Admits Chidambaram, but argues goof-up was not a 'monumental mistake of calamitous consequences'

Accepting it as a "mistake" and taking "responsibility", Home Minister P Chidambaram yesterday said that the inclusion of terror accused Wazhul Kamar Khan in the list of most wanted fugitives given to Pakistan was a "genuine error" by the Mumbai Police and "oversight" by the Intelligence Bureau.


Chidambaram said the CBI has removed the name of 2003 Mulund blastu00a0accusedu00a0Wazhul Kamar Khan from the most wanted list


Addressing a press conference a day after the goof-up was exposed in the media, he contended that it was not such a "monumental mistake of calamitous consequence" and said he was prepared to face some "political exchanges" on the issue.

"We take responsibility. It is a mistake. How this mistake has happened has been explained subsequently. CBI, through Interpol, will notify the arrest of Khan," he said, adding his name has already been removed from the list of wanted men.

Giving details of the events that led to the "lapse", Chidambaram said it was now clear that the Mumbai Police arrested Khan, an accused in the 2003 Mulund blasts, on May 21, 2010.

However, the information of his arrest and the request for consequent Red Corner Notice was not sent by the Mumbai Police to the CBI.

Further enquiries were made about Khan by the CBI with the Mumbai Police on January 27 this year.
The Mumbai Police replied to the query on Tuesday, requesting cancellation of the Red Corner Notice as Khan was no longer absconding.

However, the Home Minister revealed that it has been gathered that the Mumbai Police had, in January,u00a0 conveyed to the IB office in Mumbai that Khan had been arrested.

"This information, unfortunately, was not reflected in the list of fugitives maintained by the authorities and was overlooked while a list was prepared in March 2011," he said.

Chidambaram said it would, therefore, be clear that the failure to formally communicate the fact of Khan's arrest on May 21 last year to the CBI has resulted in the name being retained by the investigating agency.

Genuine oversight
"It is possible that the said failure was the result of a genuine oversight by the Mumbai Police. At the same time there was also a lapse on the part of IB in not reflecting the information received by it while preparing the list in March 2011," the Home Minister said.

Replying to a query on whether Khan had travelled to Pakistan, Chidambaram said his name had figured in the 2007 list of wanted fugitives. Now Khan has claimed that he has lost his passport and this will be probed, he said.

He added that the lapse was not a "monumental mistake that some of you people are trying to make (it out to be)".

Counter-attack
Asked about the BJP's attack that the goof-up reflected "optimum incompetence" of his ministry, Chidambaram recalled a statement of LK Advani that, as Home Minister, he did not know that three terrorists in custody were taken out of jail in December 1999 and taken to Kandahar by the then Foreign Minister.

"Let me ask the BJP leaders if this (Khan episode) marks the level of maximum incompetence, then what was that. If this brought embarrassment to the country, did that statement not bring disgrace to the country?" Chidambaram said.