Author: Deeptiman Tiwary and Vijay Zala
Publication: Mumbai Mirror
Date: September 27, 2008
URL: http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article§id=15&contentid=20080927200809270216399817ef255a6
Introduction: Suspects reportedly told Gujarat
police that they were in touch with Rasool Parti who is believed to be staying
in Pakistan with Dawood Ibrahim
In what could be the first indication of an
underworld connection to the recent blasts in Ahmedabad and Delhi, suspects
have reportedly told Gujarat police that they were in touch with Rasool Parti,
prime accused in the 2003 murder of former Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya
in Ahmedabad.
Parti, who is named in more than 40 criminal
cases in Ahmedabad alone, is believed to be staying in Pakistan with gangster
Dawood Ibrahim.
Earlier in August, the Mumbai crime branch
had learnt that Parti is staying with Dawood Ibrahim in Karachi, Pakistan.
This was revealed to them by 1993 Mumbai serial
blasts accused Karimullah Khan, who was arrested by the crime branch from
Nallasopara in August 2008.
Gujarat police learnt of Parti's connection
to the July 26 Ahmedabad blasts while questioning suspects, many of whom claimed
to have met him while training in Pakistan. They claimed to have been in touch
with him for several years and even during the July blasts.
One such suspect is Nasir Shaikh, an alleged
SIMI activist who had been lodged in Belgaum Central jail in Karnataka.
He had been taken to Ahmedabad on September
23 in connection with the blasts investigation. He reportedly told the Gujarat
police that he met Parti in Pakistan in 2005 when he was there for a training
camp.
Ashish Bhatia, joint commissioner (crime),
Gujarat Police, says, "Nasir was in Pakistan, where he received training,
in 2005.
He had also participated in SIMI's camp in
Vagamon, Kerala in 2007. It is obvious that there is a link between SIMI and
the underworld."
The Mumbai crime branch came to know Parti's
whereabouts while questioning 1993 blasts accused Karimullah Khan. A senior
crime branch officer says, "Karimullah told us that Parti was staying
with Dawood in Karachi and that the don was fully supporting his stay there."
Mumbai crime branch, which recently arrested
five alleged members of Indian Mujahideen for their role in the blasts, is
now investigating whether any of them had been in touch with Parti.
Crime branch chief Rakesh Maria, when asked
about Parti's connection to the blasts and his close ties to Dawood, said,
"We are looking into it."
Intelligence Bureau had earlier identified
Rasool Parti and another man - Mohammad Sufiya Ahmed Patangiya - as the handlers
of the Ahmedabad terror module that carried out blasts in the city on July
26.
According to investigating agencies, prior
to fleeing to Karachi, Parti and Patangiya were involved in recruitment of
youth for jihadi activities in Hyderabad and other parts of the country.
Apparently, the duo were members of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al
Islami and recruited youths mainly from the Students Islamic Movement of India
(SIMI).
