Hyderabad blasts: is it another puzzle?

By M H Ahsan

HYDERABAD: With bombs ripping through the heart of Hyderabad Saturday questions are now being raised about the fate of investigations into yet another dastardly terrorist strike to have hit the country.

Investigations of the previous bomb blasts have not been able to pinpoint the actual culprits and terrorist conspirators raising alarms whether the investigation methods have been fundamentally flawed in nature.

A brief glance into the investigations of the Malegaon, previous Mecca Masjid strike in Hyderabad, the Samjhauta Express blasts, Varanasi and the commuter trains combings in Mumbai last year point to unanswered questions and provide little information about the precise nature of the terrorist plots and operatives who drew up the attacks blueprints.

If at all, investigators have only been successful in arresting grassroots-level operatives who are not aware of who the actual planners and plotters are since terrorist operations are many-layered in nature. "In all cases the investigation trail reaches a dead end when it is revealed that terrorist groups from across the border could be involved," a senior police officer said.

In the Mecca Masjid blasts the investigators could not clearly establish the involvement of HuJI and its fugitive commander Shahid Bilal. Also little is made known about the Secunderabad-based HuJI commander Abdul Sattar and his operational "chemistry" with Bilal. "Little could be made out as regards Sattar's equation with Bilal," said a official connected to the Mecca Masjid blasts.

Another aspect the probe was silent about was whether HuJI had been "hand-in-glove" with other similar outfits like Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad in the run-up to the bombings.

Sttar's "role" in 11/7 was also being probed since he had paid numerous visits to Mumbai before the blasts, according to intelligence and security officials connected to the probes. Investigators did not managed to effectively link 11/7 with Malegaon despite claiming that "common operatives" executed both bombings.

The Varanashi blasts too have yielded little with the investigators choosing not impart with any relevant information.

In the 11/7 probe little has come out in regard to detail about the band of Pakistani nationals who had sneaked into the country prior to the blasts. Also the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) failed to throw much light on the fugitive Lashkar-e-Tayyiba chief of anti-India operations Azaam Cheema. Investigators also did not succeed to secure background information about how and where the plot was conceived.

"It is difficult to track down operational hiding in foreign countries. But in the 11/7 case we has sought Interpol's assistance on tracing some of the accused," said Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief KP Raghuvanshi. Even though the case is in the trail stages in the court, the charge-sheet put up by the ATS is not very encouraging and could be ripped apart by defence advocates.

The only major serial bombing case which the investigation agencies have successfully solved so far is the 1993-serial bomb blast case in Mumbai.