Months after the triple bombings rocked Mumbai on July 13 this year, most counter-terrorism experts were willing to shove the 13/7 investigations under the rug as 'yet another case with a dead end.' However, rediff.com's Toral Varia finds that the Anti-Terrorism Squad has successfully managed to join the dots by decoding the CCTV footage. Here are the EXCLUSIVE details.
Describing the Mumbai terror attack case and its trial as unique, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Rakesh Maria said the execution of Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab is the best fitting tribute to victims as well as security personnel who laid down their lives fighting terrorists.
In a bid to get clues on the latest serial blasts in Mumbai, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad and the Mumbai Crime Branch have questioned a number of people including two arrested Indian Mujahideen operatives, and those having links with underworld gangs and other anti-social elements. "A number of people have been questioned so far but the exact figure we cannot tell you. Those questioned include two IM members who were recently arrested," said an ATS official.
A special court on Tuesday allowed the National Investigation Agency to take custody of three key accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case for further interrogation from July 22 for eight days.
The special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court on Tuesday remanded Lashlar-e-Tayiba operative and key 26/11 handler Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal in Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad custody till August 24 in connection with the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case.
'They don't communicate on the telephone. They meet. The conspiracy is discussed, the crime is planned out and then the crime happens.' Rakesh Maria, the supercop who heads Maharashtra's Anti Terrorism Squad, explains the mindset of the modern terrorist at the Times Literary Festival. A correspondent listens in.
Thakur, seated in the witness box, got visibly emotional at one point and the proceedings were halted for ten minutes.
A special court on Thursday said the application of provisions of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act in the Malegaon blast case by the Maharashtra police was valid.After perusing the chargesheet, special MCOCA judge Y D Shinde said prima facie there was evidence to invoke MCOCA in the case.The over 4,000-page chargesheet had been filed by the ATS against 14 accused in the case charging them under MCOCA.
S M Mushrif says, in this brief interaction with rediff.com, that he would not allow the issue of Karkare's death to die down unless and until the matter is probed.
Hours after the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad claimed a breakthrough in the 13/7 Mumbai blasts case, the Ministry of Home Affairs has claimed that it was not informed about the arrests of two operatives from Bihar -- Naqqi Ahmed Washi Ahmed Shaikh and Nadeem Akhtar Asfaq Sheikh.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which arrested Pune blast prime suspect Abdul Samad Bhatkal, is probing the possible nexus between underworld and terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) in the case.
The family of slain Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare has declined Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's offer of monetary help, sources said on Saturday.
In response to an RTI query filed by Gulzaar Azmi, general secretary (legal cell) of a socio-cultural organisation, Jamiat Ulama-E-Maharashtra, it was found that Sadashiv Abhimanyu Patil, a constable attached to Nashik unit of ATS, had sent Rs 1,000 thrice to accused Abrar Ahmed through money order in August, September and November 2008 from his residential address at police headquarters in Nashik.
Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad is considering pressing charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against all the nine accused in the Malegaon blast case, including Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.The ATS is investigating transfer of funds from the bank account of Lt. Col. Purohit, the first serving army officer to be arrested in the case, to Rahirkar and others for execution of the alleged conspiracy.
Yaseen Bhatkal, a distant relative of Indian Mujhahideen founder Riyaz Bhatkal, has been named the mastermind of the Pune blast by Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad. A blast in German bakery, one of the city's most popular eateries, had left 17 people dead and many more injured on February 13. Yaseen hails from the coastal town of Bhatkal in Karnataka and has been involved in terror activities since 1998, say sources in the Intelligence Bureau.
Four alleged Indian Mujahideen operatives, already in Delhi police custody, were on Thursday arrested in connection with Pune serial blasts and remanded in police custody until January 1, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad said.
The claim by Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad about presence of RDX in the 2007 Samjhauta train blast has flummoxed investigators, who probed the attack, as forensic analysis had shown no signs of the deadly explosive being used in the terror strike that left 68 people dead.
Maharashtra Director General of Police Sanjay Pandey has posted a message on his Facebook page about two posts of superintendents in the Anti-Terrorism Squad lying vacant, and invited aspirants to approach the department or contact him through the social media.
Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday told the Bombay high court that the original Call Detail Records (CDRs) pertaining to the 13 alleged SIMI activists facing trial in 2006 suburban train blasts case are still available with the mobile service providers.
Working in perfect coordination, the Delhi police, the National Investigation Agency and the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad have managed to crack the Pune blasts case. They have also busted a major module of the Indian Mujahideen and arrested three suspects -- Asad from Aurangabad, Imran Khan from Nanded and Sayeed from Pune. Four kg of explosives, eight detonators and nine volt batteries were found to be in possession of the arrested accused.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad team, which is probing the Mumbai terror attacks, on Tuesday took transit remand of an accused arrested in connection with the attack on the Central Reserve Police Force camp in Rampur."An ATS team, which arrived in the state capital on Monday, took Imran Shahzad alias Abu Samad, currently lodged in Lucknow jail, on transit remand to Mumbai," said Additional Director General (Law and Order) Brijlal.
The Bombay high court on Wednesday berated the Maharashtra government for not appointing a new special public prosecutor (SPP) to represent it in the appeals arising from the 2006 Mumbai serial train blasts case.
The fact that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence shows a lot of interest in the operations in India is no secret. Abu Jundal, who is now being questioned by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad has told his interrogators that two senior ISI officers are exclusively in charge of the Indian operatives of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Stating that investigations into the Pune blasts case were progressing well, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad on Tuesday claimed to have got some leads, with CCTV footage revealing two persons on a motorcycle moving suspiciously in the area around the time of the blasts.
According to a senior ATS official, the man identified as Rizwan Khan was arrested from his residence at Kalyan in Thane district on Friday night.
Claiming to have some 'vital' clues in the Pune blast case, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad has sought the help of auto rickshaw drivers, asking them to share information about suspicious passengers who might be linked to the terror attack."I have appealed through radio to auto rickshaw drivers, who might have ferried passengers with suspicious behaviour to the eatery or anywhere else on the day of the blast, to share the information with me," said ATS chief.
The mystery behind the missing bullet-proof jacket of slain Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare took a new turn on Wednesday with a sweeper of a government hospital in Mumbai claiming that he had disposed it off long ago. The statement evoked a sharp reaction from Kavita Karkare, wife of the slain officer, who said, "This theory had cropped up now because the government is under pressure. I have lost all hope of getting fair justice in this case."
A suspect in the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts was killed and two of his accomplices arrested in an encounter with the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad on Monday, which also left a constable wounded at Aurangabad. The deceased has been identified as Khaleel, a resident of Gulmohar Colony in Ahmedabad, said the police.
The ATS will oppose the anticipatory bail application of Sachin Waze in Thane sessions court today.
A suspected hawala operator, who allegedly handed over Rs 10 lakh to fugitive Indian Mujahiddin operative Yasin Bhatkal for executing the July 13 triple blasts that killed 27 people in Mumbai, has been arrested from Delhi, the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad said on Tuesday.
Toral Varia Deshpande brings you the details of how rivalry between India's two of the most recognised agencies, the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad and the Special Cell of Delhi Police, has cost India one it's most wanted terrorist and 13/7 Mumbai serial blasts mastermind -- Yasin Ahmad Siddibappa alias Yasin Bhatkal.
The 13/7 Mumbai blasts were a wake up call to India's security agencies. The fact that these blasts are today half-a-year old, and security agencies have not found a single clue, is a major cause of concern. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Sanatan Sanstha member Prashant Juvekar, arrested for his alleged role in the 2009 Goa blast, was included in the group tasked with engineering the explosion due to his 'aggressiveness' in propagating the outfit's ideology, Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad officials said on Tuesday.
Three days after the arrest of a top Indian Mujahideen operative from a village in Bihar, a joint team of the National Investigation Agency and Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad raided another village in the state on Friday in search of another IM cadre, police officials said.
Two officials of the Maharashtra ATS on Thursday left the special court in Mumbai which is conducting the trial of the 2008 Malegaon blast case after the defence lawyers objected to their presence.
The joint statement was issued by retired DGPs Julio Ribeiro, Prakash Singh, P K Hormis Tharakan, Kamal Kumar, Jacob Punnoose, Sanjeev Dayal, Jayanto Choudhury and N Ramachandran.
Desperately looking for a breakthrough in the city's triple blasts case, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad has extensively questioned an alleged Indian Mujahideen operative, who was arrested in a counterfeit currency case, with regards to the July 13 explosions.
K P Raghuvanshi removed as the chief of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, said sources from Maharashtra's home department on Thursday.
Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) probing the 2006 suburban train blasts, filed an affidavit in the Bombay high court today saying that it had destroyed call data records (CDRs) of all the 13 accused.
Looking for clues to Wednesday's serial blasts, Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad has fanned out teams to various locations across the country and prepared a sketch of the suspect based on eyewitness accounts.
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