Killed LeT terrorists had video of crowded places

MUMBAI: A DVD recovered from the three slain Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists last Saturday contains video clips of several crowded places like shopping malls, railway stations, bus depots and areas of tourist interest in Mumbai, Pune,Mysore, Bangalore and Hyderabad, police sources said.
Said a senior police officer, “The DVD contains clips of areas which are potential targets for blasts.We are intensifying vigil at all these places.’’
He, however, refused to identify the places. Those killed in Saturday’s encounter include LeT’s southern commander Abu Sultan and his associate, Abu Anwar Ali, both of whom are Pakistani nationals. The third person, believed to be a Kashmiri, is still to be identified.
A police team under the supervision of joint commissioner (crime) Satyapal Singh and including officers Pradip Sharma, Daya Nayak, Dnyanesh Devade and Prakash Bhandari, had killed the alleged terrorists at Jogeshwari in an encounter. A senior IPS officer alleged that the LeT was planning major terrorist attacks at five cities with an aim to provoke communal violence.
“They had also planned serial blasts in Mumbai,’’ he said. The police have recovered diaries containing names of activists of the outlawed Students’ Islamic Movement of India (Simi). Sources said the police have identified the Simi activist who had planted the bomb in a Karjat-bound fast train on March 13.
The explosion had killed 12 persons and injured 71 others. “We have got several other names of Simi activists involved in other blasts in Mumbai,’’ a crime branch officer said. Teams have been sent to various parts of the state, including Bhiwandi and Murbad in Thane district to nab the suspects.
Sources claimed that the name of alleged Simi activist from Padgha village near Bhiwandi also figures in the diaries recovered from the LeT terrorists. Sources said the police have also recovered certain photographs and maps of homes of politicians and VVIPS. Some of these pertain to Union home minister L.K.Advani, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and VHP leader Pravin Togadia, sources stated.
The Mumbai police were co-ordinating with intelligence agencies track down, at least, seven LeT terrorists suspected to be hiding in the metropolis. Mr Satyapal Singh said LeT terrorists had got support of certain ‘local residents’ who helped them get ration cards and driving licences.
The police have launched manhunt for them. Sources said both Abu Sultan and Abu Anwar Ali were operating from hideouts in Thane, Kalyan and Navi Mumbai for the past three months.