A week after Delhi and Maharashtra police clashed on the arrest of a person in the 13/7 Mumbai serial blasts, home minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said there should have been “better” exchange of information between the two forces but rejected conclusions that Maharashtra police had acted in
undue haste to scuttle the probe.
The home minister also pointed that the Maharashtra Anti-terror squad (ATS), Delhi Police and the Intelligence Bureau had had a meeting subsequently to reconcile their versions. “I think at that meeting an attempt was made to reconcile the different versions,” he said.
The two police forces were locked in a row over the arrest of Naquee Ahmed by the Maharashtra ATS in connection with the Mumbai blasts.
Delhi Police had objected to the arrest, arguing it scuttled a covert operation launched with the IB’s help to track down Yasin Bhatkal, one of the main accused in various bombings in the country.
Chidambaram said he didn’t think there was any attempt to scuttle the Delhi police probe.
“These are difficult cases and, yes, I would have liked better exchange between Delhi police and Maharashtra ATS but as you know there are two different police and two different state governments and, therefore, there may have been inadequate exchange of information,” he said. He, however, said National Counter Terrorism Centre would be an answer to all these operational hiccups.
On RK issue
Chidambaram dismissed suggestions that the government did not want controversial author Salman Rushdie in view of the UP polls, saying Rushdie’s decision not to visit India was his own.
Intel for CRPF
The home minister also announced sanction to the Central Reserve Police Force to create 468 posts for the intelligence wing. The wing, being raised under a seasoned intelligence officer K Srinivasan will have eight personnel in each battalion for snoop duties.
On Naxal menace
He also lashed out at Maoists for indulging in violence and oppression even though they claim to fight oppression. Referring to the Maoist directive asking its cadres to undergo vasectomy surgeries, he said there had been reports that naxals exploit girls, taking away boys and forcibly recruit (them).