Mumbai: First came the success and satisfaction of knowing that it had managed to foil a new series of terror attacks in Mumbai. Then came a major dressing-down from the Centre for having shared too much too soon with the public. (
Image Courtesy: Mid-Day.com)
And so it's a considerably more subdued Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) that's now dealing with the fallout of having caught two men on Sunday who were targeting a cloth market, an office of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.
The Ministry for Home Affairs has said in their enthusiasm for revealing what they found, the investigators have damaged the probe.
Most frustrating - that the trail to the Pakistani handler who was allegedly on the phone to the terror suspects has gone cold. Not surprising, though, given that the ATS had announced his code name.
The reprimand came hours after more details were shared by the investigators on Monday morning - that the terror plot was possibly linked to Dawood Ibrahim's gang because its funding came from a hawala chain via Dubai. Also, the Pakistani handler is allegedly a man wanted for the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai, which were masterminded by Dawood. (
Read: Mumbai terror suspects linked to Dawood Ibrahim)
Three more suspects linked to this module are said to be absconding, and the Home Ministry fears the Anti-Terror Squad may have blown its chances of tracking them down. (
Read: Investigating Bashir's terror plan in Gujarat)