The scooter is taken to the compound of an oil mill, which houses a lot of vehicle mechanic shops. A bomb is fitted into the scooter at the location, which is near Byculla police station
Investigators Remain Mum On Who Did Fitting Of Zaveri Bazar Explosive. A Mechanic Had Been Quizzed Earlier
Mateen Hafeez | TNN
The Zaveri Bazar bomb detonated in last year’s 13/7 blasts was fitted into a stolen scooter in the compound of an oil mill just a stone’s throw from the Byculla police station, according to police investigations. Three blasts were set off by terrorists on July 13, 2011, at Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Dadar, killing 27 people and injuring over 100. The oil mill is filled with garages and the Zaveri Bazar bomb went off in a scooter.
The state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), whose investigations into the case were meandering, was taken by surprise when a Delhi police team arrived in the city in late December. The Delhi police gave details about three suspects who were in Mumbai. While two were identified as Pakistani nationals Waqqas and Tabrez, the third was believed to be a top commander of the
Indian Mujahideen (IM), Yasin Bhatkal alias Shahrukh alias Imran alias Immu.
Instead of nabbing the suspects, the Delhi police and ATS preferred monitoring their movements. The three were reportedly staying on rent on the third floor of Habib Apartments, next to Palace Talkies in Byculla (East). The building is a couple of minutes from Byculla police station. Habib Apartments is at one end of the Byculla bridge while the police station is at the other.
“The three suspects landed in Mumbai early last year. They got in touch with a real estate broker, Sultan Khan, who also stays at Habib Apartments. Another tenant, Rubina Qureishi, had asked Khan to look for someone who could rent her apartment,” said a source close to the investigation. Habib Apartments is an old groundplus-three structure next to Byculla railway station.
“The trio approached Khan and took the room on a rent of around Rs 8,000 per month,” said the source. “They posed as call centre employees.” The ATS called Khan and Qureishi for interrogations.
The Delhi police came to know of the IM module in Mumbai in end-November, when they were tracking a mobile number that belonged to a suspected IM member in Kolkata. The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, fled Kolkata in November. In end-November, the Delhi police also arrested six IM men from Bihar and Chennai who gave statements regarding the module in Mumbai. The Delhi cops then came to the city.
All the three men staying at Habib Apartments in Mumbai remained clean shaven and spoke little to other residents in the building. The state ATS recently activated all its contacts in Mazgaon and Byculla to rent a room in Habib Apartments to monitor the suspects, but no room was available.
One of the three is suspected to have gone to the Khetwadi area on July 11 or 12 and stolen an Activa scooter. The scooter was taken to the oil mill, which is filled with garages, near Byculla police station and given for repairs. “This is where a bomb was fitted into it,” the source added.
A garage mechanic who spoke to the suspects about a defect in the scooter had been earlier summoned by the ATS and his statement recorded. He was cleared from suspicion then. When asked who fitted the bomb into the scooter, the police did not reply.
The ATS had been tapping a mobile number being used in Mumbai, 9433524***, which had been issued in Kolkata. This number, different from the one tracked by the Delhi police, is suspected to have been used by Imran alias Bhatkal. Surprisingly, the police were unsure if Imran was Bhatkal. The number, obtained on fake documents, is now switched off. “ATS officials were in the process of verifying if Imran was Bhatkal, but by then he and his accomplices fled the city,” said a source.
On the day of the blasts, all three suspects are suspected to have carried one bomb each and headed to the different locations, said sources. They returned before the blasts.
During their stay in Byculla, Imran left and returned to Mumbai several times, but was never tracked by the police. He allegedly engineered the Delhi high court blast, took part in the German Bakery blast, the Ahmedabad blasts and other attacks.
SHADOWING DEATH
HOW INVESTIGATIONS REVEAL THE 13/7 BLASTS MAY HAVE BEEN PERPETRATED & THE TRAIL THAT LED TO A BYCULLA BUILDING
A man suspected to be Yasin Bhatkal and two Pakistanis rent a flat in Byculla in April-March 2011 and do recces of Mumbai
On July 11 or 12, the IM men steal a Honda Activa scooter from Khetwadi near Grant Road and take it to Byculla
A bomber rides the scooter to a spot in Zaveri Bazar. Two other tiffin bombs are also planted, one in a dustbin in the Opera House area and the other on the roof of a bus-stop in Dadar
On the evening of July 13, the bombs explode. The final death toll at Opera House is 15, Zaveri Bazar 11 and Dadar 1. Over a hundred are injured
In November, six IM men held by Delhi cops speak of a Mumbai cell. The cops also track a Kolkata number, which indicates an IM cell in Mumbai
The three men staying at Byculla get wind of the Delhi arrests and flee Mumbai some time in mid-December
The Times of India, January 17, 2012
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