UP STF to help Mumbai police in serial blast case

Lucknow, July 12 (UNI) The Mumbai Police has reportedly asked the Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh police to help it in investigating the serial bomb blasts on board local trains yesterday which left at least 183 passengers dead.

STF, which has excelled itself in tracking down criminals through electronic surveillance and won kudos allround for its successes, has received feelers from its Mumbai counterpart to help them track down the culprits, senior police officials said today. This elite force of UP police has recently been entrusted with the task of tracking down the prepetrators of the Ram Janmabhoomi fidayeen case and the recent serial blasts at Varanasi, including the one at Sankatmochan temple.

The STF teams had managed to nab the terrorists and their links involved in the two incidents. The STF units had used high-tech technology to track down cell phone calls of those involved in the two attacks.

''Various government and police agencies working on a particular case usually take the assistance of sister organisations from other states to speed up the investigation...recently STF had taken the help of Mumbai Police to gun down Firdaus -- involved in the murder of BJP MLA Krishnand Rai late last year -- in the Maharashtra capital,'' said an official, terming the assistance ''routine.'' Sources, meanwhile, made an interesting observation: That the Fidayeen attack in Ayodhya, serial blasts in Varanasi and now in Mumbai -- all took place on a Tuesday. While the Ayodhya attack took place on July 5, 2005, the serial blasts in Varanasi took place on March 7, this year.

The Uttar Pradesh government has already sounded a high alert in the state following the Mumbai blasts. Keeping the holy month of 'Sawan' in mind, additional security has been placed at temples where thousands of devotees throng to offer prayers on Mondays. A tight vigil is being maintained at the disputed Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanwapi mosque in Varanasi where thousands of pilgrims are likely to visit during 'sawan'.

In Ayodhya too, security forces are on a high alert, especially after the Centre's decision to create a security wall around the disputed site where 'Ram Lalla' is placed, created a political storm.

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