Terror email has CM, Patil working overtime

MUMBAI: With the Indian Mujahideen (IM) threatening a repeat of 26/11 in Mumbai, ruling coalition partners- the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-are worried about the political implications if at all a fresh attack is launched on the state's capital.
Post 26/11, Vilasrao Deshmukh (Congress) and RR Patil (NCP) had to vacate office for the security lapse.
The fresh threat from the IM has put on notice chief minister Ashok Chavan and home minister Patil. Both Chavan and Patil have been in close touch since Sunday with senior police and intelligence officials. The police are already on high alert following an Intelligence Bureau tip-off about a possible disruption of the ongoing Ganesh festivities.
On top of it, the court verdict in the Ayodhya case on September 24 has further complicated the situation. The IM's email threat, issued on Sunday soon after the firing incident near Delhi's Jama Masjid, has made the situation extremely grim. "Chavan and Patil are aware that they will have to pay a heavy price if another terror attack takes place. Hence, both are working overtime to pre-empt a strike,'' a senior Congress minister observed.
It is learnt that Mantralaya is unhappy with the failure of the Mumbai and Raigad police to plug the coastal smuggling routes. The intelligence bureau has repeatedly pointed out the continued smuggling of diesel and other contraband by the Mohammed Ali gang at Mumbai docks and JNPT. "The routes used by this gang for smuggling in contraband can easily be used by the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and its front organisations like the IM to bring in RDX and arms through the Mumbai and Raigad coast,'' a senior intelligence official observed.
There has also been a surge in the operations of Borivli-based matka king Pappu Savla, who has close links with the Chhota Shakeel gang and hawala operators who transfer funds for terror outfits.