Varanasi bomb blast continues to fox investigators

Phoolrani had sustained serious head injuries and had lost a lot of blood. She was also operated upon but her condition continued to be serious. The blast had claimed the life of 11-month-old girl Swastika Sharma.

Meanwhile,the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and other intelligence agencies are still hunting for clues in the search for suspects in the low-intensity bomb blast that exploded on the banks of the Ganga.

What is perplexing to the intelligence agencies is that no detonator or timer has been found at the spot so they do not know what triggered the device or the chemical process.

Maharashtra Police,meanwhile,is looking for a breakthrough in the probe into the suspected Indian Mujahideen email sent from Navi Mumbai after the Varanasi blast.

Investigators said they were yet to get leads about the identities of those who sent the e-mail after the blast by hacking into the WiFi account of DJ Akhil Talreja’s house in Vashi,Navi Mumbai. They said they are revisiting earlier cases involving the IM and looking for its men who continue to evade the police — Mohsin Chaudhary,brother of arrested IM man Akbar Ismail Chaudhary,Mohammed Mobeen Abdul Shakoor Khan alias Irfan,Amin alias Raja Ayub Shaikh,and Abu Rashid. Rashid owned a garment factory in Sewri,Mumbai,from where arms and ammunition were recovered,while Irfan and Amin helped Afzal Usmani steal cars used for planting IEDs in Ahmedabad and Surat in 2008.

The Maharashtra ATS,in fact,has written to Google to trace the gmail account from which the Indian Mujahidden e-mail was sent.

While the report on the device from Agra CFSL are still awaited,prima facie the device contained potassium nitrate.

Investigators are trying to understand what triggered off the chemical process at Varanasi as the device was powerful to shatter a 20 kilogram stone slab and shatter windows some 500 metres from the site.

They have even gone back to the book to understand the device used by Nigerian bomber Umer Farooq Abulmutallub,who tried to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear last Christmas.

For the want of any substantive clues,the investigators are now focusing on Dr Shahnawaz Alam,Abu Rashid,who is also involved in the 2006 Sankatmochan and Shramjevi Express blasts,Mohammed Khalid and Arif Khan aka Junaid. It appears that either of these Pakistan-trained terrorists have revisited India and tried to regroup the remnants of Indian Mujahideen.

The role of the IM in Varanasi blast,sources said,matches information gleaned through the interrogation of Delhi blast accused and alleged IM operative Shahzad Ahmed in February this year. Ahmed had told Delhi Police that both the Dashashwamedh Ghat and the German Bakery at Varanasi were IM’s “future targets.” It was this tip-off that was passed on to the UP Police on February 25,a tip-off that the state government today called dated,“not actionable.”

The Varanasi blast seemed to have been planned for December 6,the anniversary of the Babri Masjid’s demolition,given that the email is dated December 6. However,IM operatives probably could not carry out the attack on the day due to heightened security.

Government sources indicated there could be more terror targets and planned strikes by IM since the email does not specifically mention Varanasi. Religious places across the country besides the whole set of Lashkar-e-Toiba targets like Chabad Houses,German bakeries,Paharganj

As many as 20 identified IM operatives are on the Home Ministry’s radar and while most of them are said to be located in the Gulf and Pakistan,at least “five to six” could be in India,the government sources said. What is puzzling investigators,though,is the nature of the bomb.

In the first 24 hours since the blast went off,investigators had not found any of the usual IM ‘signatures’ such as ball bearings and nails or remnants of an IED or remains of a battery,wire,detonator,timer or circuit.

What they had collected were samples of soil,pieces of stones and pieces of a white plastic container which has a sticker,with the word “Prince” on it.

While experts don’t rule out that the battery,wire and timer could have been blown into the Ganga by the force of the blast,an official of Agra’s Forensic Science Laboratory said: “One thing is clear,there were no ballbearings or other such articles in the bomb.” Doctors treating the injured have also found no sign of wounds caused by metal pieces.

Also,there is no CCTV footage because there are no such cameras installed at the ghat. The design of the bomb indicates that those who planted the device had examined the site. The bomb was placed on a staircase made of stone slabs. “They knew that the explosion would automatically convert the stones’ slabs into projectiles,” said an official.

Incidentally,the attackers also chose that particular area of the ghat where no TV cameras are present.

The UP ATS is also looking for some new IM cells. Salman,an IM operative who was arrested by the UP ATS from Siddharthnagar a few months ago,had told police that IM founder Amir Raza Khan and the Bhatkal brothers — believed to be in Pakistan — had set up fresh teams in India for triggering off blasts.

Salman was among 12 IM operatives,including the Bhatkals and Khan,who had a Rs 1-lakh reward on his head. Of them,Dr Shahnawaz,Ariz alias Junaid,Sajid (Bada),Mohammad Khalid,Mirza Sadab Beig and Asadullah Akhtar alias Asadullah Khan,all belonging to Azamgarh,are still at large.

One-year-old Swastika was killed and over 40 people,including a few foreigners,were injured when a bomb exploded on the banks of the Ganga during ‘maha aarti’ watched by hundreds. (with inputs from ENS)