Chaos Theories

Slender leads, uncanny similarities, instinct over experience. Stavan Desai maps the investigation

Practice run

Days before 7/11, the ATS determined the involvement of an LeT module near Aurangabad in triggering a blast on board the Karnavati Express on February 19. The bomb that exploded in the S1 coach of the train minutes after it reached Ahmedabad from Mumbai contained 900 gm of RDX and was apparently planted in Mumbai by a key Lashkar operative, Fayaz Kagdi since absconding. During interrogation, Mohammad Amir Shakeel Ahmed, who assembled the Aurangabad module, said that on February 20, module member Aqib Saiyeed also arrested emailed Nepal-based Lashkar commander Junaid on spinning_22yahoo.com at the say-so of prime absconder in the RDX haul case Zahibuddin Sheikh, saying that the work had began. 8220;This made us suspect involvement of some of the Aurangabad module members in the train blasts. The theory was reinforced after we arrested members of a local LeT module in connection with the train blasts and found their links with the Aurangabad module,8221; says a senior ATS official. Mumbai Crime Branch JCP Meeran Borwankar agrees.

The Gujarat connection

On July 28, 2005, an RDX device planted in a general compartment of the Patna-Delhi Shramjeevi Express killed 14 people and injured 70 between Jaunpur and Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh. On August 18, the UP police arrested one Aslam Khan8212;originally from Etah, UP, and sometime resident of Pratapnagar, Vadodara8212; from Godhra. He was found to have strong links with the banned Students8217; Islamic Movement of India SIMI and admitted to being in UP between July 13-30. His interrogation revealed that logistics, training and material for the Shramjeevi blast came through Bangladesh. With Gujaratis emerging as the prime target in 7/11, and many perpetrators suspected to have fled to Bangladesh, this is one case under intense scrutiny.

JCP Meeran Borwankar says, 8220;Yes, following the blasts we were told by the IB that the perpetrators may be linked to the ones involved in the Shramjeevi Express case, as well as the explosions at Sarojini Nagar and Gopalgunj.8221;

Locals, outsiders

The seven timed explosive devices used on 7/11 were packed with RDX, ammonium nitrate and fuel oil. Investigators believe they were planted by unsuspecting locals in exchange of meagre sums, while the bomb-makers were outsiders: Interrogation of the arrested has revealed nothing about those who planted the bombs but indicated the involvement of some from a 8220;North Indian8221; state. The ATS, therefore, is very keen to identify the lone unclaimed body at KEM Hospital.

Underworld hand

As in the March 12, 1993, serial blasts, 7/11 investigators are not ruling out the possibility of the underworld helping perpetrators with funds and logistical support. The ATS has already recovered 37,000 rials Rs 4.6 lakh sent through hawala channels in Riyadh to Faizal Ataur Rehman Sheikh, a key Lashkar operative in Mumbai. Investigators also believe that the precision with which the blasts were carried out indicate strong local support in details like train-timings, peak traffic hours and possible escape routes.

JeM, not LeT

Investigators are also working on a theory that 7/11 was not the work of the LeT but of Jaish-e-Mohammad, whose chief Saiyeed Salauddin figures among the 20 terror suspects India has been asking Pakistan to hand over. This theory evolved after Faizal told his interrogators that though he had been in regular contact with the Lashkar8217;s Azam Cheema, he had never directed him to carry out the train explosions. He also denied passing on such orders to key members of the Aurangabad module. However, investigators believe that as these modules operate on a need-to-know basis, Faizal might not have been in the loop.