The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) on Saturday night arrested two suspected terrorists and claimed to have foiled bids on ONGC oil tankers, Thakkar mall in Borivli and the Mangaldas market.
The arrests followed interception of conversations between one of the two and their shadowy handler in Pakistan, chacha.
Intriguingly, chacha also figured in the confessions of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, and later pointed to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi. The police, however, are not jumping to conclusions yet.
The duo, identified as Abdul Latif Abdul Rashid Shaikh alias Guddu, 29, a resident of Bandra (E), and Riyaz Ali Abu Bakar Shaikh alias Riyan, 22, of Dahisar (E), was nabbed at Matunga railway station. Latif is married to Riyaz’s sister Nusrat. Riyaz worked at a garment shop in Thakkar mall. Both have no previous police records and no documents, like maps, have been found with them.
Intelligence agencies, on heightened vigil after the Pune German Bakery blast in February, had put the mobile phone of Latif, the leader of the two-man team, under electronic surveillance nearly a month ago. “Latif was in direct touch with chacha and there were regular telephonic conversation between them,” the official said.
ATS chief KP Raghuvanshi said, “A few people, including the arrested duo, were asked to visit Pakistan and were also asked to prepare their passports. Both have already applied for passports.”
They wanted to do something big before going to Pakistan, he said. “ONGC tankers in Nhava Sheva and Sewree, Thakkar mall in Borivli and the Mangaldas market in Zaveri Bazaar were the targets. They wanted to conduct a sabotage mission and to set fire at these locations,” said Raghuvanshi.
In one of the telephonic conversations between Latif and chacha, the latter had instructed Latif on similar lines. “In jagahon ko jalaker raakh kardo. Pakistan toh tumko aana hi hai, lekin pehle kuch kar ke dikhao (Burn these places into ashes. You have to come to Pakistan for sure, but before that do something and prove yourself).”
“The instruction was similar to what the top LeT commanders were giving to the 26/11 terrorists. We knew that these people are on to something big and hence we went ahead and intensified our vigil on them,” said an official, requesting anonymity. Chacha was also providing financial help to Latif through hawala channels.
“Riyaz Ali was asked to assist Latif in the work,” the official said. The police are yet to establish whether the two worked for any group. They were produced before a local court on Sunday and remanded in police custody till March 18.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}