Is Bihar module behind IM's resurgence?

The investigations into the four incidents of terror -- Jama Masjid in New Delhi, 13/7 blasts in Mumbai, the German Bakery in Pune and Chinnaswamy blasts in Bengaluru -- may appear as though they are taking longer than usual to crack.

The suspects are in custody (most of them), the leads are available, but investigators from the three different states say they want to be doubly careful before jumping to any conclusion.

Intelligence Bureau sources point out that there is a dire need to get all details on a suspected Indian Majahideen module in Bihar, as it is the one posing the major danger leading up to the revival of the IM.

The initial investigations into the Jama Masjid, Ajmer, Malegaon and Samjautha Express which pointed towards Islamic organisations and then the dramatic turnaround later in which the perpetrators turned out to be Hindu radicals, is an embarrassment that the entire police force would like to forget.

If the probes were politically motivated, every officer denies it. "We just acted on the leads that were available at that time. However the errors were rectified," a senior officer told rediff.com.

Looking at the ongoing probes, it is clear that the Indian Mujahideen had a role to play in all these incidents, but the cops are wary, and they want to be doubly sure. The police picks up leads and even makes arrests, but the conviction rate in terror cases is a poor 20 per cent and this is one of the biggest causes for worry.

Moreover, in the past, in a few cases, the prosecution has spent more time undoing a wrong probe rather than focussing on the real case.

In addition, the prosecution is putting in more time fighting cases of compensation attached to these cases. "If the case is watertight from the start then there would be no such issues," a police officer states.

Cracking the above mentioned four cases is of utmost importance for all the concerned agencies. If one may notice, the police have not picked up people without proper verification. They have taken their time and only when they had a specific input did they go about and make those arrests in Chennai.

The police have realised that in particular, the IM has been thriving on the sympathy factor. In the past few years, there have been mistakes and many innocents have gone behind bars.

Such incidents have only led to the IM roping in a few more youth for their outfit. The police feels that that if wrong arrests are made, it only makes matters worse, because it helps them turn into ideological terrorists.

The common link between the above-mentioned four cases is the coastal town of Bhatkal in Karnataka. The police claim that it is Yaseen Bhatkal behind all these attacks, and claim that he is in India and on the run.

His name is now cropping up in the 13/7 blasts as well. Sources in the Maharashtra ATS say that they are exploring the possibility of his involvement and also the fact that a module from Bhatkal carrying out the operation.

"It is more theoretical at the moment. When one takes into account the German Bakery blasts, it was clear that it was none other than the Bhatkal module had carried out the attack. The familiarity with the terrain and Bhatkal brothers' connection with Maharashtra made it an obvious operation." sources said.

The police are trying to join the dots regarding these aspects and are trying to crack the 13/7 Mumbai blasts. Moreover the Anti-Terrorism Squad also believes that a cell phone that was seized during the Chennai operation could provide the vital clues to the case they are dealing with.

As far as the Chinnaswamy blasts case is concerned, Bengaluru police sources say that there are some leads which suggest that it was an operation planned by Yaseen Bhatkal.

"It has been found that some youth had stationed themselves in Chickmagalur before smuggling in the explosives into Bengaluru before planting them outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium," said the source.

The Delhi police say that it was the same module which carried out all these attacks including the ones at Jama Masjid and Pune. However, the Delhi police is trying to find out as to how exactly is the IM re-grouping.

The teams from Maharashtra and Karnataka will need to wait a while longer before seeking the body warrant of the accused in the custody of the Delhi police before they could go about cracking the cases that they have been entrusted with.