BLAST HORROR: A Zaveri Bazar victim being taken to a hospital
Mateen Hafeez | TNN
The Delhi police have picked up the trail of a suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) member based in West Bengal. The person, identified as Haroon, had been using a BSNL phone to keep in touch with a suspect, who is believed to be Yasin Bhatkal alias Shahrukh. The latter was also using a Kolkata cellphone number.
The Delhi police, who were monitoring Haroon’s telephonic conversation, found his contact (the suspect) in Mumbai. However, they were not sure about the suspect’s identity. During that time, the Delhi police claimed to have busted an IM module and arrested six persons from Chennai and Bihar. The information gathered from their interrogation and Haroon’s conversation led them to the Mumbai man.
“Haroon has never been actively involved in any blast in the country. He is part of a sleeper cell that generally does the supportive job for other members. Most recruits do not know about them as well,” said a source.
It may be noted that the Maharashtra ATS had got in touch with the West Bengal police in July last year to find information about somebody holed up in Murshidabad. However, the ATS later lost interest in him. There are reports that the activities of that suspect were not monitored after a few weeks of the blasts. “Had the ATS been following the Murshidabad suspect, they would have definitely got some information,” said the source.
Haroon, who is originally from northern India, slipped out of the Delhi police’s radar and switched off his mobile as well, said sources. However, the information collected during phone-tapping helped the police to indicate another module in Mumbai. The West Bengal police was later alerted about Haroon but by then he had left the state. The Delhi police found that Haroon had made calls to some people whose contact details were found in the mobile numbers of a few IM members arrested in November last. Sources said the prolonged time spent in verification cost the ATS; they lost the IM module from Mumbai.
The Times of India, January 17, 2012
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