PICTURE SPEAK

AT SNAIL'S PACE: Police have no answers to Mumbaikars' questions

The investigators are currently concentrating on SIMI members who could have been the possible link between the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Mumbai. Since LeT is a foreign organisation, investigators believe it can only provide the arms and technical knowledge. The ground work would have to be done by a local network which seems to be SIMI. However, considering that there are over 50,000 SIMI members in the state and over 5,000 in Mumbai alone, the task before the ATS is quite difficult.

But it seems to have found a close link between those arrested. Dr Tanvir Ansari and the brother duo of Faizal and Muzzamil Sheikh who were arrested in July 2006, are said to have links with the RDX haul suspects in Aurangabad. In May 2006, it had seized 30 kg RDX and some arms and ammunition from Aurangabad and Malegaon and for the first time had discovered the sleeping LeT modules. ATS chief K.P. Raghuvansh IHAS revealed that Ansari had travelled to Pakistan via Nepal in 2003 and it was during this visit to Pakistan that he had met Junaid, who was commanding the LeT module in Aurangabad. similarly, Faizal was in contact with Fayyaz Kagdi and Zabiuddin Ansari who is the prime absconder in the Aurangabad case. It was Faizal who had sent Kagdi to Pakistan for training. It is also suspected that Faizal was in touch with Raheel Shaikh, another suspect in the Aurangabad case.

The sheer fact that the ATS has been able to get suspects from as far as Bihar, Bhopal and Jammu suggests the vastness of the terror network. Also, every suspect has had a criminal case against him in Mumbai. Be it Abdul Hameed, a security guard brought from Jammu who has a robbery case registered in the Nagpada police station or Shariq Khan from Bhopal who had a hacking case against him at the Colaba police station. The ATS also believes that funds for the blasts came from Saudi Arabia. Sources say approximately nine lakh riyals (over Rs 1 crore) were transferred to Mumbai in the past one year. A huge part of this money was used to plan and execute the blasts. The remaining part of the money was used to carry out dry runs for the main event and to provide logistical support.

Besides the problems of investigation, the police are also stuck with the dilemma of one-upmanship within the force. The battle of "being better" is heating up between the coveted Crime Branch and the celebrated ATS. The arrests of brothers Faizal and Muzammil Sheikh, especially the former who is suspected to be the western India chief for LeT and had allegedly received money for the blasts through hawala, has come as a shot in the arm of the Crime Branch. "These are the second-most important arrests made by the Crime Branch. Both had been to Pakistan for training in making explosives. They used the Dubai route to travel to Pakistan in August 2003," says DCP (Detection) Dhananjay Kamlakar. As both police agencies are making random arrests, a bureaucrat in the Home Department reveals that the arrests made so far are not yielding anything. "Although these people are criminals, they could have been arrested at any point of time. But the police have to show arrests as they are under tremendous pressure both from the Government and the media," he says. He alludes it to the fact that none of the perpetrators of the 9/11 blasts in the US or the London bombings have been arrested so far.

THE BIG FISH

KAMAL AHMED ANSARI Arrested from Bihar for alleged involvement in Jogeshwari blasts and for being in touch with the LeT. KHALID AZIZ SHEIKH Arrested from Bihar for his alleged hand in the Jogeshwari blasts and for posessing RDX. MUMTAZ CHOUDHARY: Urdu Tutor, arrested for providing local support to the bomb-makers. TANVIR ANSARI: Unani medicine practitioner, arrested for alleged involvement in Delhi 29/10 blasts. ZAMIR SHEIKH Locksmith, arrested for allegedly getting trained in Pakistan to prepare bombs similar to those used on 7/11

Apart from these hurdles, the police are also having trouble associating those arrested with the crime they are charged with. Some of the suspects are charged with sections as serious as murder and conspiracy. An 18-year old Shariq Khan, picked up from Bhopal, has been booked for a five-year old hacking case in which he was not even a suspect. Without any evidence, the police might face complexity in guaranteeing a conviction. But the Mumbai Police are also treading their way carefully for they are still flagged with the controversy regarding the Ghatkopar blasts case where all eight of the accused were acquitted by the court.

Sources in the Home Ministry also say that the police are trying to mislead the perpetrators by making media disclosures about the arrests. There is also speculation against the LeT being the suspect. "LeT was the first to decline its role in the blasts. LeT never publicly denies its role. The mere fact that it has done so now, could be an indicator that it did not play any role," says an official. Sources say that the role of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and a Bangladeshi organisation Hurkat-ul-Jehadi-Islam (HUJI) also cannot be ignored. According to sources, the modus operandi of the carnage points to the role of JeM. The police had also recently raided Bangladeshi pockets in Mira Road and Navi Mumbai. The fact that from day one the police have only pointed towards the LeT and not considered any other organisation is also worth pondering over.

The ATS is treading rather carefully right now. "We don't want to be hasty nor do we want to harass the innocent, which is why we are making careful arrests", says P.S. Pasricha, director general of police. Similarly, former police commissioner M.N. Singh says that it is important to arrest people who may give out valid information.

"It is only the SIMI members that can give effective information about the blasts," he says.

Dissatisfied with the progress of investigations, the Mumbai branch of the BJP has asked for the probe to be shifted to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). "The state government has failed miserably. The state's agencies haven't been able to arrest a single accused for the 7/11 blasts. The probe should, therefore, be given to the CBI," says leader of the Opposition Gopinath Munde. According to Pasricha, the police need just one vital clue to crack the case. "Even if we find a small clue, we can open the entire book," he says. The question that Mumbaikars are asking is: for how long will we have to wait for the perpetrators of the crime to be brought to book?

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