I knew Bhatkal as Imran: Bizman

IM Perpetrated 13/7, Varanasi Blasts: Intel

Mateen Hafeez & Dwaipayan Ghosh | TNN

Mumbai/New Delhi: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) said it has established beyond a doubt that Waqqas and Tabrez, the two Pakistanis who lived at Habib Apartments in Byculla, planted the 13/7 bombs that exploded at Zaveri Bazar and Opera House. But the ATS is still unsure of the identity of the bomber who planted the bomb at a bus stop in Dadar on July 13, 2011.

Meanwhile, intelligence agencies said the Indian Mujahideen (IM) engineered both the 13/7 serial blasts in Mumbai and the December 6, 2010 attack at the Dashaswamedh ghat in Varanasi. “Local operatives provided logistical help to the IM to carry out the (Varanasi) blast,” said a Delhi police officer.

Mumbai ATS officials said IM leader Yasin Bhatkal alias Imran was living with the two Pakistanis at flat 53 in Habib Apartments at the time of the 13/7 attacks, but they aren’t sure if Bhatkal was the third planter. Tabrez and Waqqas kept living in the Byculla flat after the blasts, while Bhatkal shuttled between Mumbai and other places. He left Byculla for good only on November 26, the third anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, the ATS said. Tabrez and Waqqas left in December.

Mohammed Naqi, a Byculla businessman caught in a cheating case last week, allegedly helped the IM men get the accommodation. “Naqi says he knew Bhatkal only as Imran and took him to a real estate agent. We are still probing if Naqi was aware of Imran’s real identity,” said an officer. The ATS is unsure if the bombs were assembled at the Byculla flat or were brought there in ready condition, said sources.

Security sources said the Zaveri Bazar bomber can be identified in CCTV footage walking from the blast site to Mohammed Ali Road. While investigators said he is one of the two Pakistanis, they are tightlipped about who it is.

The police said the duo, along with Bhatkal, began renting at Habib Apartments in March 2011. “It is true that Yasin Bhatkal was present in Mumbai,” said an investigator. “However, the ATS was not sure of Bhatkal’s true identity as he was using the alias Imran. After the 13/7 blasts, the two Pakistanis stayed in the Byculla flat. Bhatkal would leave Mumbai often. He returned last towards the end of November and left the flat for good on November 26.”

An ATS official said, “The ATS knows the suspects’ roles, but we will not announce detection until we catch the culprits.” ATS sources said the two Pakistanis left the city in December and only Waqqas was supposed to return for their belongings and deposit. “We laid a trap since he was to come back. But he never returned,” said an ATS officer. Delhi police said Bhatkal had told the landlady he would return. The ATS has seized a computer, five DVDs, branded shirts and jeans from Flat 53. The flat has been sealed.

The Times of India, January 18, 2012