Mumbai triple blasts suspects still at large

The investigation is being conducted by teams of the Mumbai Police, Maharashtra’s Criminal Investigation Department, the National Investigation Agency and others, with support from the local security agencies in several states.

Though the investigations span Mumbai, other parts of Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, West Bengal, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, so far police have only succeeded in making the sketch of a suspect, based on an eyewitness account.

The triple blasts shook the country's diamond and gold hubs—Opera House and Zaverai Bazar—besides the busy commercial area of Dadar west. “We are on the stupendous job of checking the details of individuals in each frame on CCTVs installed around the blast sites, but progress has been slow so far,” a senior Mumbai Police officer said.

“Teams have fanned out to different parts of Maharashtra and other cities in the country,” he added.

Confounding the investigators is the fact that so far no group has claimed responsibility for the blasts. A suspect, Faiz Usmani, died after he was questioned by police. Faiz, 42, was the elder brother of Afzal Usmani, an Indian Mujahiddeen operative and a prime accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad terror attacks.

Though Faiz died of medical complications, his family members cried foul, blaming police for his death, prompting the state government to immediately order an inquiry into the matter.

“The investigations are proceeding in a certain direction and we are confident of a breakthrough soon,” state Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Rakesh Maria told mediapersons in late July.