Darabhanga- Neta protection ruins it all

The National Investigation Agency which has commenced its probe into the Bodhgaya serial blasts case had prepared a dossier on the Darabanga module of the Indian Mujahideen and this is something that they would look into very closely while probing this case.

The Darabanga module of the IM has been considered to be one of the most notorious and effective modules of the Indian Mujahideen. The NIA notes that tracking members of this module has probably been one of the toughest tasks. The problem does not lie so much with the bigger names, but the foot soldiers are the most difficult to track. This is largely because the IM has used infiltrators and those staying on in Darabanga without valid permits and this has made the job to track them even more difficult.

To add to the headache is the vote bank politics which has acted as a safeguard for such persons. Action has never been taken to verify their documents and neither are the police allowed to deport them to their home country, investigators would note.

The Darabanga module was set up after the break down of the Pune and Uttar Pradesh module of the IM. This was a module chosen strategically in consultation with operatives in Pakistan who had said that this module should be connected with the operatives in the Gulf so that the name of Pakistan stays under wraps. Many operatives such as Asadullah Akthar were sent to the Gulf to oversee the operations. While it was expected that Pakistan would send Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal to the Gulf that did not happen and Abu Jundal was sent instead. In India Yasin Bhatkal was made the chief of the operations at Bihar.

The entry of Fasih Mahmood who hails from Darabanga witnessed a major change. He was allegedly involved in the Bangalore blasts and also the shooting at Jama Masjid, according to the police. He was in touch with the Bhatkal brothers while in college. He later moved to Saudi Arabia and continued to remain in touch with the IM cadre over there. His services were roped in to set up this Bihar module as he knew the place well. He was then introduced to Yasin who in turn roped in another well known operative by the name Mohammad Tariq Anjum Hassan.

The IM had no intention of activating the Darabanga module and decided to keep it under sleep mode while allowing the Pune, Azamgarh modules to do its work. However the major crack down on these modules forced them to change their plans and activate the module in Bihar. The NIA says that Fasih Mahmood also was in touch with another operative called Amir Reza Khan who largely operated in West Bengal. They were in fact involved in the attack on the Kolkata American Centre.

Fasih over the years became very important for the IM and he was given the charge of raising funds from Gulf nations. He looked for new faces and also money quoting largely the Batla House encounter which in turn poured in the sympathy.

The NIA says that the roots and connections are very deep rooted. It is not possible for one agency to carry out the job and the cooperation of every state police is required. The NIA while questioning an operative by the name Omar Madani found that he was a Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative who was recruiting for Bihar. There is no doubt that there is a direct Pakistan involvement to this case. While it was largely made to believe that the operations were being controlled from Saudi Arabia, once in a way the Lashkar slipped in operatives from either Bangladesh or Pakistan to carry out recruitments, the NIA points out.

In so far as the Bodhgaya case as of now there appears to be no direct motive. The IM was desperate for a hit and could have carried out the attack, the NIA notes. However as we pointed out yesterday, we have an open mind and would probe all possible angle, although the IM angle looks to be the strongest. Logistically it was an easy target for the IM which houses its Darabanga module four hours away from the blast site. Although the target was under the radar, the operatives decided to take the risk as they were aware that it is a site of international importance and the necessary publicity would be gained, NIA sources also pointed out.