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Journalism of Courage
The Centre is likely to hand over the Pune German Bakery,Varanasi and Jama Masjid blasts cases to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The agency will also investigate the Indian Mujahideen (IM) terror modules that are allegedly involved in the three attacks that took place in 2010.
The German Bakery blast in 2010 was the first sign of the IM regrouping after which they struck in New Delhi and Varanasi in the same year.
The Indian Mujahideen had claimed responsibility for the blasts at the Dashwamedh ghats in Varanasi and near Jama Masjid in New Delhi. No one,however,claimed responsibility for the Pune blast.
Investigators claimed the Indian Mujahideen was behind the Pune blast as well and it will be interesting to see as how the NIA connects the three cases.
The Maharashtra Polices ATS,which is currently probing the German Bakery blast,had not been able to make any breakthrough so far.
The ATS had filed a chargesheet and arrested a person but their claim was full of loopholes. Sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs termed the Pune blasts as unresolved.
The NIA will take over the three cases soon, said a Home Ministry official.
The move could leave the ATS red-faced as this will be the second case they are going to lose. The earlier one was the 2008 Malegaon blasts case.
The ATS had claimed in its chargesheet that the German Bakery blast was carried out by one Mirza Himayat Beigh and some others belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba(LeT) and IM.
But during trial,the ATS theory came loose when witnesses claimed Beigh had been detained way ahead of his actual arrest shown on December 4,2010.
When contacted,a senior NIA official said,We have not received any communication from MHA on taking up investigations of the three cases.
