4 terrorists arrested in karnataka

After a brief lull, the Indian Mujahideen (IM) terror trail leading to coastal Karnataka - which has been named as the site of origin of the bombs used in the September 13 Delhi blasts - is hot again.

Four alleged associates of most-wanted Riyaz Bhatkal alias Mohd Riyaz alias Roshan Khan were arrested from the Ullal region today by the Mangalore police after their Mumbai counterparts received concrete information placing him here as recently as September 29.

Bhatkal is believed to be a key terror handler linked to the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Mumbai underworld, SIMI and the IM. Today's raids followed inputs from Mumbai and the Intelligence Bureau. Bhatkal himself, however, remains missing.

Five crude bombs, bulk SIM cards and Rs 11 lakh in cash were reportedly recovered in the operation. It was Mohammed Saif, held after the Delhi blasts, who is said to have told investigators that they sourced the explosives from Karnataka.

Current investigations, including the fact that Bhatkal's wife is in the first stages of pregnancy, indicate he is very much in India, sources said.

Bhatkal moved to Mumbai while still in school. He has a diploma in civil engineering and is considered a key player in the underworld counterfeiting and hawala business.

Sources said he was a former student of the Khalsa College in Mumbai - incidentally one of the several organisations whose wi-fi networks were hacked into to send IM terror e-mails in recent times.

Those arrested in Mangalore today have been identified as Mohammed Ali (56), Javed Ali (20), Naushad (25), and Ahmed Bava (33). A fifth person, Mudassir, who is believed to have harboured Bhatkal, was reported to be absconding. Late in the evening, the Mangaore police said all the arrested are members of the IM and are suspected to have played roles in the recent blasts around the country.

Apart from Bhatkal, a second "non-Hindi speaking" person also being sought by the police - named as 'Shah Rukh' by Delhi blast accused Saif - remains elusive.

Sources said Bhatkal's location was narrowed down to coastal Karnataka based on the interrogation and call records of four key IM men and an underworld operative, Afzal Usmani, arrested by the Mumbai police on September 24.

The Mumbai police had stated that Karnataka-based Bhatkal was the key handler of the group, and they were in turn controlled by Pakistan-based Amir Reza Khan.

Though Bhatkal has been linked to terrorist and criminal activities for many years, he has remained untraced. During investigations at his hometown of Bhatkal in coastal Karnataka following the 2002-03 Mumbai serial blasts and the July 2006 train blasts, his family members had told police that he was in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. In the course of the 2006 Mumbai train blast investigations, one of the accused, Shaikh Mohammed Ali, had said Bhatkal financed the training of SIMI activists in Pakistan.

Police draw blank in Malegaon probe

Investigators and forensic experts are struggling to make progress in the Malegaon bomb blast case as they are yet to find the timer device used to detonate the explosive. Teams from Nashik and Aurangabad had collected evidence from the blast site and also seized two bikes, ball bearings and several other shreds and iron pieces. But they have not found a timer or any batteries. A timer is a crucial piece of evidence as it helps investigators understand how the mechanism worked and explosive set off. Sources said investigators were also analysing a tinted circuit board connected to the battery of a motorbike in the blast in Modasa, which happened around the same time as the Malegaon explosion.

Modasa case 'very much open', no leads

Senior police officers investigating the September 29 blast in Modasa are calling the investigation "very much open" in the absence of any crucial leads. Sabarkantha Superintendent of Police R B Brahmbhatt admitted: "We do not have any concrete clues. We are looking for some eyewitnesses, but so far, no one has come forward. We are also yet to establish the identity of the bike, which was used in the blast." Locals are being interrogated, while the police are also scanning thousands of mobile phone calls which were active in the town during the last one week starting September 29.