Delhi Police, IB teams reach Karnataka today for blasts probe

New Delhi, Sept 22 : A joint team comprising of Delhi Police and Intelligence Bureau (IB) today arrived in Udupi in Karnataka, where it is believed the terrorists purchased ball bearing and other equipment to make bombs used in serial blasts.

The team will also visit Dharwad, where militant training camps have been allegedly held.

Saif and Zeeshan, terror suspects arrested from Jamia Nagar on Friday, have also been taken to Karnataka, where police believe they could get more leads.

Moreover, investigations are underway in Uttar Pradesh, from where it is believed financial help was passed on to the terrorists with funding from the Middle East with the help of hawala operators.

With added intelligence coming from the arrest of three more Indian Mujahideen (IM)-Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) operatives, the police said the group's "mastermind" Atif Ameen alias Bashir, also had plans to carry out 20 bombings in the business district of Nehru Place.

The interrogation of Zia, the son of Abdur Rehman, caretaker of the shootout flat L-18 in Batla House area, Mohammed Shakeel, an MA student living in Sangam Vihar and Saquib Nisar, a contact between Zia and Atif, has revealed that the IM leader was keen on striking at Nehru Place soon.

The three said that they did not leave Delhi after the blasts as Atif convinced them to stay put. They further said Atif used to work out minute details of attacks, right from timing to sites. His associates were given information only on a need-to-know basis.

On Saturday the Delhi Police's special cell claimed they had unravelled the IM-SIMI network, with Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) leader Abu Al Kama - whose hand was also seen in the October 29, 2005, Diwali-eve serial blasts - emerging as a key collaborator.

The linkages have led the police to say that LeT provided help to SIMI-IM in the UP court blasts. Police is also probing the role of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) in that attack.

This three-outfit alliance is now seen to be behind Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Varanasi, Hyderabad and Faizabad blasts, police said. Police forces from neighbouring states joined Delhi Police in the probe, sharing intelligence on these outfits.

ANI