Pulwama attack not handiwork of single man, says Ex-RAW chief Vikram Sood
Hyderabad, Feb 17: The terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district which killed 40 CRPF jawans, was not the handiwork of a single man but a group, former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Vikram Sood Sunday said.
He also attributed the incident to security lapses somewhere.
"The entire episode of Pulwama was not a job done by one man.. There would have been a whole team behind him," he told reporters after addressing a seminar on 'External Intelligence for National Security' here.
"This kind of an incident does not take place without a security lapse somewhere.. they had knowledge about the movement of the (CRPF) vehicles. There must have been group of people who did it," Sood said.
Asked about India's possible response, Sood said, "It is not a boxing match.. punch for punch won't do."
The timing and place would be chosen by the security forces, as the Prime Minister had said, he added.
Forty CRPF personnel were killed Thursday in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district.
To another query on India not getting China's support to proscribe JeM chief Masood Azhar as "global terrorist" at the United Nations Security Council, Sood said "China is playing to Pakistan's requests.. China is the only safeguard for them in UN when it comes to having Masood Azhar declared a terrorist.
He claimed that China was doing it because it harboured apprehensions that Islamic outfits in Xinjiang province might maintain links with their terrorists in Pakistan.
"So, it is a quid-pro-quo. China will do this for Pakistan.. Pakistan will make sure that these terrorists don't give trouble to them in Xinjiang," said Sood, a career intelligence officer for 31 years.
Earlier, addressing the seminar, Sood noted that the animus that Pakistan nurtures for India is permanent.
"It's not going to go away. No amount of peace talks, no amount of concessions, and 'bada bhai business' is going to help they (Pakistan) are not interested and they don't want.
They want us down and out.
We have to frame a policy that takes that into account".
Highlighting the threat posed by China, he said, "I think China and not Pakistan is the bigger threat. China in control of Pakistan is even worse. So, we have to prepare for that."
Pakistan is a useful ploy for China to use against us and they will keep using. We have to take our own measures.".
Stressing the need for a national policy on Kashmir, Former Union Home Secretary K Padmanabhaiah in his address said, "There has to be a national policy on Kashmir.. not a BJP policy, not a Congress policy and not a Leftist policy. A national policy where everybody agrees."
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
