New Delhi, Sept 20 : Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Saturday condoled the death of Delhi police inspector M. C. Sharma.

In a statement he said, “I am deeply aggrieved to learn about the sad demise of Inspector M. C. Sharma of Delhi Police who laid down his life in the service of the nation during an operation in New Delhi today. He was a brave officer who always set an example in performance of duty. He will always remain an inspiration to police force throughout the country.”

New Delhi: Events have moved fast since Saturday, September 13, when five serial blasts occurred in Delhi, which claimed the lives of 20 citizens and injured many. The blasts could not be prevented even though intelligence agencies had indication that the Capital would be a target - after Bangalore and Ahmedabad. Delhi was waiting to happen to complete ''Operation BAD''.

Knowing that Delhi would be a target was not enough to prevent terrorist attacks. The country has been a victim of terrorism for over two decades, but most of the time we have been busy analyzing it.

New Delhi/ Ghaziabad, Sept 20 : It was an uneasy calm in the ''encounter lane'' of Jamia Nagar here today, a day after the Delhi Police''s Special Cell killed two militants, including the alleged mastermind of Delhi blasts, Abu Bashar.

Residents preferred to stay in their homes to be away from police ''interrogation'' and the journalists who would pester them for ''soundbytes''.

Police personnel have been deployed in Jamai Nagar, but it may take time for the residents to come to terms with the fact that they were living next door to ''terror''.

Authorities and Non Government Organizations (NGOs) are doing their best to instill confidence among the residents.

New Delhi - Indian police on Saturday claimed a major breakthrough in their investigation into serial blasts in the capital city earlier this month with the arrest of two people.

Mohammed Saif was arrested during a fierce shootout in a south Delhi area on Friday, during which a police officer and two suspected terrorists were killed, Delhi Police Deputy Commissioner Alok Kumar said.

Zeeshan, who goes by only one name, was arrested later Friday from the premises of a television news channel where he had gone to give an interview.

New Delhi, Sept 20 : Mohammad Saif and Zeeshan, who were arrested after Friday’s encounter with Delhi Police’s Special Cell at Jamia Nagar here, have been sent to 14 days of police custody.

They were produced in Tees Hazari Court today by the Delhi Police.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Police claimed that Saif has confessed to his role in the September 13 Delhi serial blasts that claimed about 30 lives and maimed close to 100.

Saif revealed during interrogation that Atif alias Abu Bashar, who was killed in the encounter with Delhi Police’s Special Cell, was the head of the Indian Mujhaideen and masterminded the serial blasts and not Abdul Subhan alias Tauqeer as suspected earlier.

New Delhi, Sept 20 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh chaired a meeting of the Planning Commission today to discuss a draft Integrated Energy Policy document.

Describing that energy is a crucial input in development and growth of the country, Dr. Singh said: “With very large energy requirement, we are likely to be increasingly import-dependent. This makes us vulnerable to uncertainty of international prices and also reliability of supplies.”