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Udupi: Delhi Blasts - Local Police Deny More Arrests - Suspect Taken to Mangalore
Report and pics by Hemanath Padubidri
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (GA)
Udupi, Sep 22: Even as the entire town was abuzz with the news that some locals had been arrested by the Delhi cops from some shops at Manipal near here, Western Range IGP A M Prasad denied such news and said that, only the investigations are on as of now.
As reported earlier in these columns, Mohammed Shaffique alias Shaffi (23), a suspect in the Delhi blasts and student of Sikkim Manipal University, was brought to city in connection with the blasts by the Delhi police. Seven police including a superintendent of police accompanied him. Though sources claimed that they did take some students to custody in Manipal, local police shunned from making any comment on that.
Initially it was said that IGP would hold a press conference in the town on Monday afternoon. But later he appeared before the pressmen and informed that there will not be any formal press conference as per the instructions given by the investigating officers.
Accordingly, the investigating has now taken Shafi to Mangalore. More details about the entire process are awaited.
Delhi Blasts: Police, IB Reaches Udupi for Investigation
from Hemanath Padubidri
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Sep 22: A peson named Mohammed Shaffique alias Shaffi, 23 years, a student of Sikkim Manipal University, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, has been brought to the town by the Delhi police on Monday September 22. It is said that the accused has some links here.
After taking Shaffi to some shops and hotel in Manipal in connection thereto, the policemen brought him to the office of the superintendent of police here for interrogation. Western range inspector general of police A M Prasad is in the town for assisting in the investigations.
A press conference is scheduled to be held later in the day in this respect. Further details are awaited.
Agency Report:
New Delhi, Sep 22: Special teams of Delhi Police and Intelligence Bureau have reached Udipi in Karnataka to investigate links to serial blasts in the Capital.
Agencies report suggests that teams have also reached Dharawad district, where terror camps were found.
On Sunday, with the arrest of three more Indian Mujahideen-SIMI operatives for the September 13 Delhi blasts, the police said the group's "mastermind" Atif Ameen alias Bashir, had planned to deliver another deadly blow by carrying out 20 bombings in the business district of Nehru Place.
The three were arrested a day after the Delhi Police's special cell claimed they had unravelled the IM-SIMI network, with Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) leader Abu Al Kama — whose hand was also seen in the October 29, 2005, Diwali-eve serial blasts — emerging as a key collaborator. The linkages have led the police to say that LeT provided help to SIMI-IM in the UP court blasts. The role of HuJI in that attack is being probed as well.
This three-outfit alliance is now seen to be behind Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Varanasi, Hyderabad and Faizabad blasts, police said. Cooperation between LeT, HUJI and other jihadi groups is not a new development as their leaders often share operatives. While earlier SIMI provided foot soldiers, the need to "indigenize" terrorism saw the outfit moving to the forefront.
The interrogation of Zia, the son of Abdur Rehman, caretaker of the shootout flat L-18 in Batla House area, Mohammed Shakeel, an MA student living in Sangam Vihar and Saquib Nisar, a contact between Zia and Atif, has revealed that the IM leader was keen on striking at Nehru Place soon. It seemed to underline the confidence of the IM-SIMI group — reflected in the taunts in its emails — that it could avoid capture despite arrests in the Ahmedabad bomb case.
The three said that they did not leave Delhi after the blasts as Atif convinced them to stay put. They further said Atif used to work out minute details of attacks, right from timing to sites. His associates were given information only on a need-to-know basis.
Atif, who like many others involved in the IM-SIMI operations, hails from Azamgarh in eastern UP, was determined to carry on with his "war" against India and was apparently confident of procuring and assembling the explosives needed to carry out his next terror venture. Along with other bombers, he has come across as revelling in the destruction and death caused by IM-SIMI.
Police forces from neighbouring states joined Delhi Police in the probe, sharing intelligence on these outfits.