Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Is there a link between Delhi HC blast and Ambala haul?

October 18, 2011 14:51 IST

The recent haul of explosives at Ambala has kept investigating agencies on their toes ever since. Now, the probe agencies are not even ruling out the possibility of the Delhi high court blast being linked to the seizure of 5 kgs of RDX from a car at Ambala earlier this month.

In fact after the September 10 Delhi blast -- which killed 12 and injured 76 others -- there was an intercept from the Intelligence Bureau that the blast could have been the handiwork of the Babbar Khalsa outfit.

However, officials of the National Investigating Agency felt the Delhi blast was the handiwork of the Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami and the Indian Mujahideen.

They believed that they had specific leads regarding Babbar Khalsa and hence decided to probe this angle.

However, following the Ambala haul, investigating agencies are looking into the possibility that the Babbar Khalsa could be involved in the Delhi blast.

During the course of the investigation into the Ambala case the police found that it was the Babbar Khalsa with the help of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba which had planned to carry out a terror attack in New Delhi.

But the more important aspect that has come into focus is the four modules in northern India which have been jointly opened up by the two outfits with a specific intention of targeting Punjab and New Delhi.

Further, the probe has also revealed that the Babbar Khalsa had been transporting the ammunition to Delhi and the plan was to carry out attacks at the Patiala House court.

With the help of the IB, the police have also learnt that the operation was being headed by top militant Jagjith Singh Tara, who also happens to be the prime accused in the murder of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.

It was found that the Delhi module, which is under Tara, had carried out surveys of the Patiala House court and the intention was to carry out a blast sometime in October.

This probe had also led the police to specific information that the arms were provided by Lashkar operatives in Kashmir and cadres of the Babbar Khalsa International were planning on using these for a blast in New Delhi.

Today investigators are trying to find links between the Delhi court blast and the Ambala haul. The entire Delhi blast case rests on the emails that were sent out after the blasts. There were a couple of arrests too that were made, but more information regarding the mails have cropped up than the real operation.

With the Ambala haul case giving out more details, the investigators feel that they should look into the Delhi blast case along with this case.

There are very many similarities between the two cases. In both cases the ammunition had come from the Kashmir Valley and the target was Delhi. Going by these similarities and also the creation of newer modules in northern India it becomes clear to a certain extent that both incidents could have been interlinked.

Moreover, the police now feel that even the Delhi high court blast could be the handiwork of the BKI and the mails could have been sent out by a couple of youth who were not even connected with this incident. They could have done so for some financial favours, an investigator pointed out.

NIA sources inform that they are yet to look into this angle but also added that the case is now being looked into by the police and they would await a detailed report.

Sources in the IB speak about the various intercepts they had shared regarding the BKI-Lashkar link. There has been an increase in their movements.

The Lashkar has been bringing in the arms into the Valley and sharing it with BKI operatives who have set up modules in Punjab. In addition to this the BKI operatives have also helped Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence agents smuggle drugs and also fake currency.

This probe is about to take an interesting turn and a lot would depend on how the agencies coordinate between themselves.

The probe into the Delhi high court blast has already created much confusion regarding the outfit which carried out the attack. However, the emergence of this new angle should put things into perspective if probed properly.

Vicky Nanjappa