At the city police headquarters in south Mumbai, the mood a week after the twin blasts that claimed 52 lives, was one of "all's well that ends well". As in a typical Bollywood movie, the August 25 tragedy was almost forgotten. The happy ending has been provided by the swift arrests of four of the six accused. The tale also has an unlikely hero: prime witness Shiv Narayan Pandey, whose taxi was hired by the terrorists on Black Monday.

PRIZE CATCH: Sharma (top, right) shows the seized explosives; after the blast near the Gateway of India (above)

Police now claim to have busted the terrorist module that was responsible for planting bombs in the boot of two taxis that Monday. While the bomb in Pandey's taxi exploded at the Gateway of India, the other went off at Dhanji Street near Mumbadevi temple. Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, while announcing the names of the accused, also declared special awards for the two investigating teams led by Additional Police Commissioner (Crime) Rakesh Maria for the breakthrough in the case.

On the afternoon of August 30, Maria and his team arrested Ashrat Ansari, 25, from a shanty in Juhu. A short while later, they apprehended Hanif Syed Mohammed, 41, his wife Fahmida, 37, and daughter Farheen, 17, from the Chamanwadi slum under the POTA. But two other suspects-a middle-aged coordinator who was a link between Ansari and Hanif and a Dubai-based terrorist kingpin and had arranged finance for them; and an explosives expert who supplied various types of explosives for at least four blasts in Mumbai since December 2002-are still at large. Perhaps that is why Mumbai Police Commissioner R.S. Sharma, who has reasons to feel triumphant, chose to remain subdued. "We have major clues and will get to the root of the terrorist nexus operating in Mumbai through Dubai. We are happy at the breakthrough, but it is not celebration time yet."

For Maria, who was also involved in the investigation into the 1993 serial blasts, the swift breakthrough was totally unexpected. The operation began on August 25 itself. A few hours after the blasts, taxi driver Pandey reported to a constable at the Colaba police station details of the passengers who had hired his car earlier in the day. Sketches were made of the suspects based on details provided by several key Crime Branch informants in the Andheri and Jogeshwari areas.

In a parallel operation, a team of investigators was sent to the Mumbra slum area based on inputs provided by the Intelligence Bureau. They zeroed in on one Zulfikar Mohammed, an explosive expert, and detained him.

The investigation got off to a solid start when an informant told the police that one of the suspects lived in the slums near Juhu. Maria wanted to be sure before the police moved in. He met the informant late on Wednesday to gather more details and even sent two undercover agents to confirm the facts. A police party then kept vigil in the area for two days and nights. Early on August 30, the team closed in on a shanty in Juhu and picked up Ansari. His interrogation began almost immediately in the police van that was parked nearby.

THE ACCUSED
WEB OF THEIR OWN MAKING: The accused being taken to the POTA court. The public prosecutor says they have an airtight case against the four accused.
THE FOUR IN THE NET
Ashrat Ansari, 25, ZARI WORKER He hired Pandey's taxi on August 24 and 25. Got off at the zoo and took another cab to Mumbadevi temple. After planting the bomb, he took a bus to his house in Juhu. Arrested on August 30.	Hanif Mohd, 41, electrician and auto driver The middle-aged man in the taxi who supervised the August 25 operation. Got off at Dhobi Talao and took a cab home to the Chamanwadi slum. Arrested on August 30.	Fahmida, 37, Hanif's wife Allegedly helped her husband in earlier blasts in Ghatkopar and Andheri. She was in Pandey's taxi with her daughter Shakira and got off at the Gateway of India. Arrested along with Hanif.	Farheen, 17, Hanif's daughter A Class IX dropout, she was trained to make bombs by Hanif. She accompanied her parents to the Gateway of India for the dry run on Sunday. Arrested with parents.
THE TWO STILL AT LARGE
MUMBAI COORDINATOR: A middle-aged Mumbai-based Muslim who is absconding since August 25. He passed on instructions received on the Net from Dubai to Ansari and Hanif. Used to give them money regularly.
EXPLOSIVE SUPPLIER: A middle-aged Mumbai-based Muslim who travelled widely to procure and supply various kinds of explosives to different modules in Mumbai. He is also absconding since the twin blasts.

Ansari admitted to his involvement and said that the second blast was the handiwork of Hanif and his family. The team's next stop was the Chamanwadi chawl in Andheri. That same afternoon, Maria's team arrested Hanif, Fahmida and Farheen. They also recovered large quantities of gelatin sticks, clock timers and other materials used for making bombs.

Three of the arrested were produced in Justice A.P. Bhangale's pota court on Monday in connection with the July 28 blast in a best bus near Ghatkopar station that killed four and injured 32 persons. They were remanded in custody for 14 days but Hanif, who complained of high blood pressure, was admitted to a government hospital. Says Public Prosecutor Rohini Salian: "It is an airtight case with strong evidence against all the four accused. But it appears they are just cogs in a larger network."

After the arrests, the police have changed their versions about the explosives used. The prima facie investigation and interim reports of forensic labs had suggested that RDX and other high-intensity explosives like plastic, TNT and petn were used in the blasts. They now say that 280 pieces of gelatin sticks weighing about 24 kg were used in the blasts.

But there are some holes in the police theory. For one, Ansari and Hanif's family went about their routine life in Mumbai after executing such a major bomb attack. Normally, the perpetrators try and flee from the city to avoid arrest. The police believes that even though they are indoctrinated, the accused don't have a criminal mindset and were only executing the plans of their foreign-based bosses. The series of bomb attacks since last December also suggests that there are separate indoctrinated units carrying out the terror attacks. According to information with the Mumbai Police and the Intelligence Bureau, there are several sleeping units planted in Mumbai.

The police are clueless about who was the mastermind of the attack. It is also not clear whether any of the accused is associated with SIMI leader C.A.M. Basheer or Saquib Nachan and Jalees Ansari, all of whom are accused of carrying out similar attacks in Mumbai in the past.

The motive too is unclear. The interrogation suggests that Ansari was avenging the killing of Muslims in the Gujarat riots. As Maria admits, "Cutting off the fringe executor modules is the first step to breaking the larger terrorist conspiracy". Only a thorough inquiry into the conspiracy will unmask the hideous minds that plotted Black Monday.

The day after the bomb blasts, it was business as usual in Mumbai. And that is the only silver lining: the city can be pounded with bombs but these cannot shake the spirit of the Mumbaikar who bounces back with more resilience every time he is attacked.