INDIA UNDER SIEGE PART 3
IN THE cobweb of lanes and ghettos called Malegaon, don't mention the Bword. The beat constable - the strongest defender against terrorism-is a relic.
"This is the worst possible place that a policeman can be transferred to," a senior police official said in the Maharashtra town, refusing to be named. "It is as if you've stepped into a different country altogether." In this 'country', three bombs planted on bicycles exploded during Shab-eBaraat, an auspicious day of prayers for the departed, on Sept 8, 2006 at the Hamidiya Masjid. Thirty seven died; more than 100 were wounded.
Courts will decide on the nine accused. But Malegaon represents a larger ailment: the growing alienation of the Muslim community from the country's police.
In New Delhi, a top anti-terror official says the unspeakable. "In many states, there seems to be an unwritten law not to keep Muslims in the intelligence. It hampers investigations," he said. "We have also not been able to reach out to the community which could help us prevent and probe attacks." Of Malegaon's 12 lakh residents, some 75 per cent are Muslims. But the police employ less than 10 per cent Muslims - and there was little information on radicals in the local population.
"Officers can't understand the nuances of the spoken (Urdu) word or reading the hundreds of pamphlets published here," admits a senior officer "The concern is a drying up of human intelligence at the police station level," said an intelligence official in Delhi.
On the day of the blasts, plainclothes inspector Nasir Sheikh stood near the entrance to the mosque, lost in a crowd of thousands he was trying to control - with only three other policemen. It is unclear if that was an oversight or due to the excessive workload. No one was frisked as the crowd - which included thousands of beggars seeking alms on the auspicious day - just streamed in.
At ten to two, a deafening explosion jolted the area. Two more followed.
To read the full article. click here...
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"This is the worst possible place that a policeman can be transferred to," a senior police official said in the Maharashtra town, refusing to be named. "It is as if you've stepped into a different country altogether." In this 'country', three bombs planted on bicycles exploded during Shab-eBaraat, an auspicious day of prayers for the departed, on Sept 8, 2006 at the Hamidiya Masjid. Thirty seven died; more than 100 were wounded.
Courts will decide on the nine accused. But Malegaon represents a larger ailment: the growing alienation of the Muslim community from the country's police.
In New Delhi, a top anti-terror official says the unspeakable. "In many states, there seems to be an unwritten law not to keep Muslims in the intelligence. It hampers investigations," he said. "We have also not been able to reach out to the community which could help us prevent and probe attacks." Of Malegaon's 12 lakh residents, some 75 per cent are Muslims. But the police employ less than 10 per cent Muslims - and there was little information on radicals in the local population.
"Officers can't understand the nuances of the spoken (Urdu) word or reading the hundreds of pamphlets published here," admits a senior officer "The concern is a drying up of human intelligence at the police station level," said an intelligence official in Delhi.
On the day of the blasts, plainclothes inspector Nasir Sheikh stood near the entrance to the mosque, lost in a crowd of thousands he was trying to control - with only three other policemen. It is unclear if that was an oversight or due to the excessive workload. No one was frisked as the crowd - which included thousands of beggars seeking alms on the auspicious day - just streamed in.
At ten to two, a deafening explosion jolted the area. Two more followed.
To read the full article. click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/
Labels: Air India, blasts, Delhi police, maharastra, masjid, Muslim, terrorism
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