13/7 bomber still near city?

Cops Plan To Slap Accused With MCOCA Charges

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Security agencies in Mumbai said they are working on the premise that one of the two 13/7 bombers is still in the vicinity of the city. Local investigators said it is the overconfidence of the bomber that has kept him near Mumbai even after the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) announced it had cracked the case.

The ATS has named two men in the case as wanted accused A and B. It is felt that these two are Tabrez and Waqqas, the two Pakistanis who stayed at Habib Apartments in Byculla and who are suspected to have planted two of the three bombs.

Police sources said the Pakistani nationals’ overconfidence led them to stay in Mumbai after the July 13 blasts. Their presence wasn’t detected till six IM members were arrested in Delhi in November. However, after they escaped from Byculla, Tabrez and Waqqas must have felt they still could dodge security agencies, said a source.

While officers haven’t picked up Waqqas’s trail, they seem to have detected Tabrez in the vicinity of Mumbai. Investigators wouldn’t reveal why they think he is near the city, but separate sources said that Tabrez’s mobile number could have been traced. Tabrez and Waqqas left their room on the midnight of November 27. “The phone numbers they were using are switched off now. But security agencies had been working on finding their new numbers. Tabrez’s may have been detected,” said a police source.

Meanwhile, the police are also planning to invoke the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) in the case.

Tabrez and Waqqas had reportedly stayed at Habib Apartments from February to November. Sources said it is possible that after the duo fled the city, they separated to avoid suspicion. “Tabrez planted one bomb. But, we don’t want to say whether Naqi Ahmed and Nadeem Akhtar, who have been arrested in the case, were present while the bombs were assembled,” said a policeman.

ATS chief Rakesh Maria denied reports that the Dadar bomb was actually meant for Siddhivinayak temple. ATS teams sent to Bihar and other states are returning with leads, said police. The computer seized from Byculla has been sent for analysis. Investigations show some data has been deleted. The cops reportedly got phone numbers and files from the computer.

Taqi summoned, sends med reports
Dwaipayan Ghosh | TNN New Delhi/Mumbai: Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Rakesh Maria said Taqi, the brother of the arrested Naqi Ahmed, has been summoned for questioning on Friday in Mumbai. However, Taqi told sources in Delhi that two of his other brothers are already under virtual house arrest in Mumbai. “I have produced a detailed medical report stating that I cannot go to Mumbai as I am not keeping well,” Taqi told TOI in Delhi. Sources have indicated that the ATS might send a team to Shaheen Bagh in Delhi for a fresh round of questioning.

The Times of India, January 26, 2012