Macca, Ajmer blasts are linked, feels CBI

The Central Bureau of Investigation and Rajasthan’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) believe that the Abhinav Bharat group, suspected of involvement in the Ajmer dargah blast, was also involved in the Macca Masjid blasts in the city on May 18, 2007 in which six people died.

The link, the CBI believes, is Devender Gupta, arrested by the ATS last week for the bomb blast at Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti dargah in Ajmer in October 2007 which killed three and injured 30.

The CBI Delhi team that questioned Colonel Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur of the Abhinav Bharat group and key suspects in the Malegaon blast case at Nashik Central jail, are now in Rajasthan to grill Devender Gupta and Chandrashekar Patidar of Madhya Pradesh, key suspects in the Ajmer blast, to confirm their role in the Macca Masjid blast case.

Deccan Chronicle had reported on November 16, 2009, that the CBI, which was probing the Macca Masjid blast was checking if Lt. Col. P.S. Purohit had any role in it. The CBI’s interest in the case was roused following the claim of the Maharashtra ATS that Purohit supplied RDX for the bombs that exploded in the Samjhauta Express in 2008. The biggest connection between the blasts on the Samjhauta Express and the one in Macca Masjid, Deccan Chronicle reported, was that the safety switch mechanism on both sets of explosives were similar.

Forensic experts have confirmed that the bombs used in the Macca Masjid blasts were serially numbered 1 and 2 and that the bombs used in the Ajmer dargah blasts were numbered 3 and 4. There are striking similarities in the make of the bombs used in both places and a cellphone alarm was used to trigger both explosions.

The two blasts are now said to be part of a single conspiracy. Experts confirmed that black boxes were used to place cylindrical iron case bombs stuffed with RDX in both the Macca Masjid and Ajmer blasts. Devender Gupta was associated with Sunil Joshi of Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

Phone calls to arrested terror suspects traced to Karachi

The phone calls received by two terror suspects, arrested on charges of planning terror attacks in the city, have been traced to Karachi in Pakistan, an official from Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) said on Monday.

“The phone calls the duo were receiving have been traced to Karachi in Pakistan. They had received calls on a regular basis, in which they were instructed to ensure that the targets get reduced to ashes,” said the official on the condition of anonymity.

The duo, Abdul Latif alias Guddu (29) and Riyaz Ali alias Rehan (23), residents of suburban Bandra and Dahisar respectively, were arrested near Matunga railway station in central Mumbai on Saturday.

ATS chief Raghuvanshi had said that preliminary probe suggested the duo were getting instructions from someone called ‘Uncle’ from Pakistan to execute their activities here.

Both had conducted recce of three targets — headquarters of petroleum company Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Thakkar Mall and Mangaldas Market — and were planning to carry out attacks, which included sabotage and setting them on fire.