zahed is in jail in Visakhapatnam, a daughter Hafeez and youngest son Majeed stay with him. "Majeed couldn't continue his studies after Class 10. He is a cellphone mechanic," Wahed said. Of his other sons, Ahad, Samad, Majid and Khaled stay in Saudi Arabia doing ordinary jobs. The family stays near a mosque in Moosrambagh and is very religious. Waheed made all his sons study in Urdu schools. Waheed is a retired teacher and lives on his pension. "We have never discussed jihad in the house. Shahed was a normal, well-behaved youth. I can't believe that he has become a terrorist. I don't believe that he is involved in the Mecca Masjid blast."
"The media and police have been saying so much about him. We don't know what happened to him. Sometimes they said that he was caught in Bangalore and sometimes in Delhi. The police even alleged that we met him in Bidar when he was reportedly here. It is not true. We have not met him. If he had done something wrong, he has to be punished if it is proved," said Waheed. "We are in real trouble for the past three years. Relatives and neighbours are afraid to talk to us because of the police branding of the son," said Waheed
(Published in Deccan Chronicle, Asian Age on May 20th 2007)

Maoists blog faster than cops can delete

By U SUDHAKAR REDDY
Hyderabad, Dec. 30: The cyber duel between the police and the Maoists has turned into a cat and mouse game. Every time the police gets a website or a blog closed, Maoist sympathisers set up another one and continue as before.
The cyber catch-me-if-you-can hotted up last week after the police got People's March, the most popular pro-Maoist site, blocked through Central agencies. Its editor Govindan Kutty was arrested in Kerala.
The website used to carry interviews with top Maoist leaders, including Ganapati and spokesperson Azad. It was blocked a year ago but emerged again and was blocked last week.
The Special Intelligence Branch says People's March and other websites act as communication links between the underground cadres and sympathisers.
The service provider has left a message stating that the action was taken for violation of programme policies.
Following this, however, Maoist sympathisers set up maoistmovementinindia.com. The new site carried a warning to the police to release Kutty or he would go on a hungerstrike.
A senior police official said, "Maoists are using the Internet to propagate their ideology. The network is big." The Maoists are under pressure in Andhra Pradesh with the police evicting them from most of their bases.
The Internet offers a safe way to get the Maoist message across. "Several Maoist sympathisers from AP are writing columns using pennames," the official said.
The state police suspects that Maoist leaders in hiding in Andhra Pradesh frequently visit Kerala, where most of the pro-Maoist bloggers are based.
Sources pointed out that Maoist leader Raji Reddy was picked up in Kerala earlier this month. Following this, the Revolutionary People's Front complained to the Kerala government which resulted in the police announcing Raji Reddy's arrest.
Pointing to the close links, the police noted that the AP Revolutionary Writers Association had condemned the arrest of Kutty of People's March.
Sources in the police said the bloggers have close links with Maoist sympathisers and this has been detected by sniffer software.
Resistance India.blogsot.com, a Maoist blog, was hacked in August, and the role of the law enforcing agencies is suspected. Following this, the Maoist sympathisers created maoistresitance.blogspot.com. The police has also blocked Naxal revolution.blogspot but expect another blog to replace it.
From the police side, www.naxalwatch.blogspot.com, an anti-Maoist website supported by AP-based police officials, is a popular anti-Naxal blogspot.

(Published in Deccan Chronicle, Asian Age on December 31st 2007)

South Colleges head dead north for bodies

By U. SUDHAKAR REDDY
Hyderabad, Nov. 24: Sales of unclaimed dead bodies from Hyderabad's Osmania and Gandhi General Hospital mortuaries have declined sharply because of a price war. Regular customers, including private medical colleges from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, now prefer to buy bodies from hospitals in Maharashtra and other northern states, which sell them cheaper.
The Andhra Pradesh government had directed mortuaries to sell unclaimed bodies to private medical colleges for dissection and anatomy studies at the rate of Rs 15,000 per cadaver. However, neighbouring Maharashtra sells a body for rates ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000.
"There is also a huge black market where bodies are being sold for even lower prices," said Dr M. Narayana Reddy, head of Osmania Medical College's forensic department.
At present there are seven unclaimed bodies lying in the Osmania mortuary, but there are no takers. Similarly, there are 15 unclaimed bodies awaiting buyers in the Gandhi Medical College mortuary. "We have more facilities in our new mortuary and there are more bodies for sale," said Dr G. Surender Reddy, head of the GMC forensic department. "But we don't have any requisitions at present."
For the past five years, Andhra Pradesh was South India's major cadaver seller. But the price war has changed it all. The official policy is to give unclaimed bodies to government medical colleges free and to sell them to private medical colleges. Preference is given to private medical colleges in the state.
"We haven't got any requests for bodies from private medical colleges outside the state in the past two months," said Dr P. Harikrishna a forensic doctor at the Osmania Medical College. "They are getting it for lower prices from Maharashtra and the northern states." He added that the hospital made Rs 20 lakhs this year through the sale of bodies. "Private medical colleges in the state also have a sufficient number of bodies till May," he said.
Local mortuaries in Kurnool, Guntur and Vijayawada are catering to the needs of private medical colleges in the neighbourhood. The director of medical education, Dr A.V.Y. Chary, said the drop in sales had not come to his notice. "The money made from the sale of bodies is used to develop hospitals," he said.

(Published in Deccan Chronicle and Asian Age on November 25 2007)

No prints taken from defused bomb

By U. SUDHAKAR REDDY
Hyderabad, Aug. 29: The city police blundered by not lifting fingerprints from the unexploded bomb found at Moosarambagh on August 25 after defusing it.
Latent prints from the unexploded bomb could have been compared with the existing fingerprint database of known suspects. It could even have served as solid evidence if the bomber is ever caught and put to trial. There are complains that the city security wing officials defused the bomb in the most unprofessional manner.
"We were not called to the scene by the police," said a fingerprint expert. "We could have taken fingerprints from the metallic foil and alarm piece after the bomb was defused."
He added that it would have been better if the bomb disposal squad had put on gloves while defusing it. "We did not have much role to play in Lumbini Park and Gokul Chaat Bhandar but the other case was different," said the expert. He added that it was not possible to take fingerprints from the unexploded bomb before it was defused. "Even if the bomb is handled by officers of the bomb disposal squad, we can eliminate their prints," said the expert.