Blasts: Picking up the pieces

While the Special Cell gunned down suspected Indian Mujahideen militants Atif Ameen and Mohammad Sajid in that encounter,the city police have arrested five others who they claimed were part of planning and execution of the blasts.

Post-encounter,police claimed the new militant outfit had played the main role in previous previous blasts at Ahmedabad,Surat,Jaipur,and Hyderabad last year. The police in these states subsequently arrested other men who they claimed were part of the militant outfit.

Exactly a year since the blasts at crowded areas in Barakhamba Road,Connaught Place,Karol Bagh and Greater Kailash-I left 26 people dead and 50 injured,a look at how the case has progressed:

Arrests,chargesheets

* Post-encounter,the Special Cell arrested alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) militants Mohammad Saif,Zeeshan Ahmed,Saqib Nisar,Mohammad Shakeel and Zia-ur-Rehman.

* On December 17,2008,police filed the first chargesheet against the arrested five in the Karol Bagh blast that took place in an autorickshaw.

* On December 18,the second chargesheet was filed against the same five in the GK-I market blast case.

* Three more main chargesheets were filed by February this year for the blasts at Connaught Place Central Park,Barakhamba Road and recovery of live bombs at India Gate. The two gunned-down men were also mentioned in these chargesheets.

* Mumbai,Gujarat and Hyderabad police arrested other alleged IM members during this period. These operatives have been identified as Mohammad Sadiq (top IM leader in Mumbai),Qayamuddin Kapadia (financier and leader),Mohammad Hakim (financier from Uttar Pradesh),Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy (head of outfit’s media wing who allegedly sent emails before and after blasts in Jaipur),Mohammad Akbar Ismail Choudhary (member of media wing),Asif Bashir Sheikh and Mobin Kadar Sheikh.

* Special Cell filed three supplementary chargesheets against these seven persons — two in April this year,and another on September 9.

* Chargesheets filed under various IPC Sections,including 302 (murder),307 (attempt to murder),121 (waging or attempting to wage war against nation),121-A (conspiracy to commit offences under Section 121),120-B (criminal conspiracy),427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of Rs 50); Sections 3,4 and 5 of Explosives Substance Act and Section 10,12 and 13 of Unlawful Activities Act.

* Special Cell collected evidence like video clips of blast sites,witnesses who saw the alleged militants,CCTV footage of Metro stations,cell IDs of alleged militants in Gujarat and Delhi,fake I-cards they allegedly used,bank account details,and photographs of all IM members. The investigators also claim to have found travel records,inflammatory literature (books and CDs),bags used for carrying explosives,confession statements,defused bombs,AK-47 rifle and other forensic evidence against the alleged operatives.

Hunt on for 16

Interrogation of the 12 arrested men revealed 30 men had a role to play in the Delhi serial blasts. Some of the 16 absconding IM members were identified as Shehzad,alias Pappu (22); Junaid (27); Shahdab Bhai,alias Mallick (27); Sajid (24); Mohd Khalid (25); Arif (22); and Salman (25). According to police,all of them are from Azamgarh in UP and fled Delhi after planting the bombs.

No reward

Delhi Police Commissioner Y S Dadwal announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh each on information leading to arrest of the 16 absconding men last December,but Special Cell got no calls of any worth.

There has also been no information from Uttar Pradesh,where these alleged terrorists are suspected to be hiding for the past one year.

6.07 pm Ghaffar market,Karol Bagh

sahim salim

BASANTI,45,had her two-year-old nephew,Kishan,sleeping in a cloth sack tied to her back that Saturday evening in Gali number 42,Beadonpura,Karol Bagh. A blinding flash,a deafening sound and the shrapnel forced her to turn her back to the source.

It proved fatal. Exposed to the extreme heat of the blast,Kishan died instantly.

Unlike many families on the street populated by over 2,000 people from the ‘Nadibatt Samaj’ tribe from Rajasthan who migrated for better opportunities,Banwari Lal,54,did not lose any relative in the blast. “Yet I lost everyone. They were all my friends and they were all my kids,” he says.

The lane witnessed nine deaths and the Delhi government had announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for next kin of deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured. The amounts have been paid and cashed but the people are still homeless. An additional Rs 3 lakh per deceased announced by the Centre is yet to come through,says Sona Devi.

Sona Devi lost her husband Hari Chand,56,son Ashok,30,and daughter Saroj,35,that day. “Most of the money we received from the Delhi government was used in buying the basics. And we had to reinvest in the only trade we know — making and selling TV and fridge covers.

“They were all destroyed.”

Shopkeeper Raj Singh says there was a lot of police activity in the area initially but now there are just beat constables. “There are no metal detectors. Cops come and ask us to look out for suspicious people and activities. How am I supposed to know who is suspicious?”

6.37 pm GK-I,M Block market

ZAHID RAFIQ

In the hustle and bustle of GK-I M-Block market,it is business as usual in the festive season. Last year on September 13,two blasts had rocked this upscale market in South Delhi. Though there were no casualties,for those who witnessed it,the blasts remain fresh in memory.

Rajyapal Rathore,24,attends to a customer in the Levi’s store. He was on the first floor when the explosion shattered the shop’s glass window. He has not forgotten the sound to this day. “I didn’t talk about it to anyone. I am not scared but you can’t forget that sort of thing,” Rathore says.

A loudspeaker constantly drones the Delhi Police message that no one should touch unclaimed objects.

“We’re monitoring every inch of this place now and there are extra personnel here,” a policeman says.

There is a Quick Reaction Team (QRT) in the market and all dustbins have been removed. CCTV surveillance has also been increased.

A policeman,who was on duty at the market when the blasts occured,says,“Since then,I have been extra cautious.”

On the pavement,Mohammad Israfeel sells kurtas. “I don’t know how I survived,the blast just happened here,” he says. “I ran without looking back,and just when I thought I’d stop,another explosion rang out,” he says.

Radhe Sham,owner of Prince Pan Shop,hid in his counter. The second blast shook his shop. He waited for the chaos to subside and closed his shop. “I could not leave my shop unattended,it is everything to me,” he says.

He does not want to think about the blasts. “Why should I remember the past? I just look at the future,” Sham says.

6.34 pm barakhamba road

6.35 pm central park,cp

MOHIT SHARMA

GORAKH Pal sold snacks at the bus stop near Gopaldas Bhavan on Barakhamba Road. It was a Saturday,and just past 6.30 pm — the rush-back-home time when business used to be brisk.

The blast shook him to his bones,says friend Satya Pal,who now sits in the same place doing the same business — selling snacks.

“Gorakh was lucky — he survived just because he was standing on other side; the splinters didn’t go that way,” Pal says.

The impact was immediate,and the scar will perhaps remain forever: Gorakh Pal left the city and went back to his village in UP the very next day.

“He doesn’t plan to come back,” friend Satya Pal says. “He came once or twice since then,to meet us,but he says he is happy tilling land in his village.”

Similarly,a parking attendant,Ashok,who escaped a flying brick just by a whisker when bomb went off on September 13 last year shifted from that area to some other place in New Delhi.

The shift was immediate for Ashok,too. On duty at the parking lot on Barakhamba,Ashok he says,“Almost in slow motion” a brick flew towards me “a split second after the loud noise. I escaped but another man was hit. I don’t know what happened to him.”

Next day,he asked his superior and got his duty shifted. He now works at an office lot on Parliament Street.

Rajinder,who assists Satya Pal at his kiosk,says,“There are fewer stalls now. There were several roadside vendors earlier but the police have dispersed most of them.”

But otherwise,he adds,nothing has changed.

The story is more or less the same at Central Park,Connaught Place,where the toll was higher. Rakesh Kumar,who has been selling flowers in CP for years now,says there hasn’t been a noticeable difference in the sales. “The marked difference is that there are more security personnel and regular mock-drills.”

Akshat Mathur,who visits Connaught Place often,says: “I think Delhi has taken the right approach: don’t cow down; carry on with life.”