13/7 Mumbai blast : Group behind blasts identified: Maharashtra Police

Mangalore Today / NDTV

Mumbai, Sept 24:  In a significant breakthrough, the Maharashtra Police has said that the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has identified the group behind the triple blasts that rocked Mumbai on July 13 this year.

 

27 were killed and over 131 injured after serial explosions ripped through Opera House and Zaveri Bazaar in south Mumbai and Dadar West in Central Mumbai during the evening rush hour.

"There are some loose ends that needs to be tied, before disclosing the group’s name", Maharashtra’s Director General of Police Ajit Parasnis said.

Sources have told NDTV that the ATS suspects banned Indian outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) to be behind the blasts. The role of two IM operatives - Mohammad Haroon Naik and Asrar Tailor - is under the scanner, according to sources. The duo is currently in the custody of the ATS in connection with a fake currency case. But the agency is yet to identify those who planted the bombs.

Intelligence sources had earlier told NDTV that footage retrieved from the CCTV at Opera House showed three or four people who were seen talking on the phone for over an hour and a half at the same spot during the day of the blasts. These sources pointed to the likelihood of sleeper cells of the Indian Mujahideen being activated.