7/11 INVESTIGATION | ONE WEEK ON
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Mumbai probe: A trail of confusion
Published on Tue, Jul 18, 2006 at 13:04, Updated on Fri, Jul 21, 2006 at 11:24 in India section
Tags: Mumbai Blasts, Trains , New Delhi
New Delhi: Eight days after the Mumbai serial blasts, the investigation trail seem to be dotted with confusion.
There are too many scattered clues and no concrete lead.
First, there was a Nepal connection, then a Bangladesh angle and now an Australian link.
Initial probe said RDX wasn’t used and now investigators say it was used with other chemicals.
For the first week, hundreds were detained but there were no arrests.
Then on July 21, the Anti-Terrorist Squad claimed the first breakthrough in the case and arrested three people - two from Madhubani in Bihar and one from Navi Mumbai.
A look at the major leads into the blasts:
The suspects
On July 11, a series of powerful blasts ripped through the Mumbai’s local trains at rush hour, killing nearly 200 and injuring 700.
Spot investigation points the needle of suspicion towards Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).
However, LeT on the same night condemned and denied involvement in the blasts. In a telephonic statement to several media organisations, Lashkar spokesman Dr Abdullah Ghaznavi condemned in strongest terms, the serial blasts both in Mumbai and Srinagar.
On July 12, a day after the blasts, Mumbai Police hint the involvement of a new module of LeT, which they feared had set up base in Mumbai.
On the same day, Centre claims to have got ' major leads' into the blasts and point the needle of suspicion towards the involvement of banned Islamic outfit Students’ Islamic Movement of India.
"The LeT supplied the RDX used in the blasts and SIMI executed the plan on the ground," Mumbai Police sources claimed.
Citywide raids are launched and many SIMI sympathisers and activists are detained. Mumbai Police get sketches of suspects made to try and ascertain the identity of those responsible for the blasts and begin combing operations across Maharashtra.
On July 13, police launch a manhunt for LeT module leader Zaibuddin Ansari, who went missing after his role into the Aurangabad arms and explosives seizure was exposed.
The same day, Mumbai Police release the photos of two blast suspects - LeT operative Zabiuddin and Zulfeqar Fayaz Riyaz Ahmed Kagzi, who escaped after the arms haul in Ahmedabad.
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