AFTER SEVEN days of the deadly bomb blasts in the city, the investigating teams probing the blasts are still groping in the dark with no concrete clue even as the Special Task Force detained a close associate of two Pakistani terrorists from Azamgarh for questioning on Monday.
Top intelligence sources told Hindustan Times that Mohd Salim was picked up from his Court Mohalla residence in Azamgarh town by the sleuths of the Special Task Force (STF) in the wee hours of Monday in connection with the Varanasi serial blasts.
“Salim was a close associate of two Pakistani terrorists Ali Ahmed and Imran, who were arrested in connection with the recovery of a pressure cooker bomb at Hanuman Gari in Ayodhya in 2001”, the intelligence sources confided.
The two Pakistani terrorists, along with Mohd Salim, were living in Mumbai and Azamgarh, they said, adding that during interrogation, Salim revealed the names of Ali Ahmed and Imran, the two Pakistani terrorists, as his associates.
Imran and Ali Ahmed were nabbed inside Mazda cinema in Godowlia in 2001, the sources said. Imran was killed in an encounter with Uttar Pradesh Police whereas Ali Ahmed is lodged in a jail in Bihar, the sources said, adding that Mohd Salim of Azamgarh was released at that time.
The two Pakistani terrorists, the sources said had obtained a driving licence and a ration card in their names in Azamgarh.
{{/usCountry}}The two Pakistani terrorists, the sources said had obtained a driving licence and a ration card in their names in Azamgarh.
{{/usCountry}}They were spreading terror in eastern Uttar Pradesh and were working
for the dreaded Lashker-e- Tayyeba.
“We have picked up Mohd Salim from his residence in Azamgarh to investigate his links to the perpetrators of the blasts in Varanasi on March 7”, the sources said, adding, “Salim and six other persons picked up from different areas during the last two days are being quizzed”.
The investigators have also started investigating the Kolkatta links of the perpetrators of the blasts. It is believed that raw material for the blasts was sent from Kolkotta.
“This angle is also being investigated”, the intelligence sources said.
It may be mentioned that at least 15 persons lost their lives in the twin powerful blasts at the famous Sankat Mochan temple and Cantonment railway station here on March 7.