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| India-Pakistan |
| "Ultras were on terror mission" |
| 2008-03-13 |
| The two suspected terrorists of Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami (HuJI), shot dead by the police here on Tuesday night, possessed two kg of RDX, enough to trigger serial blasts in six sensitive places in the city. The encounter occurred on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the March 12, 1993 terror attacks. The terrorists were gunned down at Kashimira off Mira Road in Thane district in a joint operation by the Pune and Mumbai units of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra police. ATS chief and Inspector-General Hemant Karkare told journalists here on Wednesday that the duo was moving about with a pre-determined plan to strike at sensitive installations in Mumbai. The ATS believes that the two were couriers as well as attackers. A Bangladeshi passport found at the site established the identity of one of them as Mohammad Ali. The identity of the other is yet to be established. But the ATS calls him Babu. The police also found fake currency, one Smith and Wesson revolver and a pistol, besides RDX. Mr. Karkare said: “It is a major success for us and we are taking the investigations further.” Mohammad Ali, who had crossed over to India three days ago, came under the surveillance of an intelligence agency. The Pune ATS unit got the tip-off and soon joined its Mumbai counterpart. But, ATS sources said, the duo’s link with the HuJI was yet to be fully established. Currency officers of the Reserve Bank of India have been asked to examine the fake notes to find out whether these were linked to earlier seizures. About a fortnight ago, ATS sleuths arrested six Bangladeshis who were carrying fake notes with a face value of Rs. 1.78 lakh. Earlier, the Railway police also seized fake currency. . Mr. Karkare said a forensic laboratory was analysing the RDX to determine its quality and match it with the seizures made earlier. The task now was to reach the source of the explosives and weapons and sleeper cells these couriers were supplying to. Last month, the ATS questioned Faheem Ahmed Ansari alias Abu Zarar, an alleged operative of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, who was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh ATS, along with seven other terrorists for the attack on the Rampur CRPF camp. During the interrogation, Faheem told the Maharashtra ATS that he had reconnoitred 12 sensitive spots of Mumbai including the Churchgate Railway Station, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Haj House, the Haji Ali Dargah, the headquarters of the Mumbai and Maharashtra police, the Gateway of India and the BSE . Now, the ATS is working to find out whether the Bangladeshis killed on Tuesday worked for the same group with which Faheem was involved. |
| Posted by:Fred |