Hyderabad terror suspects in Karachi project

U Sudhakar Reddy

Hyderabad is a hot spot for terror recruitments, say counter-intelligence sleuths. The capture of terror recruiter Shaik Khwaja alias Amjad last month, the man who admitted he had reconnoitered Hyderabad and its oil storage depots, has raised fears that the city’s five year long tryst with terror is set to continue. And that Pune is just a pointer of more to come.Khwaja of Moosrambagh, Hyderabad, linked to both the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) and the HuJI, is wanted for his involvement in the October 2006 suicide bombing at the Hyderabad Police Task Force office - where the bomber and a constable died - and the Kolkata fake Indian currency notes case.Khwaja’s confessions that he had recruited youth from Hyderabad and Maharashtra for the Pakistan-based LeT, was an eye-opener. He had seen several “missing” Hyderabadi youth in the terror camps in Karachi and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. When the Mumbai Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) came to interrogate him, he reportedly even identified terror suspects from pictures shown to him.Khwaja confessed to cops that he, another absconding terrorist belonging to the Indian Mujahideen (IM), Bada Sajid from Hyderabad, and Amir Reza Khan were present when a retired officer of the Pakistan Army showed them video clippings of the Osho Ashram of Pune (German Bakery that was blown up in Pune on February 13 is located near the ashram), the Blue Synagogue in Mumbai and the RSS headquarters in Nagpur and in Kolkata, oil refineries in Chennai and Hyderabad and the headquarters of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Delhi. Khwaja also said LeT operatives conducted a recce on Gujarat and Hyderabad police HQ in a plot to bomb them.Khwaja’s confessions only serve to re-confirm that the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) and Harkat-ul Mujahideen Islami (HuJI) of Bangladesh have strong links in Hyderabad. The ’Karachi connection’ of 21 missing terror suspects from Hyderabad is the biggest worry for the cops after it emerged that the Pune blasts may have been carried out as part of the Karachi Project with the involvement of absconding or new recruits of the Indian Mujahideen, guided by the LeT. With the several national institutes and defence installations, the communally sensitive Hyderabad has the added lure for terrorists of being an IT hub. The city has always been on the terror radar.

Babus in Andhra on foreign jaunts

U Sudhakar Reddy

Two ministers and 20 top officials of the state are on foreign jaunts this summer.
The home minister, Mr K. Jana Reddy, is on an official visit to the United States along with officials and the minister for revenue, Mr Dharmana Prasada Rao, is on a private trip to London.
Top officials of the industries department, police, APSRTC and GHMC are also spending the summer abroad.
The principal secretary (Industries and Commerce), Mr Busi Sam Bob, AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd CMD, Mr B.P. Acharya and additional secretary to Chief Minister, Mr M. Pratap, are visiting China from April 20 to April 29 on an official trip.
The principal secretary (Home), Mr P.V. Naidu, Fire and Emergency Services department director general, Ms Aruna Bahuguna and additional DG (Law and Order), Mr A.K. Khan, are on a visit to the US from April 9 to April 20 along with the home minister. This is also an official tour which will cost the government Rs 35 lakh.
Other officials include the GHMC additional commissioner, Mr Dhanunjeya Reddy, chief veterinary officer, Mr Venkateswara Reddy and additional commissioner (Health), Mr Ram Mohan Rao. IAS official, Mr Jayesh Ranjan, and the Tourism Department director, Mr K.V. Reddy, visited Colombo on April 5 and 6.
The principal secretary, Mr G. Sudhir, visited Berlin while Panchayat Raj and Rural Development secretary, Mr Ajay Mishra visited Bangkok.
Several other officials are also going on private and official visits.
A senior official of the general administration department said the government had decided to restict foreign tours as many officials were undertaking them without any need

Unsafe Theatres Have Their Way!

U. Sudhakar Reddy
Hyderabad, April 16: The government is presently in a spree to grant permission to expand theatre halls even if they flout rules. Recently, the state granted permission to a movie hall at Sri Raghavendra Theatre Complex at Malkajgiri, the third of its kind, though it has already been found that there is not enough open space in the complex.
After Prasads Imax, this is the latest theatre to get such permission. In another case, authorities accorded permission to two theatres in the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) land at Kushaiguda, which is meant for setting up electronics industry. The managing partner of Sri Raghavendra Theatres Complex, Mr N. Mallesh Yadav, had filed a review petition with the government to grant a no objection certificate for the construction of a third mini-theatre on the ground floor.
Earlier, the government had rejected their appeal. Following this, the management filed a review petition stating they have complied with the fire safety rules. The management recalled the interim orders passed by the High Court in March 2007, which states that the government should not insist on structural changes in existing theatre buildings in respect of mandatory open space.
Following the review petition, the government asked the Cyberabad commissioner of police, the fire services DG and the GHMC chief city planner to inspect the premises and submit reports. Their reports said there are certain lapses and suggested that it is not desirable to construct an additional theatre. Mr Mallesh countered the report arguing that an additional parking space of 2,000 sq ft has already been provided. He was later awarded permission. Similarly, the state granted permission for the construction of Baby Sandhya Theatre in Tirupati.

In Hyderabad most US citizens are babies

By U Sudhakar Reddy

Hyderabad, April 5: Most US citizens are babies It may sound unbelievable. But statistics said that most of the citizens of the US and Canada living in Hyderabad are below the age of four.
A majority of the 933 US citizens who are registered with the Hyderabad police and the 577 registered with the Cyberabad police commissionarate (2007), are children holding an US passport and Person of Indian Origin Card.
Statistics revealed by the city and the Cyberabad police say that most of these children live with their grandparents. The trend has increased in the last four years.
According to police, the number will cross 8,000 in a few years. A police official of the foreigners' branch in Hyderabad said, "Children with visas of the US, Cana da, Australia and UK are being brought here by their NRI parents who go back to work leaving the kids with grandparents for more than three years." Some of the children also hold tourist visas.
Similar cases are observed in other parts of the state, particularly in the coastal districts where they regis ter with the commissioners and superintendents of police concerned.
Mr Uma Maheswara Rao, a lecturer at Chaitanya College, Kukatpally, who came to Cyberabad police commissionarate on Wednesday to register his the name of his granddaughter, a US citizen, said, "My daughter lives in Seattle and her daughter is living with us. We take care of her. She will go back to her parents after a few months."
Around 590 Canadians and 287 Australians and 416 UK citizens were registered with the Hyderabad Police Commissionarate in the last four years. In Cyberabad alone in 2007, 27 Canadians and 15 Australians were registered.
The Hyderabad police commissionarate has made arrangements to facilitate easy registration.

Nationals of 115 countries live in Hyderabad

By U Sudhakar Reddy
Hyderabad March 30 : Hyderabad has now become an international destination, thanks to immigrants from 115 countries settling down in the city.
Most of these are students, while others work for IT companies and in the hotel industry. In 2004, foreigners from about 70 countries resided in the city.
According to the data available with the foreigners branch in the special branch of Hyderabad city police, there are 18,818 foreigners registered.
The number excludes the number of tourists visiting the cityand the ones registered with the Cyberabad police commissionerate.
Students from Armenia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Djibouti, Esplanade, Hellenic, Sierra Leone and Botswana have enrolled themselves in various courses in the Osmania University, Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages (Ciefl), Nizam College and several other colleges in the city.
Foreigners branch inspector of police, Shiva Kumar, said, "Those who stay over six months are registered with us. Students from other countries have to register within 14 days of their arrival."
Yemen, United States of America, Sudan, Somalia, Canada, Australia, Ethiopia, United Kingdom, Pakistan, Nigeria and Australia are some of the top countries in the list of foreign nationals residing in the city, Mr Kumar said.
At least 4,327 US citizens mostly of Indian origin, 5,378 Pakistanis, 1,436 Sudanese have registered in the city in the past four years. Police is also monitoring the movement of tourists in the city.
"To keep tab on the tourists, we have asked all the hotels to send the details of the foreigners checking in with them within 24 hours," said Mr Kumar.
More and more foreigners are queuing up daily to register their arrivals at the Foreigners Branch of Hyderabad Police Commisionerate and Cyberabad Police Commissionerate, Mr Kumar said.

Dad fights for justice for the dead daughter

By U Sudhakar Reddy
Hyderabad, March 22: A father’s tireless fight for justice neared fruition on Saturday with authorities agreeing to seek a CBI probe into his daughter’s suspicious death two years ago. Ansu Varughis, an MNC employee, was found hanging in her house at Banjara Hills in 2006. While police termed it suicide, her father, Mr A.M. Kuruvilla, alleged that it was murder.
“We have a sought a CBI probe into the case,” said the Crime Investigation Department inspector general, Mr S. Umapathi. “As of now, the case is with the CID.” Ansu’s husband, Mr Ribu John Varughis, had reportedly been harassing her for money. On June 18, 2006, Mr Varughis said he found Ansu hanging on a window bar in their flat at Banjara Saman Apartment. Banjara Hills police registered a case of suspicious death and the CID later altered it into dowry death.
The CID Women Protection Cell Deputy Superintendent, Dr B. Vittal, who investigated the case, concluded that Mr Ribu, 34, director of a media company, had been torturing his wife for dowry and was responsible for her death. Following this, Mr Varughis was arrested by the CID on December 2006. Mr Varughis married Ansu in 2000 June after taking Rs 5 lakh and 50 sovereigns of gold as dowry. But he continued to harass her, demanding that her father should buy a flat for him.
However, the investigators did not agree with Mr Kuruvilla’s allegation that Ansu had been murdered. Mr Kuruvilla told this correspondent from Chennai that the initial postmortem report had stated that there was an injury on her skull. "But there was no possibility of her suffering such an injury by hitting the window bar," he said. "My daughter was beaten up and strangled and experts had said the injury also indicated that."
Dr K. Janardhan of Osmania General of Hospital said in his postmortem report that the death occurred because of hanging but also suggested that investigators should probe the reasons for the contusion on the skull. The CID also found that the Banjara Hills police didn’t conduct its investigation as per Supreme Court guidelines on dowry deaths and recommended action against the police officers.
After Mr Kuruvilla alleged foul play another autopsy was conducted by Prof. Surender Reddy of Gandhi Hospital and Prof. Narayana Reddy of OGH. They said there were no injuries other than the ligature mark of hanging. The AP Forensic Science Laboratory report also said that there was no sign of poisoning but another expert not support the suicide theory. Next it was the turn of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, which termed it a suicide.
There were also other discrepancies. The inquest report stated there were no ornaments on the body but the photograph of the deceased showed that she was wearing a chain, rings and wrist watch. The CID also found out that the main door of the flat was locked from outside. Mr Kuruvilla, who firmly believed that his daughter was killed, continued his fight for justice. He also started a blog to present his case. The decision to hand over the case to the CBI has brought him some relief.
He has now filed a petition with the SHRC to direct church authorities to allow him to conduct the last rites of his daughter again in a proper manner. Ansu was buried in a church at Ramachandrapuram without proper Christian rituals since it was believed she committed suicide. "I want to take her remains to Kerala and bury her in our family vault at Kottayam with all the proper rites," said Mr Kuruvilla.

US gets most fake papers from AP

By U Sudhakar Reddy
Hyderabad, March 2: Visa consultants and individuals from Hyderabad send the highest number of false documents while applying for US visas, according to the police at Chennai’s Royapettah.
A team of Royapettah police was in the city a few days ago to investigate three cases of visa fraud. According to the Royapettah officials at least 50 per cent of the documents submitted in support of the visa applications at US consulate in Chennai are fake. A CCS official said, “Most of the fraudulent documents are originating from Hyderabad-based consultancies and agents. Several visa agents wanted in cases booked by the US consulate in Chennai are from Hyderabad.”
The fraudsters faced cheating and forgery cases. “The city has become the hub of H-1B visa fraud,” he said. “People go to the US with fake papers,” the officer said. “The search for jobs begins only after they land in the US.” The US consulate had earlier announced tough measures against fraudsters and warned that those who present fake papers will be barred for the rest of their life from entering the US.
In 2007 Task Force sleuths here busted a racket of fake visa documents and arrested a retired bank employee, Shaik Abdul Rasheed, 58, and a history-sheeter of Dabeerpura police station, Alam Ali Khan, 62. The investigation lead to a Hyderabadi based in Chennai.They allegedly prepared fake income certificates, bank balance statements, property assessment documents and experience certificates from reputed companies. Rasheed came in contact with one Raju of Tamil Nadu who used to take demand drafts in favour of US Consulate. The US Embassy has referred seven cases of fraud for investigation in 2007.

(Published in Deccan Chronicle March 3 2008)