Secret fund package helped cops crack blast case
17 Apr 2009, 0000 hrs IST, Prashant Dayal, TNN
AHMEDABAD: Guess how much the city police spent to gather information for the serial bomb blasts of July, 2008? A staggering Rs 9 lakh. This was
the price of intelligence inputs that helped cops crack the terror attack case. Thanks to a timely hike in the secret fund of Ahmedabad police commissionerate.
On July 26, 2008, serial bomb blasts rocked Ahmedabad killing 59. Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Agra also witnessed similar blasts. These incidents triggered many co-ordination meetings between various police agencies and units of various states.
During most of these meets, all Gujarat senior police officials had one suggestion hike in fund for information collection.
"Information network had to be injected with money to reactivate it and get to the accused," said a senior police official. At the time of the serial blasts, Ahmedabad police commissionerate got a sum of Rs 5 lakh as secret fund.
After this issue was raised in high-level meetings, state government had sanctioned Rs 15 lakh for Ahmedabad police commissionerate's secret fund.
Ahmedabad police officials had worked for six months with a fair amount of success. "More money at our disposal helped in getting quick results," said senior police officials. Within a month, city police officials had busted the first module of Indian Mujahideen. First to be arrested was Sajid Mansuri from Bharuch and based on his information, the mastermind of Ahmedabad blasts Mufti Abu Bashar Kasmi, 28, was then nabbed from Uttar Pradesh. Those were the first arrests to be effected in the serial blast cases. Following this, Mumbai module of Indian Mujahideen was also busted.
When financial year 2008-09 concluded on March 31, the Ahmedabad police records showed that a total of Rs 9 lakh was spent from secret fund in bomb blast investigations.
"The remaining Rs 6 lakh have been carried forward to the secret fund for financial year 2009-10," said police sources. The norms governing secret fund specify that cops do not need to name informers who had been given money.
Though, details of investigation and case for which information-money was given have to be mentioned in a report submitted to police commissioner, who then forwards this report to the home department.
This has, however, not put an end to the controversy concerning secret fund. The age-old complaint among junior police officials remains as it is: Very low percentage of secret fund actually reaches them for being given to the informers. Then what happens to the rest of the spent secret fund is anybody's guess.
AHMEDABAD: Guess how much the city police spent to gather information for the serial bomb blasts of July, 2008? A staggering Rs 9 lakh. This was
the price of intelligence inputs that helped cops crack the terror attack case. Thanks to a timely hike in the secret fund of Ahmedabad police commissionerate.
On July 26, 2008, serial bomb blasts rocked Ahmedabad killing 59. Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Agra also witnessed similar blasts. These incidents triggered many co-ordination meetings between various police agencies and units of various states.
During most of these meets, all Gujarat senior police officials had one suggestion hike in fund for information collection.
"Information network had to be injected with money to reactivate it and get to the accused," said a senior police official. At the time of the serial blasts, Ahmedabad police commissionerate got a sum of Rs 5 lakh as secret fund.
After this issue was raised in high-level meetings, state government had sanctioned Rs 15 lakh for Ahmedabad police commissionerate's secret fund.
Ahmedabad police officials had worked for six months with a fair amount of success. "More money at our disposal helped in getting quick results," said senior police officials. Within a month, city police officials had busted the first module of Indian Mujahideen. First to be arrested was Sajid Mansuri from Bharuch and based on his information, the mastermind of Ahmedabad blasts Mufti Abu Bashar Kasmi, 28, was then nabbed from Uttar Pradesh. Those were the first arrests to be effected in the serial blast cases. Following this, Mumbai module of Indian Mujahideen was also busted.
When financial year 2008-09 concluded on March 31, the Ahmedabad police records showed that a total of Rs 9 lakh was spent from secret fund in bomb blast investigations.
"The remaining Rs 6 lakh have been carried forward to the secret fund for financial year 2009-10," said police sources. The norms governing secret fund specify that cops do not need to name informers who had been given money.
Though, details of investigation and case for which information-money was given have to be mentioned in a report submitted to police commissioner, who then forwards this report to the home department.
This has, however, not put an end to the controversy concerning secret fund. The age-old complaint among junior police officials remains as it is: Very low percentage of secret fund actually reaches them for being given to the informers. Then what happens to the rest of the spent secret fund is anybody's guess.
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