Author: Pramod Kumar Singh
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: November 4, 2005
The ongoing investigations into the serial
blasts that rocked the Capital last Saturday have provided new leads to Delhi
Police and Central intelligence agencies which are now zeroing in on certain
Bangladeshi nationals who could have carried out the terror strikes at the
behest of top commanders of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT).
The needle of suspicion points towards them
as investigations show that the module comprising Bangladeshis had entered
the Capital before the devastating earthquake in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
(PoK) and certain areas of Jammu & Kashmir.
Intelligence sources said as part of a new
strategy the Pakistan-based terrorist groups have started recruiting Bangladeshi
nationals for their operations. The change of strategy is necessitated by
the fact that Kashmiri youth and terrorists from POK and Pakistan stand out
because of their appearance. The LeT, which carried out 21 blasts in Delhi
in 1997-98, had followed the same modus operandi of using Bangladeshi cadre.
Sources said the mastermind of the serial
blasts had used hardcore Bangladeshi operatives to plan and execute such strikes
with a view to hoodwinking the police and the security agencies. Investigations
have also revealed the terror module consisted of such people who were adept
at camouflaging their identities, assemblage of an Improvised Explosive Device
(IED) and carrying and planting them at busy places.
There were local agents who helped them carry
out a detailed recee before the final strike. The juice vendor's shop in Sarojini
Nagar market was carefully chosen, as there was a passage to escape after
the bomb was placed. In Paharganj also, the Chhahtooti Chowk was selected,
as it was an ideal location to escape without being detected. Several teams
have been put on the job to hunt those who worked as conduits for carrying
out the coordinated blasts in the capital, the source further said.
The investigations by the intelligence agencies
have confirmed that the module consisting of over a dozen operatives was hiding
in secret hideouts in the and was waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
These hideouts have been identified and certain clues have been found in this
regard. It has now been confirmed that the task of planting the IED was performed
by at least two operatives in the Nehru Market of Paharganj. This was the
case with Sarojini Nagar, where it appears that there was a back-up team to
distract the attention of the crowd in the event of the IED or the IED being
detected
They deliberately chose the busy market places
on the eve of Dhanteras. Paharganj attracts many low-budget foreign tourists
and there was a clear design to kill these bag-packers as that would have
attracted more international attention, which the terrorist groups want. The
task to carry out blasts was assigned to top operatives who came into the
picture at the last moment and disappeared after hitting the target, the intelligence
source said.
What is worrying the security agencies that
the strike in the capital was carried out by a module that was deeply entrenched
into the capital? Now the agencies are working overtime to unearth the entire
network and also identify those dedicated cadres who were behind the serial
blasts, the sources added.
