Mumbai blasts: Sleuths struggle to zero in on perpetrators

The investigating agencies probing into the July 13 blasts are yet to zero in on the terror group or organisation responsible for the explosions.

Though the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad and the Mumbai Crime Branch officials have been claiming that they have got vital leads and are working on them to identify the terror outfit involved, but the outfit’s signature is yet not clear.

“There are clues on the group behind the blasts, but the signatures of terror organisations involved are yet not clear,” said a senior Central investigative agency officer.

A week ago, three explosions in Kabutarkhana, Zaveri Bazaar and Opera House rocked the city.

“Most clues point out to the involvement of groups like Indian Mujahideen but other evidences indicate there could be some other group involved.”

The Indian Mujahideen (IM), which is said to be the offshoot of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), carried out terror attacks across several states in the country. The attacks were mostly on the 13th or 26th of the month.

The target areas have been mostly Hindu-dominated areas or areas frequented by foreigners.

After every terror attack, an email is sent to claim the responsibility of the attack. This has been the IM’s signature in the past.
The date and the target match its signature in the July 13 blasts but no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The IM module does not carry out a single attack but multiple ones. It has been observed that the IM module uses explosives such as ammonium nitrate and lead bombs.

Investigators suspect that IM could have changed its module or is making use of small groups to carry out attacks. This might be making it difficult to identify the group behind the blasts.

The involvement of Hindu terror groups is also being probed but there is no evidence to prove this. Hindu terror groups, it has been observed, use low-intensity explosives.

They have been targeting Muslim-dominated areas such as Malegaon. It has been observed that Hindu terror outfits lack perfection in execution of the attacks. This is why their outfit members have got killed while carrying out attacks such as in Nanded in Maharashtra and Margao in Goa.

Another suspicion is the involvement of a Kashmiri group as July 13 is observed as Kashmir Martyrs’ Day. Teams of investigating agencies from the state as well as the Centre have fanned out across the country looking for clues.