Mumbai 13/7 blasts case cracked, 3 arrested

The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Mumbai Police on Monday arrested three people in connection with last year's July 13 serial blasts in which 27 people were killed and over 100 injured, sources said.

Claiming to have cracked the serial blasts that rocked Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Dadar in south and central Mumbai, sources said the arrests have been made by Mumbai Police from Bihar, according to IANS.

Two people, Naqi Ahmed and Nadeem Akhtar have been arrested for their involvement in the blasts, Times Now reported. Indian Mujahideen's Yasin Bhatkal IM was behind the blasts, according to ATS. ATS chief Rakesh Maria was likely to reveal more details in the case later Monday.

The investigation is being conducted by teams of the Mumbai Police, Maharashtra's Criminal Investigation Department (CID), National Investigation Agency (NIA) and others, with support from the local security agencies in several states.

Source :- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

REPEATED TARGET OF TERROR

THE METROPOLIS HAS OFTEN BEEN THE TARGET OF TERRORISM SINCE THE SERIAL BLASTS OF 1993


MARCH 12,1993: MUMBAI SERIAL BLASTS

Blasts organized by underworld gangsters hiding in Pakistan kill the most people in a single terror attack on the city.Fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim and the absconding Tiger Memon are among the main accused.Deadly RDX bombs go off at 11 places,including the Bombay Stock Exchange,Narsi Natha Street (Katha Bazaar),Lucky Petrol Pump (opposite Sena Bhavan),Zaveri Bazar,Century Bazar (Worli),Air India Building (Nariman Point),Centaur Hotel (Santa Cruz),Naigaum Cross Road,Centaur Hotel (Juhu),Sea Rock Hotel (Bandra) and Plaza Cinema (Dadar).There are also two grenade attacks at Machchimar Nagar,Mahim and in the airport area

Dead:  257 | Injured: 713 | Losses:  Rs 27 crore

Case:
The mammoth trial starts on June 30,1995 and takes over 13 years to complete.123 stand trial and 100 are found guilty;12 get death and 20 lifer.32 remain absconding,mainly in Pakistan.The death-row inmates have approached the Supreme Court.The CBI has appealed against over 40 acquittals under Tada


1998 BLASTS

Bombs go off at Kanjurmarg station on January 23,on the Goregaon and Malad tracks on January 24 and near Virar station,Santa Cruz station and Kandivli station on February 27

Dead:  4 | Injured: Over 30

Case:  11,including 2 Pakistanis,get lifers


DECEMBER 2,2002: FIRST GHATKOPAR BLAST

An ammonium nitrate bomb rips through a BEST bus outside Ghatkopar station

Dead: 2 | Injured: 49

Case: All 8 are acquitted,but the state has appealed in the Bombay High Court


DECEMBER 6,2002: MUMBAI CENTRAL BLAST

Blast at a fast-food joint at the station

Dead:  None |  Injured: 25

Case: 16 face charges;a MCOCA judge has to be appointed


JANUARY 27,2003: VILE PARLE BLAST

Ammonium nitrate bomb goes off at Vile Parle

Dead: 1 | Injured: 20

Case: Same as Mumbai Central blast.


MARCH 13,2003: MULUND BLAST

Ammonium nitrate bomb goes off at Mulund on a Karjat-bound train

Dead: 11 |  Injured: 70

Case: Same as Mumbai Central blast


JULY 28,2003: SECOND GHATKOPAR BLAST

Ammonium nitrate bomb goes off on a BEST bus

Dead: 4 | Injured: 32

Case: Trial is pending


AUGUST 25,2003: TWIN BLASTS

Black Monday at Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazar.RDX bombs go off in two taxis.It is the second time powerful RDX is used after the 1993 serial explosions

Dead: 52 | Injured: Over 100

Case:
Pota court sentences Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives Ashrat Ansari,Hanif Sayed and Sayeds wife
Fahmida to death.Ansari has appealed to the Bombay High Court,which has to uphold the death sentences.


JULY 11,2006: 11/7 BLASTS

7 RDX and ammonium nitrate bombs rip through 7 first-class local train coaches.The bombs go off at Khar,Bandra,Jogeshwari,Mahim,Borivli,Matunga and Mira-Bhayander in a span of 7 minutes

Dead: 188 | Injured: 817 | Losses: Rs 85.61 cr

Case:
13 men with Simi links face the death penalty in a trial underway in a MCOCA court.15 others,mainly Pakistanis,are absconding.The trial begins in December 2007,but is stalled twice before it resumes in
April 2010 on orders from the apex court.


NOVEMBER 26-29,2008: 26/11 ATTACKS

Ten ISI-backed,LeT gunmen reach Mumbai from Karachi via sea and attack high-profile locations,like Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus,the Taj,Oberoi-Trident and Chhabad House.RDX bombs are also set off outside and in the Taj,near Nariman House and in two taxis.One of the deadliest attacks on Mumbai goes on for 60 hours,until 1 terrorist is arrested and 9 are killed

Dead: 166 | Injured: Over 300

Case:
On February 21,2011 the Bombay High Court upholds the death sentence given to the lone arrested gunman,Ajmal Kasab.Kasab has appealed to the Supreme Court.35 accused remain absconding,including the LeTs Hafeez Sayeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.A related trial drags on in Pakistan,having resumed in July with a new judge hearing the case against Lakhvi and six others.

Source:- Times of India 

Four Terrorists on Prowl

Acting on a tip off from a taxi driver, five teams of Mumbai’s Anti Terror Squad have launched a massive man-hunt for three men and a woman in veil (burqa), who are suspected to be terrorists targeting popular spots in city. According to reports, the taxi driver, who drove them around the city landmarks on Tuesday got annoyed by their suspicious behaviour and described them as ‘shady characters’.

Further, the police have taken two persons in custody from the Mira Road area on suspicion. The police officials are still trying to establish any connection between those held in custody and the four being hunted.

Meanwhile, a special cell formed by the Mumbai police is seriously hunting for the suspected persons.

The special cell is getting the active co-operation of Gujarat and Hyderabad police, who are co-ordinating with them.

The taxi driver revealed that two of the four suspects are carrying small bags. The driver, who had been hired by the four, at Rs 2000 per day, for two days, informed that the four roamed around the city starting from Mahim Dargah and visited Haji Ali, Mahalaxmi Temple, JJ Hospital and the Hilton towers- all the popular public spots of the city. If the driver is to be believed, the four suspects appeared to be taking a general overview of these public places.

What aroused the driver’s suspicion was the fact that they talked in hush tones in Hindi. Also the fact that they visited a Hindu shrine as well as a Muslim shrine on a single day was peculiar to him. Further when they asked him to keep a parcel to look after, the driver refused and after a tiff with them, he dropped them off at the Shri Siddhivinayak Temple.

He then informed the police about his suspicions.

The Joint Commissioner of Police (Mumbai) has confirmed the incident and has requested the citizens to come forward and help the police.

In view of the recent terror attacks in Ludhiana, Ajmer and Hyderabad, the police are taking the situation very seriously. The police believe that the four were on a recce of the major spots of the city.

Security has been beefed up across the various points in the city and the police have released the sketch of the three men. An official statement is expected later in the day.

METROPOLIS's DARKEST HOURS

    Mumbai has seen 32 explosions set off by terrorists in the last 15 years,starting with an attack at Kalyan railway station which was carried out by Khliastani extremists.

According to offical figures 534 lives have been lost in such incidents, the most horrific being the 1993 serial blasts & the 7/11 train explosins which alone account for 444 deaths. Suspects have been rounded up & tried in almost all the cases. But trials in connection with at least five of them dating back to 2003 are yet to conclude.

Moving Target

Terror Planners

Lashker-e-Toiba(LeT),Jaish-e-Mohammed(JeM),Harkat ul Jihad al Islami(HUJI),Harkat-ul-Mujahideen(HUM) & many lesser known outfits, all under the umbrella of Al-Qaeda.

The Path

They reach the relatively quiet & less protected southern states from or through Pakistan & Bangladesh.

The Mission

To recruit members in the south,to hide there after offences elsewhere & to hatch terror plots.

Taking Aim

Besides soft targets including IT companies in the southern states, the terror network has plans to attack the rest of India & several places abroad too.

Hyderabad Blasts

Seven students & three professors from Amrutvahini Engg. College,Ahmednagar,Maharashtra,were among those killed in the Hyderabad blasts on August 25,2007.

Ahmednagar police said that at least 45 second year students were in Hyderabad on a study tour. They decided to stay back for the laser show & were to return on Sunday. "Bodies of three students are beyond recognition. We have informed the parents & some have already arrived,"said a professor on phone from Hyderabad, who survived the blast.

Police identified the deceased as Sourabh Kumar(Pune), Irshad Ahmed(Mumbai)& Sachin Bhavar,Rajesh Bhoir & Milind Mogade from Sangamner in Ahmednagar. The names of others are yet to be confirmed.