Maha ATS To Quiz Shahzad In Delhi About Pune Blast

A team of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), probing the Pune blast, will question in Delhi suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist Shahzad, arrested in connection with the 2008 serial blasts in the national capital.

Shahzad (21) has provided information about the sleeper cells of the terror outfit active in Maharashtra and particularly in Pune, police sources said.

Investigators are probing possible links of IM in the Pune blast on Saturday that has left nine people dead, including two foreigners.

A list of suspects, who could have been directly or indirectly involved in the blast, has been prepared, the sources said.

Shahzad, who is in the custody of Delhi Police's Special Cell in connection with the Delhi blasts, had reportedly told police that an IM terror module is active in Pune.

Shahzad was arrested on February 1 by UP ATS from Azamgarh district. Shahzad was evading police since the Batla House encounter in Delhi in September 2008. He had fled to Mumbai soon after the encounter.

Maharashtra's Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) is planning to question a few jailed Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorists to get some leads on who could be behind the Pune blast. 

Among those likely to be questioned were Saddiq Sheikh, believed to be one of the founders of IM, and Mansoor Peerbhoy, sources said today. The IM is stated to be an amalgam of former SIMI cadres and operatives of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashker-e-Taiba(LeT).

Sheikh and Peerbhoy had specially recruited a Pune resident Mohsin Chaudhury into the IM, sources said, adding, he has been on the run. Police believes that he had not left the country. Chaudhury had emerged as a key suspect during the Delhi and Ahmedabad blasts in 2008. 

As many as 21 members of IM have been arrested since 2008 by Mumbai police for allegedly conducting blasts at various city across India. They include Sheikh and Peerbhoy, the tech savvy member of the group responsible for sending alert mails prior to the blasts.

The investigating agencies were also focussing on the Close Circuit Television footage of a hotel opposite the German bakery, a famous eatery in the city. As many as nine people including two foreigners were killed in the blast at the bakery on Saturday night. The blast bore signature signs of the serial explosions that rocked Delhi and Ahmedabad, sources said.  

Explosives used in the Pune blast were a mixture of ammonium nitrate and RDX. Ammonium Nitrate was one of the key components used in the Delhi serial blasts, also believed to be the handiwork of the Indian Mujahideen. The technique of packing explosives and keeping it in a bag and leaving it unattended is also similar to the one used for Delhi serial blasts. 

There are 52 FIRs registered against the arrested IM men in Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. The nine alleged IM operatives, including techie Mansoor Peerbhoy, were arrested by the Mumbai police and booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). 

Nine of the arrested IM members are presently in Gujarat where they are facing trial for the Ahmedabad blasts. ATS, which is probing into the Pune blast, is looking at IM s links with the LeT. 

The Centre is mulling a reward of Rs one crore to anyone who gives clues about terrorists who may have planted the bomb in the German Bakery, a favourite eating joint of foreigners.

Top Home Ministry officials said the reward proposal is being considered at the highest level and may take a decision in favour of it soon.

"If we declare the reward, we will tell the people that whoever shares any information about the perpetrators of the blast, his or her identity would be protected. We would not even ask his name but give the reward. But information has to be correct," an official said.

The move is being considered in the light of investigators still groping for vital clues about the terrorists behind the powerful blasts.  PTI

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