Pune:
Two days after a bomb blast at Pune's German Bakery, investigators say they have got important leads on the terrorist groups that are most likely responsible for the terror attack that left nine people dead and 57 injured on Saturday night.
(In Pics: Pune blast)Clues so far reveal that the terrorists who planted the bomb at the bakery deviated at the last minute from their original plan. Investigating officers are looking into the possibility that the intended target was either the Jewish community centre Chabad House, or the Osho Ashram, both within a few feet of the bakery. But when the terrorists noticed the high security at both places, they opted for the "soft target" of the German Bakery instead, in Pune's Koregaon Park.
By the time the terrorists planted the bomb, investigators say, many of the foreigners at the bakery had left for the Osho Ashram for their 7 pm meditation and prayer session. If the bomb had been planted earlier, the casualties would have been higher.
Investigators are analyzing CCTV footage obtained from a hotel across the road from the bakery. The security camera footage is being shown to a waiter at the German Bakery who was at work when the bomb exploded.
The Ashram and Chabad house were both surveyed for terror attacks in 2008 by David Coleman Headley, who has been arrested by the FBI in Chicago got planning the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai as an operative of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). After India discovered Headley's stops in Pune, the Osho Ashram and Chabad House were both given security.
(Read & Watch: Lashkar hand, India wants access to Headley)Sources tell NDTV that investigators are following the theory that the Pune blast was planned by LeT, and executed by the Indian Mujahideen (IM).
Maharashtra police sources say that the bag that exploded in the bakery was triggered either by a remote control or a mobile phone. No timer has been found by investigators who've searched the debris at the bakery.
(Watch: Pune bakery blast triggered by remote control?)Investigators say the Lashkar's role is suspected because the type of bomb used (remote-controlled without an integrated circuit) has so far been seen only in attacks in Kashmir.
Suggestions of a possible joint operation between the LeT and the Indian Mujahideen come from Headley, who has also reportedly mentioned the Bhatkal brothers in his interrogation.
Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal are among the top rung of the Indian Mujahideen and are on India's most-wanted listed. Hoping for more information on the brothers and their possible role, Pune's anti-terror squad has asked for details of what Mansoor Peerbhoy,the media cell head of the Indian Mujahideen, said after he was arrested in 2008. Peerbhoy's interrogation report will be shared by the Mumbai Crime Branch; he reportedly told the police about a sleeper cell of the IM in Pune.
(Read: Pune blast: The Indian Mujahideen connection?) Peerbhoy, a techie, was arrested for sending out emails warning of the blasts in Delhi and Ahmedabad in 2008.
(Read: Pune ATS seeks Peerbhoy's interrogation report)Talking about a possible Headley link, Home Minister P Chidambaram said: "If he is behind the blast we will have to find out. We can't rule out or rule in anything yet."
(Read and watch: No intelligence failure, says Chidambaram)"Irrespective of what happened in Pune yesterday, Government of India is pursuing the case of access to David Headley but that is tied up in a lot of legal problems... we have not given up our case that we must be given access to Headley for interrogation," he said.
(Read: Did Maha govt do enough with Headley alert?)So, what do investigators believe is Headley's link to the Pune blast?
- After Headley's survey, sleeper cells were placed in cities like Pune.
- Some of the members of these cells were IM remnants, some new.
- Leadership and funding remains with Lashkar.
- These sleeper cells are like human 'pre-timed devices' or PTDs.