As Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Rakesh Maria claimed a breakthrough in the 13/7 Mumbai blasts case on Monday he seems to have ruffled quite a few feathers. Though he junked out reports of a tiff with the special cell of the Delhi police in carrying out the probe, insiders say the arrests of the two Darbhanga operatives were an attempt by the ATS to gain an upper hand in the investigation.
Sri Ram Sene chief, Pramod Muthalik, whose outfit was behind the attack on a Mangalore pub. has denied knowing any of the persons wanted for their alleged involvement in Malegaon blast, a senior Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad official said on Monday.
An Enforcement Directorate official, who is an Indian Police Service officer and who once dealt with narcotics offences, has been arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad for allegedy trying to sell heroin in suburban Oshiwara.
Himani Savarkar, President of right-wing group Abhinav Bharat and a kin of freedom fighter Veer Savarkar, was aware of the conspiracy hatched to carry out "activities" in Muslim-dominated Malegaon to avenge "atrocities" against Hindus but she kept mum, police sources said. She has admitted this in a statement given to Pune unit of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, which probed the September 29 blast in the communally-sensitive power loom town, the sources said.
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.
'Regrettably, the UPA government seems to be caving in to pressures from the BJP to adopt a macho, national-chauvinist, to-hell-with-civil-liberties stance to show that it has the will to fight terrorism.'
"It has become clear that the ATS is acting in a politically-motivated and unprofessional manner. After going through her (sadhvi Pragya) affidavit, I have to express my shock and outrage, which I am sure all Indians will share," BJP leader L K Advani said during his one-day tour of the poll-bound BJP-ruled Chattisgarh state.
Abdul Sammad, who was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad from Mangalore in connection with an arms case and the Pune blast case, was finally released from a Mumbai jail on Sunday. Sammad, who was granted conditional bail by the sessions court almost three weeks ago, had continued to languish in jail as he could not find a guarantor.According to his uncle Muhammad Siddibapa, Sammad will have to appear in court once more and he will return to his home in Bhatkal.
Criminal lawyer Mubin Solkar has decided to defend Abdul Samad Bhatkal, the prime suspect in the Pune bomb blast, who has been arrested by Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad in a 2009 arms seizure case.
Seven years after the Mulund bomb blast, one more person suspected to be involved in triggering the explosion was arrested in Mumbai, Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad sources said on Monday.
The National Investigating Agency is unlikely to oppose the bail pleas of the nine accused arrested by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad in the 2006 Malegaon bomb blast case when they come up for hearing this week.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad has got a breakthrough in the 13/7 Mumbai blasts case. The ATS team has zeroed in on the thief who stole the bike on which the explosive that triggered the Zaveri Bazaar blast was allegedly planted.
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.
A Pune court has prohibited the broadcast of CCTV footage of the blast at German Bakery on February 13, to protect witnesses and ensure unhindered investigation.The court issued its directive on an application filed by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, Pune Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh said. The order also applies to the CCTV footage from the five-star hotel adjacent to the site of the blast, he said. The toll due to the Pune blast has risen to 16.
Sources said the woman operated under the name of Zara Dasgupta and was in touch with Kurulkar.
Claiming it has got "very good" leads from the sketch of the suspect behind the July 13 serial blasts in Mumbai, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad on Wednesday indicated that the suspect hails either from the central or northern part of the country.
Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, probing the July 13 serial blasts, is taking the assistance of a foreign firm to enhance quality of the CCTV footages recorded at the three locations, a senior police official said.
A case under Indian Penal Code Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 153A (promoting enmity between groups) as well as under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act was registered in Kochi.
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."
The Maharashtra Anti-terror Squad made a very important arrest in the Malegaon blast case late Monday night. Praveen Muthalik, who is said to be one of the executors of the blast was arrested and later remanded in police custody till February 14. He had been absconding for nearly two years.
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.
The Abhinav Bharat President Himani Savarkar on Friday said Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad's contention that the Malegaon blast conspiracy was discussed in her presence by Lt Col Prasad Purohit in April 2008 in Bhopal, is a pack of lies.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad on Tuesday filed a charge sheet against 11 people, including a serving army official and a sadhvi, for the 2007 Malegaon blasts, which killed seven people. Special MCOCA Judge Y D Shinde granted permission to the ATS to file the charge sheet, which was over 4,000 pages, against all the eleven accused.
Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare, who was probing the Malegaon blasts case, suffered three bullet injuries in his chest as he was leading the offensive against the terrorists in one of the places the ultras had holed out early this morning.
It is incredible that the Sadhvi was kept in illegal detention for two weeks while she was tortured in a vicious manner which led to her hospitalisation. Polygraph and narco tests were conducted without her consent. Not even a female constable was present during her illegal confinement.
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.
Abdul Samad Bhatkal, a prime suspect in the Pune German Bakery blast, was on Tuesday remanded to 14-day judicial custody by a local court in connection with a 2009 illegal arms seizure case. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, which had arrested Samad from Mangalore, on Tuesday did not seek his custody and told the court that Samad should be sent to judicial custody.
The Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad said on Tuesday that Rs 4 lakh was deposited in the account of Mulund explosion accused Wazhul Kamar Khan, a few months before the blasts in the metropolis during 2002-2003.
With the arrest of a Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist from Uttar Pradesh who had done a recce of a dozen sensitive targets in Mumbai, the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad fears three or more terror modules could be operating in the financial capital and newer strategies will have to be devised for busting them.
Four persons, including a woman, who were held in Surat on Friday on suspicion of being terror suspects wanted by the Mumbai police, were released on Tuesday after it was verified that they were not the same whose sketches were released last week.
Kavita Karkare, widow of former Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad chief Hemant Karkare who died fighting terrorists during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, has been admitted to a hospital after she suffered brain haemorrhage and slipped into coma, police sources said.
The Nagpur district court on Monday handed life imprisonment to former BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd engineer Nishant Agarwal under the Official Secrets Act for spying for Pakistan's intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
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.
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.
Gangster Suresh Pujari, wanted in several extortion cases in Mumbai region and Karnataka, has been deported to India, a senior police official said on Wednesday.
Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad is coordinating with their Maharashtra counterpart in the investigation into the recent Mumbai blasts and a UP police team is currently visiting the metropolis in this regard.
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 witness deposed before the special National Investigation Agency court on Tuesday.
A suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist was arrested on Tuesday by Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad in connection with the 2011 serial bomb blasts in which 26 people were killed.
The NIA's chargesheet in the 2006 Malegaon blasts mocks the investigation conducted by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad into the matter, reports Vicky Nanjappa