Probe in Mumbai train blasts complete: Narayanan

New Delhi, Nov 29 (UNI) Describing the July 11 blasts in Mumbai's suburban trains as ''the worst instance of an attack by terrorists on the mass transport system in the country,'' National Security Advisor M K Narayanan today said investigations in the case had revealed complicity of terror groups based in Pakistan.

''The investigations into this incident is complete and the involvement of nine Pakistan-based jehadi terrorists, of whom one died, has been confirmed,'' Mr Narayanan said, while addressing an international seminar on ''Growing Challanges of Terrorism with special reference to the Railways'' here.

He said more than a score of Indians involved with these Pakistani terrorists had been arrested and charge-sheeted, though the eight Pakistanis involved managed to escape to their country.

Mr Narayanan said the investigation had revealed that Pakistanis came through three different routes -- Bangladesh, Nepal and the sea route -- and were directly involved in the planting of the bombs.

The explosives were stored in one of the residential suburbs of Mumbai and packed in pressure cookers before being placed in the first-class compartments.

''A great deal of advance planning and careful preparation had obviously gone into this act and it was masterminded by well-known jehadi leaders in Pakistan like Azam Cheema,'' he added.

Mr Narayanan, who made a detailed presentation on terrorism in presence of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, Railway Board Chairman J P Batra, RPF Director General A K Suri and security experts from India and abroad, said the threat to mass transportation links, such as the Railways from the terrorist groups, was both potent and real.

He said there were inherent difficulties in providing fool-proof security in any large mass transportation system.

''Detecting and neutralising decentralised terrorist networks of this kind is a major challenge,'' he said, adding it called for international cooperation of a much higher order as well as use of new technologies and new operational and analytical tools.

Referring to the attacks on the Tokyo subway in 1995, Madrid train network in 2004 and the London underground blasts in 2005, the National Security Adviser said terrorism had assumed the contours of a ''bleed-to-bankruptcy' movement.

He said the financial cost of terror attacks to the affected countries was colossal, which made terrorism a very attractive proposition. ''Pre-emption and prevention are thus crucial,'' he added.

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