7 - 13 February 2002
Issue No.572
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 7 - 13 February 2002 Issue No.572 |
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Murder mystery
Terrorists or criminals? Sudhanshu Ranjan, in Calcutta, reports on the unexplained killings in front of the American Centre in the capital city of West Bengal
"Bengal is an oasis of peace." This was the oft- repeated claim that West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya made when seeking to reassure others that all was well with his state. But this claim was shattered on 22 January when the early morning peace in the state capital, Calcutta, was shattered as five policemen were killed and 24 persons injured in a swift terrorist strike on the building of the American Centre, situated in the heart of the city.
At any other time, it might have been a drill. At 6.30 every morning, a Black Maria police van pulls up in front of the American Centre with a posse of armed policemen to relieve their bleary- eyed colleagues who had been on guard duty at night. The US library and cultural centre is a traditional target for political agitators, hence the 24-hour security presence. But on 22 January the shift change was far from routine. There was hardly any traffic near Chowringhee, the Jawaharlal Nehru Road, when two motorcycles with pillion riders approached. The four men were completely wrapped up in shawls. One rider apparently checked an address with a passerby.
Then, all hell broke loose. The riders zoomed in on the policemen and suddenly two men, whipping out their AK-47 assault rifles, started spraying them with bullets. It took exactly 50 seconds. Beginning at 6.25am, 54 rounds were fired, five policemen were killed and 24 wounded, including some bystanders.
Within hours, two groups were claiming responsibility. A man named Aftab Ansari, an alias for Dubai-based underworld don Farhan Malik, called the police superintendent in Calcutta's criminal investigation department from Dubai on behalf of the Pakistan-based Harkat-ul-Jehad-e- Islami (HUJI) and admitted responsibility. Another group, the Asif Raza commando Force, also rang up newspapers and a government office and claimed that the strike was in retaliation for the death in police custody in Gujarat of Asif Raza alias Rajan of Beniapuker, who had joined up with HUJI to carry out various "assignments" including the kidnapping of shoe baron P Ray Burman.
Calcutta's chief minister, Bhattacharya, was forced to admit that a security lapse had occurred: "Neither the state administration nor I had visualised that such an attack could take place at all."
The US refused to dub it a terrorist attack. Rex Moser, director of the American Centre, and US Consul-General Christopher Sandroline, who met the chief minister, refrained from describing the attackers as terrorists in their briefings. US President George W Bush condemned the attack, but added that he was not sure whether the attack, in which no Americans were killed or injured, was targeted at the US or provoked by a grievance against local police: "We are gathering more information about it, to find out exactly what the facts are. Terror is terror -- it doesn't matter whether it's an attack on us or an attack on other people," Bush said.
The low-key US reaction, however galling to local sentiments, is understandable. The attackers did not lob a grenade or a bomb at the Centre. They struck at a time when its office was closed. Diplomatically, it was not advisable to rebuke Pakistan when it had already condemned the incident.
With the US State Department reluctant to pin the blame on a particular terrorist organisation, New Delhi decided to play down a Pakistani hand in the attack. In any case, investigators from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) ruled out the possibility that the incident was a terrorist attack and suggested that "some small-time criminals, working for an underworld don based outside the country" may have carried out the attack.
The investigation is now focusing on Dubai- based gangster Aftab Ansari.
Six days after the attack, the Indian tone changed again with the killing of two alleged Pakistani nationals in an encounter at Hazaribagh on the morning of 28 January. The two were identified as Mohamed Idris, alias Mohamed Zahid of Multan in Pakistan, and Abdul-Salim of Punjab in Pakistan. According to the Hazaribagh police, Zahid confessed -- before succumbing to his injuries in the hospital -- that he had been involved in the Calcutta shootout. Salim, however, died on the spot.
Union home secretary, Kamal Pande, said in New Delhi that "a new trend [in terrorism] is emerging with the direct involvement of Pakistani nationals."
Pande cited at least five cases directly involving Pakistanis, which include the strike on the Indian house of parliament and the attack at the American Centre. He said that three other cases, directly involving Pakistani nationals, were under probe. He further said that a terrorist cell and its hideout in Hazaribagh were being run by Farhan Malik, who has claimed responsibility for the Calcutta shooting.
Pande said investigations revealed that Malik operated his terrorist cell in conjunction with two Pakistan-based militant outfits HUJI and Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT).
It is noteworthy that HUJI was formed by Osama Bin Laden in 1992. In 1994 it merged with the Harkat-ul-Mujahidin (HuM) to form Harkat- ul-Ansar (HuA). Its front organisation is called Al Faran.
This merger apparently failed to form an effective instrument for Pakistan's campaign in Kashmir as three of its top leaders were arrested. In 1995, Al Faran abducted six foreigners. In 1997, the US banned the HuA. To avoid the repercussions of the ban, the HuA again split in 1998 into HuM and HUJI. In 1999, HuM terrorists hijacked an Indian Airlines plane from Katmandu to Kandahar and secured the release of Maulana Masoud Azhar, Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtak Ahmed Zargar. In 2000, Masoud Azhar formed Jaish-e-Mohamed. Investigations are continuing.
But some defence experts also adduce a simpler explanation, that the attack could be a signal by Pakistan that its proxy war on India could be taken as far as the east.
However, the West Bengal police still see it as a terrorist attack which was aimed at the US and Chief Minister Bhattacharya.
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