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Investigators are now looking for links between the 13/7 Mumbai serial blasts and the Delhi blast case. The Delhi blast case looks likely to be carried out by the Harkat-ul-Jihadi, as per the investigations conducted by the National Investigating Agency. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
The key would be the interrogation of Amir Abbas (the youth who was arrested in Kishwar), who the NIA now says is the mastermind behind the attack. Although, the conspiracy has now been busted, the NIA still has time to go before it can trace the origin of the bomb.
Further the motive has not made too much sense to the investigators and they are trying to ascertain if 2001 Parliament attack convict Afza Guru was the motive for the attack.
Abbas would hold the answers to several questions that have been raised in the minds of various investigators looking into 13/7, Varanasi and now Delhi blasts.
"Abbas does not have a history of crime, but the motive is clear since he had lost his uncle during an attack in the valley," said an investigator. This could be one of the reasons why he may have joined the group and was also a part of the attack.
The Intelligence Bureau however does not have much information on Abbas and say that it appears to be a first time crime for him. However, now it would be necessary to find out whether he has any information on the rest of the attacks.
Over the past couple of months, there have been inputs to show that the HuJI is active in parts of the Valley especially in the Kishtwar region. There has been movement of HuJi members and they have been trying to rope in youth into their fold.
However the outfit has not really grown in the Valley yet. They will continue to battle out of Bangladesh using the West Bengal route, but over the years will be looking to set up full fledged modules in the Valley as well.
The Delhi blast is an indication of things to come, and it becomes clear that this outfit is trying to nurture more youth so that they can carry out such attacks in various parts of the country.
HuJI's plans are nothing new to India, since they had announced their intentions several months ago, when they had threatened to bomb the Pakistan embassy in India. Moreover, it is evident from their tone that they are trying to make the right noises politically so that they find it easier to carry out a recruitment process, said a source.
Investigations into the Delhi blasts show that a smaller faction of the HuJI behind this attack.
"They have not used all their resources for this attack, and this was more of a trial run," said the source.
Abbas, for instance, was one of the main links in this attack and he was in the know of the entire operation since day one, investigators claim. The fact that the HuJi has used such amateurs indicates that they are still testing the waters and preparing for a bigger operation.
NIA sources say that this is a breakthrough alright but they would still take some more time to ascertain whether these boys actually belong to the HuJI or were they just using the name of the outfit.
Also they would look to ascertain if there is a smaller wing of the HuJi which is coming up in the Valley and whether these boys could be part of it. There is no intelligence to show any communication between the youth who carried out the attack and HuJI headquarters.