10 days on, culprits still at large

More than 10 days after the twin blasts rocked Hyderabad, the culprits behind the terror strike are still at large. The joint teams of Central and state police forces have not been able to make any arrests in the February 21 blast case despite strong suspicion of the notorious Indian Mujahideen’s role in carrying out the strike.

In what appears to have further complicated the probe, IM operatives Imran and Maqbool, who were arrested by the special cell of the Delhi police after the last IM module was busted, have named two different masterminds who had tasked them with the recce of Dilsukhnagar. While Maqbool says that he was tasked to do the recce by top IM leader Yasin Bhatkal, Imran names another Saudi- based operative, the sources said.

The NIA, which has the custody of the two IM operatives, had taken them to Hyderabad for further interrogations. Investigators say that even in Hyderabad, the alleged terrorist duo have not been able to provide them much headway.

The investigating agencies, meanwhile, have culled out two videos from near the blast sites containing crucial leads, according to the agencies, about the identification of bombers. Agencies are scanning the videos with the help of key terror operatives in their custody for concrete identification of the bombers. The multi- agency investigators have quizzed more than a dozen persons in connection with the case.

But with investigators appearing to be floundering for concrete leads to help them track down the culprits, what is appearing another big concern for the Union home ministry is that the investigations need to be kept on the right track. The MHA is vary of the fact that the probe should not be “hurried’’ even if there is no major breakthrough soon. A hurried probe will have the danger of booking the wrong persons and that has to be avoided at all costs, an official said. If the Hyderabad police is unable to track down the masterminds soon, it may refer the case to the NIA. The MHA, however, is awaiting for the response of the state government of Andhra Pradesh on the matter.