The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad on Wednesday claimed to make a major breakthrough in the Pune blasts. It announced the arrests of two suspects -- Bilal Ahmed Ansari and Himayat Baig -- from Pune and Nashik respectively.
According to Intelligece Bureau sources, the case appears to have a wider ramification than just the case on hand.
It has now been ascertained that the two persons, presently in custody, belonged to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Indian Mujahideen.
Over the past eight months, the IB, police and also the Researh and Analysis Wing have collected material in connection with this blast and they reveal a foreign hand.
The most important aspect being the emergence of a new group and this fact emerged during the interrogation of the two persons in custody.
The investigation so far has indicated two things -- one it could be the first operation by the Al Qaeda in India and secondly the emergence of a new group called Lashkar-e-Tayiba-Al Almi.
However, investigators are tilting more towards an Al Qaeda-Indian Mujahideen nexus when compared to the role of the LeT-Al Almi.
Investigations show that there is a bigger possibility of the Al Qaeda orchestrating this attack since some of its leaders made statements after the blast.
The new group in question, which is based out of Pakistan, does not appear to show any alliance with any of these terror groups.
Moreover, the claim that was made by this group in the aftermath of the blasts does not tally with the statements of the two in-custody accused who clearly told the police on their arrest that the motive was to target foreigners.
The Al Almi had claimed that this blast was carried out to send a message to India to solve the Kashmir crisis.
The investigators have, at the moment, dismissed this claim stating that it was some small group trying to gain attention and that they are not aware or found any of their modules in India.
The Al Qaeda link is, however, the strongest. First and foremost, the outfit has been making all the noises about an attack on India. One of its top leaders, Ilyas Kashmiri has also been booked by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for conspiring with Amercian terror suspect David Headley.
The most clinching evidence that the investigators have is a video showing Mustafa Abu-al-Yazid, a top leader of the outfit, claiming that they masterminded the blasts.
Yazid, who was later killed in a drone attack, posted this video soon after the blasts and a copy is with the Intelligence Bureau and RAW.
In the video, he also calls upon the rest of his men to take inspiration from the Pune attack.
The Nashik link
Investigators are trying to find the modules set up by the IM and other terror groups in Nashik.
Till date, there is no trace of any of their modules. But the latest arrest shows that terror groups from across the border have started operating in this belt.
The Pune module was the strongest for these groups and they had set shop almost five years ago.
Nashik was primarily known to be a stronghold of right-wing groups, who had allegedly masterminded attacks at Nanded and even at Malegaon recently. Investigators say that they would be looking closely at the emergence of these new modules and the interrogation of these two men could give a better picture.
