Plotter was trying to prove self to ISI, D-Co
Mumbai, March 15: The “oil tank terror plot”, according to the Anti-Terrorism Squad, is the handiwork of a man who wanted to prove to his Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) handlers in Pakistan that he was proficient at orchestrating terror attacks. Bashir
Khan, one of the car-bomb planters in the 1993 serial bomb blasts, has been identified as the man who had planned a fresh spate of terror attacks in Mumbai.
Rashid and Riyaz were put under surveillance for two months after Central security agencies gave inputs to the ATS. One of the conversations intercepted by the ATS involved Ali telling Rashid that they would need to arrange for 25 to 30 litres of pani (their code for kerosene) to set the targets ablaze. Further, Rashid also relayed this to Khan and asked him to send money. “Uski chinta tum mat karo, patte utarva doonga insha’Allah (Don’t worry about that. God willing, I’ll send the money),” responded Khan from Karachi.
Subsequently, Khan sent Rs 12,000 from Pakistan, which was collected by the duo from an unspecified location in Dongri. “We had been following the duo for the past two months and we intercepted conversations not only between Rashid and Ali, but also between Rashid and Khan,” said the source. “They used to talk in code. They called kerosene pani and referred to money as patte,” added the source.
Khan, a maternal uncle of Latif Rashid, one of the two accused arrested by the ATS, was giving instructions to Rashid from Karachi about how to conduct the strikes. On Sunday, the ATS arrested Rashid and Riyaz Ali for allegedly plotting a terror strike at various places in Mumbai, including hitting the ONGC storage tanks in Bandra, Thakkar Mall in Borivali and Mangaldas Market in south Mumbai. According to a senior ATS official, the motive for conducting the attack was that Khan wanted to prove to the ISI that he, too, could conduct terror operations and hence should not be considered useless. “Khan is under tremendous pressure as he is a minuscule cog in the Dawood Ibrahim gang and his bosses had made it very clear that he should leave Pakistan,” said a source, adding “Due to this insecurity, he decided that the best way to get noticed within the gang, and by the ISI, is to conduct terror strikes.” Rashid and Riyaz have told investigators that Khan was not capable of providing arms and ammunition and so he instructed them to set the targets on fire. “The plan was to cause maximum destruction and, secondly, to make the police believe at first that it wasn’t a terror attack,” said the source.
ATS sources said that as of now there was no direct link to any terror outfit like the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba or HuJI. “At present it is very premature to say whether Dawood was aware of this plot. Had he known about it, the arrangements of arms and ammunition would not have been a problem,” said the source.
According to ATS officials, Rashid had been in constant touch with Khan and even his maternal grandmother, Salma Bi, had visited Pakistan recently and stayed at Khan’s house for two years. The reason why Riyaz joined Rashid in the plot was to take revenge against the father of the girl he was in love with.
“One of the targets was the building next to the one where the girl lives. He wanted to prove to her father that he could do anything for love,” said the source. Riyaz also wanted to set up a garment factory and so needed money. Rashid promised him money provided Riyaz helped conduct terror strikes.
Khan, one of the car-bomb planters in the 1993 serial bomb blasts, has been identified as the man who had planned a fresh spate of terror attacks in Mumbai.
Rashid and Riyaz were put under surveillance for two months after Central security agencies gave inputs to the ATS. One of the conversations intercepted by the ATS involved Ali telling Rashid that they would need to arrange for 25 to 30 litres of pani (their code for kerosene) to set the targets ablaze. Further, Rashid also relayed this to Khan and asked him to send money. “Uski chinta tum mat karo, patte utarva doonga insha’Allah (Don’t worry about that. God willing, I’ll send the money),” responded Khan from Karachi.
Subsequently, Khan sent Rs 12,000 from Pakistan, which was collected by the duo from an unspecified location in Dongri. “We had been following the duo for the past two months and we intercepted conversations not only between Rashid and Ali, but also between Rashid and Khan,” said the source. “They used to talk in code. They called kerosene pani and referred to money as patte,” added the source.
Khan, a maternal uncle of Latif Rashid, one of the two accused arrested by the ATS, was giving instructions to Rashid from Karachi about how to conduct the strikes. On Sunday, the ATS arrested Rashid and Riyaz Ali for allegedly plotting a terror strike at various places in Mumbai, including hitting the ONGC storage tanks in Bandra, Thakkar Mall in Borivali and Mangaldas Market in south Mumbai. According to a senior ATS official, the motive for conducting the attack was that Khan wanted to prove to the ISI that he, too, could conduct terror operations and hence should not be considered useless. “Khan is under tremendous pressure as he is a minuscule cog in the Dawood Ibrahim gang and his bosses had made it very clear that he should leave Pakistan,” said a source, adding “Due to this insecurity, he decided that the best way to get noticed within the gang, and by the ISI, is to conduct terror strikes.” Rashid and Riyaz have told investigators that Khan was not capable of providing arms and ammunition and so he instructed them to set the targets on fire. “The plan was to cause maximum destruction and, secondly, to make the police believe at first that it wasn’t a terror attack,” said the source.
ATS sources said that as of now there was no direct link to any terror outfit like the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba or HuJI. “At present it is very premature to say whether Dawood was aware of this plot. Had he known about it, the arrangements of arms and ammunition would not have been a problem,” said the source.
According to ATS officials, Rashid had been in constant touch with Khan and even his maternal grandmother, Salma Bi, had visited Pakistan recently and stayed at Khan’s house for two years. The reason why Riyaz joined Rashid in the plot was to take revenge against the father of the girl he was in love with.
“One of the targets was the building next to the one where the girl lives. He wanted to prove to her father that he could do anything for love,” said the source. Riyaz also wanted to set up a garment factory and so needed money. Rashid promised him money provided Riyaz helped conduct terror strikes.
Jigna Vora
