As they struggle to recover from the terror assault on Mumbai, security agencies are having to grapple with the challenge of foiling a plan to land massive arms and ammunition off the Konkan coast.
The plot to send huge quantities of arms and ammunition to the gang of fundamentalist terrorists, who carried out Monday's attack, has come to light following the arrest of one Mohammad Yasin, who had been a hawala conduit for the gang that is plotting more attacks in Maharashtra and the Saurashtra region of Gujarat.
Yasin, who was recently picked up from Gujarat, was at the Dubai end of the operation to funnel money to the terrorists drawn from home-grown Simi as well as LeT and Jaish. The hawala operator who, going by the records of the crime branch of Mumbai police, remitted about Rs 16 lakh to the gang just before the Mulund blast, has confirmed the fears that jehadi terrorists have planned a long season of terror in Mumbai to undermine the economy. Security officials watching the situation in Mumbai describe it as a big challenge. They acknowledge that the foreign-based "handlers" of terrorists have now a wide and growing pool of recruits to dip into. Making use of deep religious motivation, fuelled by alleged grievances, handlers have been able to raise many lootsoldiers trained in the use of explosives. Unlike the perpetrators of the 1993 serial blasts, who were drawn from the underworld, the new jehadi cell consists of the educated. The recruiters especially scout for those with advanced computer skills like encrypted messaging.
The task of tackling the new terrorist, who has better repertoire of skills as well as a motivation steeled by literal interpretations of religion, has been made more daunting by the weakening of the crime branch of Mumbai police, sources feel. The section, once the sword arm of the city, has been somewhat enervated by a combination of factors ranging from factionalism among the top brass, political interference and rampant corruption.
The concerns of the agencies stem from the way crime branch handled the arrest of notorious Mohammad Saqib Abdul Hamid Nachan earlier this year, as well as the kind of chargesheets it filed against him. In the case, the crime branch decided to go to his house during day time, allowing the supporters of the terrorist to interfere with the operation by raising a "harassment and human rights" stink. The time lost because of resistance, agencies here maintain, helped a Pakistani national and an accessory in the terror plots slip out with a cache of arms. The chargesheets don't show the painstaking investigation that is required, are weak and, in many cases, leave out the names of others who might have been involved.
Political interference has not helped
matters with one particular leader, a functionary of a national party with
scant presence outside the minority dominated pockets, playing spoilsport
for the enforcers on more than one occasion.