Mumbai,January 24 : TAKING a serious view of the Maharashtra ATS claim of having worked out the 13/ 7 serial blasts in Mumbai, home minister P. Chidambaram on Monday called up state agency chief Rakesh Maria and demanded to know the basis of his assertion.
The call came minutes after Maria made the claim at a hurriedly convened press conference in Mumbai and the special cell of the Delhi Police reportedly complained to Chidambaram that among the Maharashtra ATS “ catches” was Naqi Ahmed Sheikh, who was actually helping police nab Yasin Bhatkal and unravel the blast conspiracy.
Saying the Maharashtra police’s claims could be “ misleading and premature”, sources in the home ministry said the arrestee was actually an Intelligence Bureau ( IB) informer. Chidambaram was said to be miffed also because the ATS had kept the MHA in the dark about “ cracking the case” and senior ministry officials had to call up the Maharashtra officials to confirm the development.
The sources said the home ministry was unhappy with the manner in which the Maharashtra Police had claimed to have cracked the case. The Maharashtra DGP had been summoned to New Delhi for explanations, they added. The IB, said to be livid with the ATS, too lodged a strong protest with home secretary R. K. Singh.
Chidambaram’s annoyance with Maria is hardly a surprise, especially since the Delhi Police are claiming that Naqi was helping them nab Bhatkal.
But Maria is standing his ground. Earlier in the day, he claimed that the serial blasts case had been cracked with the arrest of Naqi and Nadeem Akhtar Ahmed Sheikh. Maria claimed that both Naqi and Nadeem were members of the Indian Mujahideen’s “ Darbhanga module” and had played a key role in the blasts that killed 27 persons.
According to Maria, Naqi knew Bhatkal since 2008 when the latter used to “ indoctrinate youngsters from Darbhanga”. Naqi was allegedly involved in recceing Opera House, Zaveri Bazaar and Dadar, where the blasts took place. Naqi and Nadeem stole the two scooters which were later used to plant the bombs at Opera House and Zaveri Bazaar.
Naqi also helped Bhatkal secure an accommodation in Mumbai for the bomb planters.
To portray Naqi and Nadeem as major IM players, Maria said they had stolen two more vehicles late in 2011 to organise more blasts.
Admitting there was competition among various agencies to solve the case, Maria clarified it did not mean that there was infighting. “ The person heading the special cell in Delhi is my batchmate; I have made half a dozen trips to Delhi to discuss the case,” Maria claimed.
The ATS chief claimed that ` 10 lakh were spent on the blasts conspiracy and that a third person, Haroon, had also been arrested.
Naqi’s family in Delhi has appealed to National Commission for Minorities insisting that the ATS had not only arrested Naqi but also tortured his two brothers.
With Mail Today Delhi inputs
TURF WAR
Delhi Police team visited Mumbai to keep a tab on one Shahrukh, alias Yasin. They suspected that a West Bengal resident Haroon was in touch with Yasin. Delhi Police questioned several people, including Naqi, whom they believed would lead them to Yasin In a remarkable turn of events, Naqi was arrested by the Maharashtra ATS, interrogated and eventually booked in a cheating case Delhi Police believe it effectively blew their whole operation by arresting Naqi and alerting the unsuspecting IM operatives Maharashtra ATS sources argue Delhi Police never kept them in the loop and Naqi’s arrest was a coincidence
THE SUSPECTS
NAQI AHMED WASI AHMED SHEIKH
The 22- year- old hails from Darbhanga in Bihar. He owns a leather business in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh area along with his elder brother Taqi, an MBA student. The family resides in Delhi
NADEEM AKHTAR ASHFAQ SHEIKH
The 23- year- old is also believed to be a native of Darbhanga. He was staying at Antop Hill, Mumbai
THE CASE FILES
On 13 July 2011, three blasts rock Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and Dadar Blasts kill 27 people and injure 127 Total 12,373 witnesses examined Investigations were carried out in 18 states More than 180 CCTV cameras examined After months of wild goose chase, ATS claims to have got a lead in the last week of November ATS arrests three men — Naqi Ahmed Sheikh, Nadeem Akhtar Ashfaq Sheikh & Haroon Naik Naqi & Nadeem apparently stole the scooters to plant the bombs The grey colour Activa ( MH01 WA3042) used in Zaveri Bazaar blast was stolen from Khadilkar Road, CP Tank, Mumbai The maroon colour Activa ( MH12 CJ6502) used in Opera House blast was stolen from Harkisandas Hospital, Girgaum, Mumbai Naqi also provided SIM cards to the accused, Yasin Bhatkal Naqi and Yasin knew each other since 2008 Yasin introduced Naqi and Nadeem to IM The whole operation cost ` 10 lakh. The money had apparently been routed through hawala Naqi did the recce at the blast sites Naik was arrested on August 22, 2011 in a fake currency case Naqi & Nadim arrested on January 12, 2012 Yasin is still absconding
Thanks Mailtoday
Aditi Raja