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Suspects' killing upsets Bengal police
By Malabika Bhattacharya
KOLKATA, JAN. 29. The West Bengal police are upset over the way the suspects of the American Center attack were gunned down at Hazaribagh on Monday. The police feel that the suspects, if caught alive, could have provided precious clues to the January 22 incident and the operations of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in the State.
Senior police and intelligence officers, on condition of anonymity, questioned the decision of the Jharkhand police to do away with Zahid alias Idris and Salim, who are believed to have fled to Hazaribagh after the shooting outside the American Center in which four policemen were killed and several injured. They pointed out that Asif Reza Khan alias Rajan, a key suspect in the abduction of the Khadims owner, Partha Roy Burman, too was killed by police at Rajkot in Gujarat a few months ago when he could have been kept alive.
Intelligence officers raised eyebrows when the police in Hazaribagh claimed that one of the terrorists had made a dying confession saying that he was an ISI agent and that he was involved in the Kolkata killings. Their argument: a dying man with such a severe wound could hardly be in a position to speak. A living Zahid or Salim could have been a valuable source of information to the police, they said.
They cited the instance of Asif Reza Khan who, when arrested by the Kolkata police, confessed to the involvement of the underworld in Mr. Burman's abduction. The Bengal police alerted the Central Intelligence of Rajan's arrest, his links with the ISI and the Dubai-based Aftab Ansari who is believed to have masterminded the attack outside the American Center. ``His ( Rajan's) arrest was a major breakthrough in our investigation into the Khadim abduction. We could have busted the ISI network with his help,'' Partha Bhattacharjee, IG, CID, reportedly said.
The Gujarat police took Rajan to Rajkot in connection with the abduction of two diamond merchants there a few months ago. On December 7, according to the police, Rajan tried to attack the police constables by snatching an AK-47 rifle from one of them. None of the two policemen he had allegedly fired at was hurt. Yet, they opened fire and killed him with the explanation that he was trying to escape.
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