Officials say that it is now emerging that what started with the RDX blast aboard the Karnavati Express on February 18 at Ahmedabad earlier this year, culminated with the serial blasts at Malegaon on September 8.

The ATS has now found a strong evidence linking the Aurangabad, Mumbai and Malegaon terror modules. According to investigators, they not only had a common handler but they also happened to know each other well.

ATS chief Joint Commissioner of Police K P Raghuvanshi confirmed the links that have emerged between the three modules. “They know each other and have been in regular contact. We are probing further to establish their exact involvement in these (Malegaon-Aurangabad-7/11) cases,” he said. ATS and Mumbai police crime branch officials say that Shabbir Batterywallah is the strongest common link between the Aurangabad, Mumbai and Malegaon modules.

Batterywallah was arrested by the crime branch on August 11 under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for being an active SIMI member and was subsequently arrested by the ATS for alleged conspiracy of Malegaon blasts.

The blast aboard the Karnavati Express had been the handiwork of key LeT operative and member of the Aurangabad module Fayaz Riaz Ahmed Kagzi who is now believed to be in Pakistan. SIMI activist Noor-ul-Huda has already been held for his alleged involvement in the Malegaon blasts. He was Batterywallah’s employee and is now named as a planter of one of the three bombs at Malegaon. Batterywallah had not only put together the Malegaon module but was also in know about the arms landing at Aurangabad and had been since last year been in close contact with Kagzi and Zahibuddin Ansari — prime accused in the arms haul case, the police claim.

ATS officials say that investigations have also revealed that Batterywallah had been recruited three years back by serial train blast accused Mohammed Ali Sheikh and was sent in May 2003 for 26 days of terror training at a camp at Bahawalpur in Pakistan. Officials are now investigating as to how much Batterywallah knew about the July 11 serial train blasts conspiracy.

It was at Ali’s house that the bombs in the train blasts were manufactured, claims ATS. “Ali had selected Nafeez Ansari for terror training and had sent him with Batterywallah. Finance for their travel and training were arranged by two men identified as Riaz Bhatkar, an engineer from Karnataka, and Tarique Sattar. We are searching for both these men,” said a crime branch officer.

On May 7, three days before the arms landing at Aurangabad, Batterywallah and 12 other SIMI activists attended Huda’s wedding in Malegaon. Five of these SIMI members have already been arrested in the Aurangabad arms haul case. “Shabbir attended the wedding along with SIMI activists Iftiyar, Akeel, Iklaq, Dr. Salman Farsi, Khaled, Munawwar, Safdar Bhai, Riyaz alias Raju, Mushtaq, Javed, Afzal and Dr. Sharif. The last five men have been arrested. After the wedding, Farsi and Safdar stood up and started delivering speeches on jehad and spoke of a large consignment of arms that would reach Malegaon. They talked of doing something big in the area. Shabbir also knows Kagzi and Zaibuddin Ansari,” said a senior crime branch official.

During questioning, Batterywallah told police that while Kagzi could not attend the wedding as he was to leave for Iran on May 9 for a month and was busy preparing for the trip, Ansari was making arrangements for landing and transport of the arms and explosives which were to be delivered near Pipargaon on the Nashik-Mumbai highway.

Investigations have also revealed that after ATS teams seized the consignment and Ansari had managed to escape, he had taken shelter at the residence of Dr Sharif where he hid part of the consignment before fleeing. This consignment containing seven AK 47 rifles and several handgrenades.

The ATS is now on the look out for the seven other SIMI activists who had attended the wedding.