The lookout notice issued by Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad against US national Kenneth Haywood may never have reached the immigration authorities at the various airports in the country.
Local cops claim it got lost in a maze of files
MUMBAI: The lookout notice issued by Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad against US national Kenneth Haywood may never have reached the immigration authorities at the various airports in the country, if senior officials in the local police are to be believed.
Making a startling claim, they told DNA on Tuesday that major bungling at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) here may have helped Haywood slip out of the country with his family from Delhi airport late on Sunday.
The local police are claiming that the notice got buried somewhere in the maze of files at the FRRO and was never processed for final issuance.
Haywood was under investigation by the ATS after the e-mail warning sent by a group calling itself Indian Mujahideen moments before the Ahmedabad serial blasts of July 26, that killed more than 50 people, was traced to his internet protocol address. Haywood had claimed that someone had hacked into his WiFi connection at his Sanpada residence to send the e-mail.
Officials said after Haywood came under the scanner on the night of July 26, he was given an order in writing asking him not to leave the country till further orders.
On July 27, when the cases were registered at Ahmedabad in connection with the blasts, the ATS secured the First Information Report (FIR) number and based on that issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) seeking denial of exit to Haywood from any land, sea or air port of India. “Under the rules it is mandatory to mention the FIR number on the LOC,” said a senior city police official. Following the established official procedure, the LOC was duly handed over to the FRRO.
According to norms, it is the responsibility of the local FRRO to forward the order to counterparts all over the country who in turn hand it over to the immigration authorities at all the ports. “The LOC is immediately remitted by FAX to all centres and later sent through mail to be entered and kept in official records,” sources said.
Once the circular reaches the Immigration department, which incidentally is also handled by the Intelligence Bureau across the country, the information is fed into the centralised computer system.
“When the person facing an LOC appears before the immigration counter and his passport details are fed into the computer, there appears an immediate flash warning the officer. The system is so foolproof that even if there are some discrepancies about some data or spellings, the systems invite suggestions. There is no chance that someone under the LOC scanner can go past the immigration counter,” the sources reiterated.
They even cited the case of Pakistani human rights activist Ansar Burney, who was deported from Delhi as he figured in a years-old LOC to buttress this claim.
When the news of Haywood’s escape reached them, top city police brass went into a huddle to find out how it happened.
A high level probe has been ordered and both the city police and IB officials were now trying to pinpoint the culprit.
“Some IB cadre officials and some others have been taken on deputation from the Maharashtra police in the Mumbai unit of the FRRO),” officials said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}