Home ministry raps Maha ATS over disclosures

Maharashtra's Anti Terrorism Squad has been pulled up by the Union Home Ministry for going public on evidence of cross-border terror links of two arrested Mumbai residents after the trail to a Pakistani handler went cold.

The ATS got a rap on its knuckles from the Ministry for giving 'more details than required,' of the probe to the media, on Sunday, sources said.

The ATS meanwhile said the phone calls received by the two terror suspects arrested on charges of planning attacks in Mumbai have been traced to Karachi in Pakistan. The two men are also associated with fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, it claimed. "The phone calls the duo were receiving have been traced to Karachi in Pakistan. They had received calls on a regular basis in which they were instructed to ensure that the targets get reduced to ashes," an ATS official said on the condition of anonymity.

The duo--Abdul Latif alias Guddu and Riyaz Ali alias Rehan--were arrested near Matunga railway station in central Mumbai on Saturday.

The Union Home Ministry conveyed its displeasure to the ATS for compromising investigations into the case by revealing to the media that the two men were in touch with a person in Pakistan identified as "chacha" (uncle). In New Delhi, a senior Home Ministry official quipped that "Uncle is no more..we lost Chachaji", as the person had gone silent as reflected from interceptions by central security agencies. He termed the revelation of "uncle" as a "real hit on the head for us".

ATS chief Raghuvanshi had yesterday said that preliminary probe suggested the duo were getting instructions from someone called 'Uncle' from Pakistan to execute their activities in Mumbai.