Games a terrorist target, says accused bomber

AN accused bomber has confirmed the New Delhi Commonwealth Games are a terrorist target, Indian police say.

Shehzad Ahmed reportedly told police suicide bombings at the Commonwealth Games had been discussed by terror group Indian Mujahideen.

Ahmed, 21, is accused of planting a bomb in the centre of New Delhi in September 2008. Five explosions ripped through a children's amusement park, killing 26 people and injuring 150 others. Ahmed is also accused of killing a police inspector the pervious day.

Police say Ahmed told them more terrorist acts were planned. "He told us they (Indian Mujahideen) wanted to conduct a spate of attacks on people of importance so that the country is perceived unsafe for any big international event like the Commonwealth Games," a senior police officer said.

"Before Delhi, the group had conducted blasts at Jaipur, Surat, Ahmedabad, Varanasi and had never been caught. This gave them the confidence that they will never be arrested.

"The bombers never carried mobile phones to any bomb-blast spot. One person was in charge of storing all the mobile phones on the day of the blasts. The bombers knew the police could reach them through mobile phone surveillance."

Police will test security arrangements for October's Commonwealth Games during the hockey World Cup in New Delhi, from February 28 to March 13.

"Though the threat perception to the hockey World Cup is not as high as that of the Commonwealth Games, the standard operating procedures would be the same to check the operational preparedness, reaction time and way of handling any emergency," an official said.

The multiple agencies involved in security arrangements are the district police, traffic police, security cells, central paramilitary forces, intelligence agencies and civic authorities.

The hockey World Cup will be held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in the heart of Delhi, where the Commonwealth Games are to be staged from October 3-14.

Australia is sending a team to the hockey World Cup.

An team of about 600 athletes and officials will be chosen for the Commonwealth Games.

The team is likely to be shadowed by Australian security staff, including police and the military.

British athletes are expected to be accompanied by Scotland Yard officials.

Delhi Games force Pakistan diplomats to move home

New Delhi's preparations for the Commonwealth Games have forced a group of Pakistani diplomats to search for new homes after their residential enclave was earmarked for a new road project.

The state-owned Delhi Development Authority (DDA) said the houses of the four Pakistani envoys stood on an 11.2 acre (4.5 hectare) site occupied illegally by a private builder in the Indian capital's upscale Vasant Vihar diplomatic enclave.

Diplomats from Australia and the Ivory Coast also have to leave their homes after the DDA won control of the plot in August last year following a marathon legal tussle.

“There is a sense of loss,” said Shah Zaman Khan, public affairs minister at the Pakistani embassy.

The leafy bungalows listed for demolition had been home to successive Pakistani diplomats posted in India since 1991.

“It was almost a Pakistan compound in India and now the four of us will be scattered across the city... Our families will miss this place terribly,” Khan told AFP.

The road that will be built through the site is part of a massive infrastructure project aimed at preparing New Delhi for the Commonwealth Games in October.

Rights group say 100,000 homeless people in New Delhi have been kicked out of night shelters because of the city-wide facelift.

Olympic champion Jamie Staff considering pulling out of Commonwealth

Olympic champion Jamie Staff looks set to join a growing list of athletes who are planning not to compete at this year’s Commonwealth Games.

The Games, which are scheduled to be held in Delhi, India in October, have been surrounded by fears over security, which has thrown England’s attendance at the championships into doubt.

Staff, who lives in Brabourne, near Ashford, is a big supporter of the Commonwealth Games and has featured in the last two at Manchester in 2002 and Sydney in 2006, winning two silver medals and a bronze.

But growing fears over security after terrorist attacks in Mumbai and Lahore in the last two years and concerns regarding the completion of venues have left the 36-year-old contemplating pulling out of competing and even given the choice, he wouldn’t make the trip to India this year.

He said: “I personally don’t want to go and I’m not even sure if the track will be ready in time. There is a lot of speculation around it at the moment. It’s a shame because the Commonwealth Games are normally a fun event, but no one seems to be worrying about it this time round.”

With a back injury likely to force him out of next month’s World Track Cycling Championships in Poland, missing the Commonwealth Games would end Staff’s hopes of a major medal this season.

Staff's comments echo the opinions of a number of athletes, who have stated their fears of travelling to compete in India. This week world heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis said she had pulled out of competing because it did not fit with her training schedule.

Fellow Olympian Lisa Dobriskey, from Ashford, has also hinted she may have to think about adding the Games to her schedule for this year.

Top shooters should get exemption of trials like Bindra: Samresh

The special exemption from trials given to Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra should be extended to other top shooters as well, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Samresh Jung has demanded.

"It is good that Abhinav has got this exemption but I think it should not be a one-time thing. There are others like Gagan Narang, Sanjeev Rajput who are getting good scores on the international circuit," Samresh, who was named the best athlete of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, said.

"Instead of trials, the National Rifles Association of India (NRAI) should consider the international scores for inclusion in the team," he added.

Abhinav, who has been training abroad, has not been included in the Indian squads for this month's Commonwealth Championships to be held here as well as the ISSF World Cups in Sydney from March 20-28 and in Beijing from April 16-25 after failing to turn up for the selection trials.

However, after the recent controversy, the NRAI decided to exempt the ace shooter from attending the trials for the next two World Cups to be held in Fort Benning, USA from May 22-31 and in Belgrade from June 26-July 7.

On the issue of hiring a coach on his own, a move that was criticised by the Sports Minister M S Gill, Jung said he had no choice as any further delay in appointing a coach would have hurt their medal prospects in the Commonwealth Games.

Samresh and five top pistol shooters -- Ronak Pandit, Amanpreet Singh, Heena Sidhu, Ruchit Kapadia and Upasana Parasrampuria hired renowned Ukrainian coach Anatoli Poddubni on their own to train them at the National camp. Gill criticised the shooters for taking the step, saying they could have been more patient.

"We have waited a lot. Czaba Gyorik of Hungary left just after the Beijing Olympics and no one has replaced him in the last 18 months. In India the administrators always wake up at the last moment.

"We had an opportunity before us and we availed it rather than wait for the federation to wake up," said Jung, who fetched seven medals including five gold medals in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

"Other countries are far ahead in training. They have specific coaches. In Pistol shooting only we have five events thus every shooter needs personal attention. We don't regret our decision as nothing has been done in this regard in last 15 days," he added.

On his medal prospects at the Commonwealth Games, Jung said it would be difficult to repeat the golden success of Melbourne edition.

"I have participated in all four medal events in Melbourne which seems to be unlikely now. We have many talented Pistol shooters now and the competition is tough. Of course I will try to get selected in maximum events," said the ace shooter.

Jung was also optimistic about getting enough ammunition for practice this time.

"The problem is not that serious this time. I hope we will get enough ammunition for practice. Sports ministry has also liberalised and rationalised procedures for import of weapons and ammunition and resale of used weapons by 'renowned shooters'. I think it will help us a lot," he said.