New Delhi:
Where in India are the three missing terrorists who escaped in Delhi on Saturday?
Commissioner of Delhi police Y S Dadwal says he's confident that the terrorists will be found soon. "Yes, we will catch them. We had caught them earlier also," he declared. Brave words in the midst of the inevitable blame game about who let the terrorists slip away.
The Pakistani terrorists (Abdul Razzak, Mohammed Sadiq and Rafaqat Ali) were being taken to hospital after they complained of an eye infection. They were escorted by one unarmed police guard from Meghalaya on deputation to the Delhi Police's Special Branch. Government sources say the role of an insider is being investigated. After all, why would just one cop accompany three convicted terrorists, all of who developed an eye infection at the same time?
The three terrorists had completed their sentences for involvement with blasts near the Red Fort 10 years ago. They were due to be deported. But sources say Pakistan had not been informed about this. In fact, even the External Affairs Ministry claims it did not know about the impending deportation.
At the heart of the fiasco lies the usual story of a complete lack of coordination between different departments involved with the case. The Delhi Police says because the terrorists were no longer in prison, they were the responsibility of the FRRO, or Foreigners Regional Registration Office, which reports to the Intelligence Bureau, and effectively falls under the purview of the Home Ministry.
However, Home Ministry sources say even the Meghalaya policeman escorting the terrorists would report to the Delhi Police.
What happens next? The Ministry of Home Affairs will decide after it gets a detailed report from the Delhi Police.
There's another theory that officials are considering. Pakistan never accepts as its own citizens those convicted of terror abroad. So the three men may have languished for years at a detention centre. Perhaps that's what they were trying to escape.
Commissioner of Delhi police Y S Dadwal says he's confident that the terrorists will be found soon. "Yes, we will catch them. We had caught them earlier also," he declared. Brave words in the midst of the inevitable blame game about who let the terrorists slip away.
The Pakistani terrorists (Abdul Razzak, Mohammed Sadiq and Rafaqat Ali) were being taken to hospital after they complained of an eye infection. They were escorted by one unarmed police guard from Meghalaya on deputation to the Delhi Police's Special Branch. Government sources say the role of an insider is being investigated. After all, why would just one cop accompany three convicted terrorists, all of who developed an eye infection at the same time?
The three terrorists had completed their sentences for involvement with blasts near the Red Fort 10 years ago. They were due to be deported. But sources say Pakistan had not been informed about this. In fact, even the External Affairs Ministry claims it did not know about the impending deportation.
At the heart of the fiasco lies the usual story of a complete lack of coordination between different departments involved with the case. The Delhi Police says because the terrorists were no longer in prison, they were the responsibility of the FRRO, or Foreigners Regional Registration Office, which reports to the Intelligence Bureau, and effectively falls under the purview of the Home Ministry.
However, Home Ministry sources say even the Meghalaya policeman escorting the terrorists would report to the Delhi Police.
What happens next? The Ministry of Home Affairs will decide after it gets a detailed report from the Delhi Police.
There's another theory that officials are considering. Pakistan never accepts as its own citizens those convicted of terror abroad. So the three men may have languished for years at a detention centre. Perhaps that's what they were trying to escape.
