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Rajasthan hopeful of cracking Jaipur blasts case

Special Correspondent

JAIPUR: With the arrest of the terror suspects in Delhi, the Rajasthan authorities are hopeful of a solution to the May 13 serial blasts in the State capital, which claimed 68 lives in the Jaipur walled city area. The Special Investigative Team (SIT) of the Rajasthan police has corroborated the findings of the Delhi Police Special Cell that Atif, who was killed in an encounter with the police in Delhi last Friday, was the mastermind behind the Jaipur blasts as well.

“We are on the verge of solving the Jaipur blasts,” Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said when contacted by journalists at the BJP office here on Monday.

“Only the versions of some of the accused are left to be recorded. The rest of the work is complete,” said Mr. Kataria.

The suspected 11 terrorists led by Atif had boarded buses from Bikaner House in Delhi on May 13 morning to reach Sindhi Camp, Jaipur’s central bus stand, at 1.30 pm. After executing the task of planting bombs placed on bicycles around 4 p.m., they boarded the Shatabdi Express which left Jaipur at 5.30 p.m. The bombs pounded the city for 30 minutes from 7.10 p.m.

The terrorists, after reaching the Sindhi Camp, regrouped into three teams — one led by Atif, and the other two comprising Sahdab, Khalid, and another person in one team and Sajid, Saif and Chhota Sajid, who was killed in the Delhi encounter, in another. The group led by Atif had Shafiq, Salman and another person as members.

The members of the terror squad visited Jaipur on May 11 to return the same day to Delhi. They remained in Delhi on May 12. Among them Sajid, Sahdab and Atif had a survey of the place even prior to May 11. In the earlier visits the suspects took rounds of Kishenpole Bazar from where they would later purchase bicycles for planting the bombs. The spots for planting the bicycles were also decided during the earlier visits.

On the fateful day, the teams led by Sahdab and Sajid boarded the same bus from Bikaner House while Atif’s team reached Jaipur by another bus. Each member was given Rs.4,500 for the bus fare as well as for purchase of bicycles.

At the time of buying tickets from the computerised counter at Bikaner House the suspects furnished fictitious names.

The deadly travellers carried ready-to-use bombs with timers set. There was surely urgency in sticking to the time schedule. The bombs were reportedly set at Atif’s apartment in the Janata Flats in Delhi’s Oklha Vihar. After embarking at Sindhi Camp, the groups set out separately for Kishenpole Bazar, just 2 km away. Their return to the railway station too was in separate groups.

Convinced

The investigators in Rajasthan are convinced of the involvement of SIMI and Indian Mujahideen in the blasts. Sahdab, who is in the custody of the Rajasthan police, is SIMI president while the others involved — Tauqueer, Abdul Bashar, Sahid and Quayamudin — are senior member of SIMI, it is being pointed out. Atif had Indian Mujahideen connections. All the suspects, ranging from 20-22 years, are from the same locality in Azamgarh district. They studied in the same school.

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