Posted:
Was local neta the pointman?
Intelligence agencies say he recruited over a thousand people from UP in the past six months
Mumbai Mirror Bureau
The central intelligence agencies and the Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Mumbai police believe a politician with considerable following among the minorities in Mumbai may have played a crucial role in Tuesday's serial blasts.
The blasts, a senior ATS officer said, seemed to be a reprisal for the death of two members of a minority community in police firing in Bhiwandi last week.
The politician, whom the ATS sleuths are likely to call for questioning soon, had played a key role in fomenting trouble in the aftermath of the Bhiwandi firing incident.
According to the information available with ATS, this politician recruited over a thousand people from Uttar Pradesh in the past six months. The recruits, an ATS officer said, are now part of several well-knit terrorist sleeper cells in Mumbai. The ATS had held two back-to-back meetings with the state and central intelligence agencies after the trouble in Bhiwandi. The ATS for the past several months has also been tracking the flow of funds to this Mumbai politician from mysterious sources in the Gulf.
"A sleeper cell can be activated in as short a notice as 24 hours. As per the intelligence collected so far, the serial blasts of Tuesday might be a reaction to what happened in Bhiwandi last week," said a senior IB official in Mumbai.
Just last month, the ATS had busted a couple of sleeper cells and arrested 13 men from Malegaon and Aurangabad with RDX and guns.
According to an officer of the Inspector General rank, Tuesday's blasts could be the handiwork of some local groups who knew about the important role the Western line plays in keeping the city on the move.
The officer added that the people who executed the blasts appeared to have good understanding of the functioning of the local train network and the train time tables. "The fact they picked the evening rush hour also indicates local knowledge," he said.
Intelligence agencies say he recruited over a thousand people from UP in the past six months
Mumbai Mirror Bureau
The central intelligence agencies and the Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Mumbai police believe a politician with considerable following among the minorities in Mumbai may have played a crucial role in Tuesday's serial blasts.
The blasts, a senior ATS officer said, seemed to be a reprisal for the death of two members of a minority community in police firing in Bhiwandi last week.
The politician, whom the ATS sleuths are likely to call for questioning soon, had played a key role in fomenting trouble in the aftermath of the Bhiwandi firing incident.
According to the information available with ATS, this politician recruited over a thousand people from Uttar Pradesh in the past six months. The recruits, an ATS officer said, are now part of several well-knit terrorist sleeper cells in Mumbai. The ATS had held two back-to-back meetings with the state and central intelligence agencies after the trouble in Bhiwandi. The ATS for the past several months has also been tracking the flow of funds to this Mumbai politician from mysterious sources in the Gulf.
"A sleeper cell can be activated in as short a notice as 24 hours. As per the intelligence collected so far, the serial blasts of Tuesday might be a reaction to what happened in Bhiwandi last week," said a senior IB official in Mumbai.
Just last month, the ATS had busted a couple of sleeper cells and arrested 13 men from Malegaon and Aurangabad with RDX and guns.
According to an officer of the Inspector General rank, Tuesday's blasts could be the handiwork of some local groups who knew about the important role the Western line plays in keeping the city on the move.
The officer added that the people who executed the blasts appeared to have good understanding of the functioning of the local train network and the train time tables. "The fact they picked the evening rush hour also indicates local knowledge," he said.
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