Delhi bombers have Dubai links: Intelligence

Mohammad Saif and other suspected terrorists linked to the serial blasts in Delhi allegedly have links with Dubai and were involved in hawala transactions, say sources in intelligence agencies.

The agencies are also probing if the suspected terrorists have any link with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, the sources said on Tuesday.

The intelligence and other security agencies have found the alleged link of Saif and other arrested terrorists with Dubai and they were involved in hawala transactions, which were the source of funds for them, they said.

The entire hawala transactions of the region are also under the scanner of the agencies, the sources in the security agencies, whose personnel are now in Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh to probe the links between the arrested terrorists and the Delhi serial blasts, said.

Though the sleuths have so far not been able to find any link of suspected terrorists of Azamgarh with Dawood Ibrahim, who has been declared an international terrorist by the US, directly but they are carrying out investigations keeping this in mind, the sources said.

The anti-terrorist squad had detained one youth of Saraimeer in this connection on Sunday evening, but released him later.

The ATS, however, suspect that many youth of this town had links with the terrorists arrested by the special cell of Delhi police.

The sources in the intelligence agencies said that during the investigation, the name of some minority educational institutions have also come up having links with the arrested terrorists.

The sleuths of Intelligence Bureau, Delhi police special cell, Gujrat and Rajasthan police and Anti-Terrorist Squad are camping in Saraimeer to collect information about the suspected terrorists who managed to escape from the clutches of Delhi police special cell after the encounter in Delhi recently, sources in the intelligence agencies said.

The sleuths of IB, Delhi police, ATS and other agencies have launched a hunt for the activists of Students Islamic Movement of India active in Varanasi.

Top police and intelligence officials have revealed that in the preliminary investigation, about the links of the arrested terrorists of Saraimeer town in Azamgarh district by Gujarat police and special cell of Delhi police, the names of some influential people of the eastern UP have come to the fore and agencies have started collecting its details.

Meanwhile, the intelligence and other security agencies are also keeping a close watch on the over hundred seminaries and other educational institutions of the minority community of the district, sources said.

The agencies are also looking into the details of the Tablighi Jamaat conclave held in Saraimeer last December, where lakhs of delegates from across the globe had participated and conspicuously the agenda of the conclave was kept top secret.

The details of the passports issued in the last few years for the Azamgarh and the other towns of the eastern UP are also being investigated as it has been reported that alarmingly large numbers of passports were issued for only Azamgarh residents, the sources said.

Top intelligence sleuth of different agencies including the Intelligence Bureau have descended in Azamgarh to not only check the antecedents of about a dozen odd terror-brigands captured in connection with the different serial terror blasts in the country but also to find out the reasons for the growth of terrorism in this economically backward town of the eastern UP, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the Azamgarh police and RPF failed in tracing out the caller, who had called the in charge of Saraimeer police station on Sunday, threatening to blow up the Saraimeer and Azamgarh railway stations.

Both civil and railway police had on Monday conducted surprise checking at both railway stations.

The market of Azamgarh town opened partially on Tuesday after four days of the encounter in Delhi amidst unusual calm prevailing there, particularly in Sajarpur and Beenpar villages that came into limelight after the arrest of Saif and Abu Bashir respectively.

The villagers are still suspicious with the heavy presence of intelligence and other security agencies' personnel, the sources said.