Probe team gets strong leads

Investigators probing the July 13 serial blasts have got strong leads and made good headway.

Investigators probing the July 13 serial blasts have got strong leads and made good headway. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Mumbai Police Crime Branch have narrowed down their angles of investigation considerably and gleaned vital clues in the past few days,sources indicated on Thursday.

Sources involved in the probe said after police teams fanned out across the country,concrete leads had emerged from Pune and Parbhani in Maharashtra and from Gujarat. Teams were sent to Karnataka,Andhra Pradesh,Madhya Pradesh,Delhi,Rajasthan,West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. There are now strong leads in Parbhani,Pune and Gujarat. Significant headway has been made in the investigations,which are at a crucial juncture, said an officer on condition of anonymity.

Union Home Secretary R K Singh echoed these views. There is important progress in Mumbai, he said in Thimpu when asked whether there was any breakthrough in the probe into the three blasts that killed 20 people. Singh said the investigation was on the right track,but refused to elaborate.

Sources said certain radical elements picked up from different locations over the past week,though not directly involved in the Mumbai blasts,had provided important information corroborating the line of investigation being pursued by the police.

Top ATS and Crime Branch officers,however,remained tightlipped about recent developments and there was no clarity on the terrorist outfit that had executed the blasts. Sources have,however,revealed that while the involvement of a new and smaller group is being probed,the needle of suspicion initially pointed to the Indian Mujahideen.

With PTI inputs

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram