NEWSROOM : N A T I O N A L

Law catches up with Hyderabad killers

‘Focus needed to combat terror’
NEW DELHI — The war against terrorism requires a concerted, focused approach and not a divisive one based on equating terrorism with any particular community or region. Such an equation, linking terrorism to any particular region, religion or ethnic group would prove counter-productive in the global fight against terror.

“For waging a successful struggle against terrorism, it is necessary not to take a divisive approach,” the minister of state for external affairs, Mr Digvijay Singh, said while delivering the inaugural address at a seminar on “International Terrorism and Religious Extremism: Challenges to Central and South Asia”. The seminar was organised by the Indian chapter of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce. — SNS

Law catches up with Hyderabad killers
HYDERABAD - In one of the most sensational serial killings, five youths murdered nine people and committed 12 robberies since April last year on the city’s outskirts. In all the cases the throats of the victims were slashed. Four of the accused, Jaffar Khan, Mukthar, Khalil and Akbar Khan were caught today and would be produced in court tomorrow. The fifth, Imtiaz, is absconding. The youths, aged between 20 and 25 are members of the Dargah-e-Jehad-a-Shadat and residents of Hyderabad. “We are investigating if this crime spree is connected to the Gujarat riots”, a senior police officer said.

Their modus operandi was chilling. They drove a car and stopped at bus stops late at night looking for passengers waiting for transport. They offered the victim a lift. During the drive they enquired about his religion and then slit his throat. On one occasion, they forced the victim to strip and after failing to find the circumcision mark, killed him, police said. The city outskirts, predominantly in the Rangareddy district limits, ranks top in terms of abandoned bodies and unsolved murders.

Several such cases were referred to the district’s superintendent of police. Many of the crimes appeared to have been committed for paltry amounts or were the result of drunken violence. Last October, a doctor’s husband boarded the car after waiting for a bus in LB Nagar. He was taken near the Ramoji Film City. The killers hit him on the head with an iron rod and left him for dead. Fortunately, he was found by a police patrol. Earlier, a software engineer was offered a lift. He was taken to the Kukatpally Housing Board Colony and killed. The last murder took place in Vanasthalipuram in December last year.

After this the gang of five pulled a fast one. One of them showed up at Kanchanbagh police station with a bandage on the forehead. He complained that he was assaulted and his car stolen. The group then stole another car. Soon after, the owner lodged a complaint and the vehicle was intercepted near Osmania University. The police opened fire but the gang got away.
By now, the police had begun piecing together accounts of survivors and those who were targeted for money. Both the cars have been found.

CM's to meet PM on airport projects
BANGALORE — Embarrassed by queries from foreign companies at Davos on the delay in the development of international airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore, the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka will seek the Prime Minister’s intervention on the matter.

Mr Krishna said the two state leaders would meet Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee on the issue. Returning from the World Economic Summit, he said he and Mr Naidu, who was an invitee, had found it embarrassing to respond to queries on the delay in the projects.

Shahnawaz denies rift
Mr Shahnawaz Hussain, today denied reports of differences between him and Mr LK Advani on the issue of shifting the mosque adjoining Kolkata’s second runway, adds a report from Delhi. He said he had asked Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee if the mosque could be shifted. The CM told him that it was not possible but assured that the road, which also falls on AAI land, could be diverted

Cong takes a dig at Advani
NEW DELHI — The Congress today took a dig at Mr LK Advani over the Prime Minister’s decision to keep CBI’s rein in his hands while passing over the ministry of personnel to the Deputy Prime Minister.

The Congress spokesman, Mr Abhishekh Singhvi, said: “Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee rightly did not find Mr LK Advani eligible to preside over the CBI as the home minister is a co-accused in the Ayodhya case”.

He described the Cabinet reshuffle as a “meaningless” exercise lacking seriousness, saying the government seemed to treat the ministry as a “transit lounge”, where people such as Mr CP Thakur come and go.