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Terrorism is not city specific and requires the help of various agencies from across the country to make some sense of a case leave alone crack it. The Mumbai serial blasts case has run into rough weather and sources in the investigation agency say lack of coordination is hurting the probe.
"We have questioned the usual suspects and the names which crop up after every probe are being scrutinised, but there appears to be more to this case and unlike in the past we do not want to hurry things," a source said.
There are three main agencies which are actively on this case -- the National Investigation Agency, the Intelligence Bureau and the ATS. While these agencies are looking for leads they are also taking the help of various other police agencies in the country for more information.
Take the case of Riazul Sarkar, who was picked up from Kishenganj in Bihar. The local police have questioned him and this was followed by interrogation by the Intelligence Bureau. However the Superintendent of Police of the area claims that he has not got any requisition from any agency like the NIA or the ATS for questioning this man.
Sarkar appears to be an illegal immigrant and his details are murky. But some agencies view him as a prime suspect in the case.
The other issue is regarding an operation conducted on the Bangladesh and Nepal borders in search of the accused persons. The complaint is that not all agencies were kept in the loop regarding this operation and only one agency carried this operation. "This leads to confusion," said an official, "and in such cases a coordinated effort is what is needed. We do not want to probe in one direction and realise that the other agency is doing something else. There is a dire need to share information among each other."
What investigators have now realised is that the Mumbai operation was planned by a handful of persons numbering around 10. The lack of phone records or emails is hurting the agencies too.
"It will take time to crack this case since we have not even ascertained which module carried out this attack. The men who carried out the attack have fanned out into different parts of the country. The foot soldiers could be illegal immigrants and they are extremely difficult to track down," a source said.
One of the officers said that each team appears to be conducting parallel investigations and each one says that their leads are the ones to watch out for. The Gujarat police have been saying that the men nabbed by them are the ones to watch out for. On the other hand, the Bihar police have been saying that Sarkar is a prime catch. The Karnataka police say that some modules from Bhatkal need to be under the scanner and all this is leading the probe no where.
The ATS has been claiming that bombs and also the sketches to be put out by them will help the investigations. Sketches have proven to be a damp squib in the past and some investigators don't see why this time would be any different. The other issue is the signature on the bombs. A couple of years ago, investigating agencies could tell by the bomb which group carried out the attack. However, there is imitation these days and terror groups have become wiser not to repeat the manner in which they carry out attacks.
Apart from this, there are various other angles of this case which needs to be probed. Investigators cannot go on a one track path and will need to probe other aspects as well. Despite the IB speaking about a possible underworld link the other agencies are not showing too much interest in this angle.
Although this is not one of the biggest operations that the terrorists have carried out in India till date, the case is proving to be more complex than ever. It draws similarity to the recent Delhi and Varanasi cases where till date investigators have drawn a blank. There is a need to explore an entirely new set of these terror groups before one could come to any conclusion. It is not sufficient to state that the operation bore the style of a particular outfit and then come to a conclusion.
There is a feeling among investigators that a newer group may have carried out these attacks. Unlike the IM which appeared to give out details about itself after every blast, this group has been more cautious in its approach.
"Smaller elements are carrying out attacks and they will continue to do so. Suspecting just one group and nabbing persons who are in no way connected with this case and blaming them will only calm the media for the time being. But in the long run we would be letting the main persons go who will only come back to haunt the nation sooner or later," an official also added.