Daijiworld Media Network

Mumbai, Jul 16: Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officials have been trying to trace an Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative, Abdullah, who went missing from his Kolkata home a few days before the blasts.

Sources said that earlier in February this year, intelligence agencies had intercepted phone calls made between West Bengal and Karachi and between Sharjah and Andhra Pradesh. The agencies learnt through the calls that IM was recruiting fresh faces from Andhra Pradesh and Kolkata.

The Maharashtra ATS chief Rakesh Maria sought details about Abdulla, a resident of Mafidul Islam Lane in Beniapukur, Kolkata. He has asked for the reservation charts of all trains that left Kolkata for Mumbai eight days before the blasts.

Police sources said that Abdulla was said to be close to IM co-founder Amir Raza.

The scooter on which explosives were kept at Zaveri Bazar has been traced to a jeweler who was not involved in the conspiracy.

Union home secretary R K Singh in Delhi said CCTV footages are being looked into by investigators. Singh said people not recognized by locals are being put through a database for verification.

Technical experts have been hired to help the investigators by improving the quality of the images. Other jewelers in the area have been asked to hand over their CCTV footages of past two weeks as the police believe that the bombers may have explored the area.