Even after 23 months, the investigation of the German Bakery blast case is yet to make a headway. Only one suspect, Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig has been arrested and the trail seems to have gone cold. DNA examines the issue.
I have mentioned the truth about terror attacks in my book
It is a serious matter and I have mentioned about the real truth about all these attacks and what must be done in my book Who killed Karkare. In chapters 1, 2 and 10, I have mentioned about the failure of intelligence agencies in India. The investigation and whatever is going on is beyond anybody’s grasp. I would not like to comment, because it does not deserve any comment. Offering to speak on the issue is like giving it legitimacy. There is no headway in the German Bakery (GB) bomb blast case. The hearing is going on in the court, detection is going on and they are cracking the case. I would say there is nothing new in it and I don’t want to give unnecessary attention to the issue.
—SM Mushrif, Former IGP
People are losing confidence in government and security forces
People are losing confidence in the government and the manner in which the investigation is being handled. This is what the terrorists want. They want to reduce the confidence of the people in the governing mechanism and security forces. I am not subscribing to the theory that nothing is being done in the GB blast case or there is no headway. In such cases, when you pick up lead, it takes time to follow them up. In the GB case, there are some leads and they will lead to some end. There is an involvement of terrorists based outside India and hence, it is taking some time. As the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and police are continuously under attack, they are playing safe to regainpeople’s confidence. There is some gap in the system. I feel the investigating agencies do not realise the gravity of the case. Since the case is in the court, investigating officials have a reason to hide, what they have to say.
—Lt Gen (retd) DB Shekatkar, former army officer
I don’t know why probe into GB case has been put on the backburner
I read the newspapers and I know that the ATS has claimed to solve July 13, 2011, triple blast case in Mumbai. It does not affect my life. But a question arises as to why GB blast case probe is on the backburner, whereas, bomb blasts in Mumbai are given priority for investigation. The bomb blast at GB was a heinous act, an attack on innocent people, who have nothing to do with the bigger agenda. I do not blame the system, they will find the answers. I don’t know why the GB blast case investigation has made no headway. Slowly, people will forget about it and it will become a relic, part of history. Everybody knows that GB wasn’t the actual target, something else, was the target.
—Ashley Lazarus, GB blast victim
Trial is on and 18 witnesses are being examined
It’s not that there is no headway or any progress in the GB case. The trial is going on in the court and the witnesses are being examined. Around 17 to 18 witnesses are being examined. The judge was on leave and hence, the hearing could not be held. The next hearing will be probably on February 16/17. We have also filed a chargesheet in the case, a year ago.
—Rakesh Maria, chief, Maharashtra ATS
I doubt whether the case will be solved
It really hurts to see how the case is being investigated and handled, when you are part of the ghastly bomb blast that happened at German Bakery, two years ago. I have gone through the trauma and still get shivers if I recall the incident. Many people have lost their loved ones in the blast. I don’t know, whether I should pity myself or the government, regarding the manner, in which the investigation has taken place in the case. I have just lost my confidence in all these things. I have anger in me for what happened at GB but at the same time, life has moved on. The case has been going on and on. The ATS team keeps on changing every now and then. For people like us, there is no clue, how the investigation procedure started and when it will end. I doubt if the case will ever be solved.
—Uday Kedambadi, GB blast victim
We are tracking the leads in the case
It has been over a year, since we have filed the chargesheet in the GB case onDecember 4, 2010. The case is in the court and the proceedings are going on. One of the suspects is in our custody and the rest are absconding. It is not that nothing is being done or there is no headway in the case. We are tracking the leads.
—Vinod Satav, ACP (crime 1), Pune city police
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