India capable of facing any security threat: Antony

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: India is capable of facing any threat to its security coming from any quarter, defence minister A K Antony said in wake of a warning from a top al-Qaida commander. ( Watch )

"One thing I can tell you. Whatever threat coming from any quarter, our armed forces are always ready to face them," Antony said on the sidelines of a function here.

He was replying to a question on reports about a top al-Qaida commander warning India of more Mumbai-style terror strikes if it tried to attack Pakistan.

Antony, however, said he had not come across this particular report.

Commenting on Pakistan's demand for more information from India to complete its probe into the Mumbai terror attack, Antony said he had nothing more to add than what external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee had said on the matter.

"My senior colleague Mukherjee had already made India's position clear on the matter. He had already explained this categorically. We are one Government, one voice," he added.

The al-Qaida commander who was reported killed in a US drone strike last year, has appeared in a video warning India of more Mumbai-style attacks if it tried to attack Pakistan.

"India should know that it will have to pay a heavy price if it attacks Pakistan," Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, believed to be al-Qaida's military commander in Afghanistan and ranked behind No 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri, said in a 20-minute video in Arabic received by BBC.

Yazid, who the Pakistani military said may have been killed in fighting last August in the Bajaur tribal region, said: "The Mujahideen will sunder your armies into the ground, like they did to the Russians in Afghanistan.

"They will target your economic centres and raze them to the ground.

Underworld may be out to kill Kasab

MUMBAI: Terror groups may have approached Dawood Ibrahim to kill Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist caught alive after the November 26 Mumbai attacks.( Watch )

According to TV reports, quoting sources in intelligence agencies, underworld don Chhota Shakeel, a close aide of Dawood's, has been given a contract to kill Kasab. Shakeel is believed to be hiding in Pakistan and taking help from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence.

According to the sources, the plot came to light on January 29 when a Research and Analysis Wing branch of Gujarat's Bhuj district intercepted a telephone conversation from across the border. The matter has already been discussed at the January 10 National Security Council meeting.

The information has been now handed over to the Mumbai police by the Centre. An official said Kasab's death would mean there won't be any evidence to nail Pakistan in the Mumbai attacks.

Refuting the claims, Mumbai’s joint commissioner of police (crime) Rakesh Maria said, "If that had been true, we would be the first one to be informed as Kasab is in our custody. There is always a threat to his life right from the day he was arrested and that is the reason we don’t take him to court for extending his custody. We will also ensure his safety in the jail once he is remanded to judicial custody."

Maria said various countries whose citizens were killed in the 26\11 terror attack were also conducting separate probes into the carnage. ‘‘If they are conducting probes, it implies that they have registered criminal cases. The fact came out during our meetings with representatives of these countries,’’ he said.

Maria, however, ruled out that these countries were asking for extradition of Kasab. Of those killed in the attack, 26 were foreign nationals, including those from the US, Germany, Malaysia and Israel.

Union minister Mahavir Prasad booked in murder case

GORAKHPUR: In a major embarrassment to the government at the Centre, Union minister Mahavir Prasad has been booked for alleged conspiracy in a murder case, a senior police officer said on Wednesday. ( Watch )

The case was registered on the direction of the Allahabad High Court under section 120 B IPC (conspiracy) against the Union minister for micro, small and medium Industries in Gagha police station here on Tuesday night, senior superintendent of police Aditya Mishra said.

Two other accused, village head of Ujjarpar, Rajesh Singh and one Gauri Shankar have been booked under sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of public peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and the SC/ST Act.

According to police, a woman called Subhavati of village Ujjarpar, the native village of the minister, had move a local court for lodging the cases against the accused.

She had alleged that the village head and Gauri Shankar were involved in the murder of her husband on January 28 and charged the minister with helping the accused.

She moved the High Court after the local CJM's court rejected her plea.

Police said the case was registered on the direction of the high court.

Earlier, the police had registered the case as a road accident. No arrest has so far been made in this connection, the SSP said.

In Delhi, Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari said "currently, it seems as the Allahabad High Court has passed an order but we have not seen the order and if an FIR has been registered, we don't have a copy of the FIR at the moment."

After scrutinizing the order, the FIR and talking to the minister, "we will come to an appropriate conclusion and respond to it,” he said.

"It is inappropriate to come to any conclusion before scrutinizing the documents," Tiwari said.

Police said that the Union minister was among the three accused that included Gauri Shankar Gupta, a relative of Prasad.

"What we plan to do is to carry out fair and completely impartial investigations so that we can ascertain whether the facts lead to the case being chargesheeted as the murder or again as that of an accident," Mishra said.

"That is our task ahead in the next few days and I am sure within 7-10 days we will be able to clear up the confusion," he said.