India may give Pak a corrected list of wanted terrorists

The Home Ministry has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Intelligence Bureau and the National Investigation Agency to thoroughly verify the names of terrorists given to Pakistan, government officials said today.

"After preparing a correct list, we may send it to Pakistan," an official said.
Pakistan is likely to be also informed about the two persons whose names had erroneously been included in the list of wanted terrorists and given to that country are currently in India.
"The CBI, the IB and the NIA have been asked to coordinate and prepare a revised and correct list after authentication," the official said.

Earlier, Secretary, Internal Security  in the Home Ministry, U K Bansal had said there was no plan to recall the list of the '50 most wanted' from Pakistan.

"The entire list is being reviewed. We have no plan to recall the list from Pakistan," he had told reporters here.

While referring to the CBI's action to suspend and transfer some officials responsible for the goof up, he had said the responsibility has been fixed and action has been taken.
"The responsibility has been fixed as it is a matter of internal importance. The issue is being probed," he had said.

Bansal had also said that the Home Ministry will conduct an exercise to ensure that there is no such mistake in the future.

The 50 most wanted terrorists list was prepared after contributions from the CBI, the IB and the NIA. Two names that figured in the list, given to Pakistan during the Home Secretary-level talks in March, were found to be in India. While one of them, out on bail, was living in Thane near Mumbai, the other is in a jail in the metropolis.

With the errors cropping up, government had suspended a CBI inspector and transferred two of its senior officials, an SP and a DySP.

CBI Director A P Singh has ordered a complete review of the Interpol wing and the most wanted list will be thoroughly scrutinised in consultation with state police and other agencies.

India's list of '50 most wanted' has the name of Feroz Abdul Khan, alias Hamza, 51, an accused in 1993 Mumbai blast case, who was arrested from a village in Navi Mumbai in February last year and was handed over to the CBI for further investigation.

The CBI had issued an Interpol Red Corner Notice against Khan in 1994 but the notice was not withdrawn even after the agency has got his custody.

"The CBI has conveyed to the Home Ministry that the lapse was on the agency's part. When the CBI forwarded the list to the MHA, they forgot to delete the name of this person," a Home Ministry spokesperson said.

Khan is alleged to have facilitated transport and distribution of arms and ammunitions during the blast and subsequently. Mumbai Police had alleged that following Dawood Ibrahim's instructions, Khan arranged for landing of arms allegedly used in the blast.

Earlier, Wazhur Kamar Khan, whose name had also figured in India's most wanted list, was traced to Mumbai.