Sydney siege: Hostage crisis ends as police storm cafe, 2 Indians safe

SydneyA 17hourlong hostage drama inwhich a heavilyarmed man of Iranianorigin held some 15people hostage at a cafe ended late on Monday night with thepolice storming it reportedly resulting in two deaths but twoIndians were among the hostages who escaped safelyPolice fired stun grenades and shots as they stormed theLindt Chocolate Cafe in Sydneys commercial district after230 AM local time Tuesday 9 PM IST Monday and laterdeclared that the siege was overTwo Indian nationals Vishwakant Ankit Reddy andPushpendu Ghosh were among the hostages involved when Sheik Haron Monisbegan his siege However Reddy an Infosys employee in hismid30s and Ghosh whose details were not known escapedsafelyReddy has been working in Australia for the past sevenyears and is a native of Guntur in Andhra PradeshBoth are undergoing medical checkups External AffairsMinister Sushma Swaraj said in New DelhiHostages including an Indian techie right run out of a cafe in the central business district of Sydney on Monday PicAFPLoud bangs erupted as police stormed the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in downtown Sydney shortly after five to six hostages including the Indian were seen running out of the eateryVishwakants friend and colleague Chakravarthi told a TV channel from Sydney on Monday night that he could identify him in the TV footage of the hostages emerging safely from the cafeAn employee of software giant Infosys Vishwakanthails from Guntur district of Andhra PradeshThe company had informed his family about the incidentTwo men who ran out of the Sydney cafe take cover behind a policeman during the hostage siege in the central business district of Sydney on December 15 2014 AFP PHOTOJust over five hours into the siege five people including a woman were seen running out of the cafe Two came out through the front door and one through the fire escape It is still not known whether they were freed or escapedThe siege began after 9 AM local time and was continuing well past midnight with Australian media identifying the gunman as Haron Monis who was granted political asylum in AustraliaThe 50yearold was described by his former lawyer as an isolated figure who was acting aloneThe gunman who arrived in Australia as a refugee in 1996 achieved notoriety after he sent letters to the families of Australian soldiers who lost their lives in Afghanistan accusing them of being murderersIn November last year he was charged with being an accessory before and after the murder of his exwife who was allegedly stabbed and set alight in her apartment complex In March he was charged with sexually and indecently assaulting a young woman in 2002Monis was born Manteghi Bourjerdi and fled from Iran to Australia in 1996 where he changed his name to Man Haron Monis and assuming the title of Sheik HaronTV clips showed him as a bearded man with a white headgear who had been previously charged with sexually attacking seven women and trying to kill his former wifeAn Indian employee of Infosys was among about 30 people held hostage on Monday by Monis who stormed a cafe in Sydneys bustling business district in the first terrorist attack on Australian soilThe siege triggered a security alert in Australia and led to evacuation of key buildings including the Indian ConsulateThe incident happened at the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in Martin Place the heart of Sydneys business districtAuthorities sealed off surrounding streets evacuated people from buildings and suspended rail services following the siege in the capital of New South Wales NSW The police also evacuated the Sydney Opera House and shut down traffic on the Sydney Harbour BridgeNSW Police have activated Task Force Pioneer which they use in terrorism related incidents to handle the preChristmas incidentMartin Place a public pedestrian thoroughfare through the heart of Australias biggest city joining its parliamentary legal and retail districts Sydney Opera House State Library US consulate and all court houses here have been evacuatedAndrew Scipione the commissioner of the New South Wales police said at a news briefing that an unknown number of hostages were being held in the cafe by at least one gunmanBengaluruheadquartered Infosys said one of its employees is among the hostages at the cafeWe can confirm that one Infosys employee is among the hostages at the Lindt Cafe in Sydney the company said in a statement without naming the personWe are also in the process of confirming the whereabouts of all our other employees in the city We are in constant touch with the local authorities and Indian Consulate in Sydney for updates on the situation on ground Infosys saidJust over five hours into the siege five people including a woman were seen running out of the cafe Two came out through the front door and one through the fire escape It is still not known whether they were freed or escapedTelevision footage showed people inside the cafe with their hands pressed against the window holding the black flag with Arabic script known as Shahadah a prayer spoken in mosques daily The flag displayed was not one specific to the Islamic State reports saidThe government said there was no clear motivation but the flag appeared to be one commonly used by jihadist groupsThere is no God but Allah Mohammed is his messenger was written on the black flagThe gunman is being described as being in his forties wearing a black vest Police said they are in contact with the gunmanWe will continue this investigation we will get to the bottom of it and at this stage all I can assure you we are doing absolutely all we can and we will do even more to guarantee the safe release of these people Scipione saidNew South Wales Premier Mike Baird said the safety of the people was the priority of the government and the best negotiators in the world were on the jobHe asked people in Sydney to go about their days as usual tomorrow though an exclusion zone will be in place around Martin PlaceIndian Consulate in Sydney has been locked down and evacuated as a security measure following the incidentTalking to PTI Sydney Consul General Sunjay Sudhir said because of security concerns we locked down our office at 1200 pm and asked all our officers to go to places of safetySydney Indian Consulate is 400 metres away from the Lindt cafe Sudhir said adding the Central Business District CBD is the area where many Indian establishments including the SBI Bank of Baroda and India Tourism office are locatedIn New Delhi Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said Indian consulate in Sydney is in touch with local authorities and all the staffers in the consulate are safeOur consulate is in touch with local authorities The External Affairs Minister has spoken to the High Commissioner in Canberra who is in touch with local organisations Akbaruddin saidScipione said at this stage police were treated it as a hostage situation but were on a footing consistent with a terrorist actClearly reprisal attacks are something that should not happen he saidPrime Minister Tony Abbott convened a national security meeting to deal with the disturbing eventThis is obviously a deeply concerning incident but all Australians should be reassured that our law enforcement and security agencies are well trained and equipped and are responding in a thorough and professional manner he saidWe dont yet know the motivation of the perpetrator we dont know whether this is politically motivated although obviously there are some indications that it could be Abbott said at a short media briefing held in Canberra Australias capitalAbbott said security agencies had not detected any particular plots but the raised alert level meant there were people in Australia with the intent and capability to carry out a terror attack Hundreds of police had been mobilised including those specially trained for terrorist threats tactical officers and negotiators to general duties officers and traffic police handling road closuresThousands of workers across the city have been sent home early and asked to work from thereNSW Deputy Police Commissioner Catherine Burn confirmed that the situation was now a negotiation and the police intend to pursue it peacefullyThere is speculation about what he might want but we have to deal with him at the level of police negotiation Burn saysWe are monitoring all forms of communication whether it is Facebook or Twitter for any bit of information that might assist she saidBurn requested that if anyone has information about the situation no matter how small they should offer it to policeSydneys Muslim community condemned the incident and said they were horrified by the cafe siegeArmed police run toward a cafe in the central business district of Sydney Hostages were being held inside a cafe with an Islamic flag displayed against a window according to witnesses and reports AFP PHOTOIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first world leaders to condemn the attackIn New Delhi Prime Minister Modi described the incident as disturbing Such acts are inhuman and deeply unfortunate I pray for everyones safetyThe hostage taker about whom little is known claimed he had planted bombs in the cafe and at different locations in the cityThe three men and two women who escaped from the cafe said the man forced his captives to call him brother and promised to release a hostage if the IS flag was deliveredThe area where the gunman struck is close to where a number of consulates including that of India are locatedIndias External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Monday sought details of the incidentAccording to informed sources she spoke to Indian High Commissioner Biren Nanda about the unfolding dramaHer ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin tweeted In case of queries about Indian nationals following events in Sydney contact Vinod Bahade at phone 61 481 453550