New Delhi, September 16
In one of the biggest manhunt in the recent times, police of five states have launched a joint operation to track Abdul Subhan Qureshi, alias Tauqeer, who has emerged as the key suspect and brain behind the recent blasts in the country, including the one in the National Capital. The Delhi Police today released the sketches of five suspects who planted bombs in the Capital.
Scores of persons, who had at anytime come in contact with Tauqeer, have been taken into custody from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi and are being interrogated by experts from the police and intelligence agencies to ascertain the whereabouts of the absconding terrorist. The police believes Tauqeer is the interface between the recently spawned Indian Mujahideen and the SIMI.
The police also believes that the logistics support for obtaining the material for making bombs was perhaps being provided by modules in western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
More than 12 persons have been detained and are being interrogated at the office of the special cell of the Delhi Police on the Lodhi Road. “We are working on some positive leads. But cannot share any information as it would hamper investigations,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (special cell) Karnal Singh.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police today released the sketches of five persons who planted bomb in the capital. While four of the sketches belong to terrorists involved in Barakhamba road blast, one is of a suspect of the Gaffar Market bomb blast. According to Rajan Bhagat, PRO, Delhi Police, the sketches have been prepared on the basis of eyewitness account, including a balloon seller and an auto-rickshaw driver.
A team of the Delhi Police in Gujarat is also trying to seek the custody of Ahmedabad blasts mastermind Mufti Abdul Bashir, whom it suspects of holding “vital information” about blasts here. “Bashir holds vital information about the banned SIMI, its modules and sleeping cells in the Capital as well as in various parts of the country,” a top Delhi Police official said. Bashir was nabbed from Azamgarh village of Uttar Pradesh last month and taken to Ahmedabad in connection with the July 26 blasts in the Gujarat city.
“During interrogation, he told the Gujarat Police officials that India Mujahideen’s would next target Delhi. We believe he holds vital information and our team in Ahmedabad is making all efforts to obtain Bashir’s custody,” the official added.
