Maha ATS chief upset over leakage of info on blast probe

Maharashtra ATS chief Rakesh Maria is apparently upset over the leakage of information about the operation to nab three suspects involved in 13/7 bomb blasts who had stayed in Byculla till December.

The ATS chief expressed his unhappiness during a meeting with state Home Department officials recently following media reports about three terror suspects who had stayed in a rented flat at Habib apartment in Byculla before escaping.

"Yes, he (Maria) is very upset with the leakage... During the meeting, he repeatedly stated that his team did not leak the information. Maria said Delhi police has done this (leaking information about the operation to media)," a police official said.

The Delhi police, investigating the Delhi High Court blast, had reportedly camped in Mumbai over the last few weeks and chasing the suspects who were involved in a series of blasts including the one in Delhi High Court.

Maria was miffed so much that he even switched off his phone since Monday when the news reports about the suspects appeared in media, the officer added. Among the three suspects involved in last year's triple blasts, one was believed to be Yasin Bhatkal, a key Indian Mujahideen operative whose flat has been seized by the ATS.

According to one Waqar Quereshi, who stays near Habib Building, three persons introducing themselves as Imran, Tarbez and Waqqas had rented the premises about eight months ago and stayed there till the last week of December.

"Sultan Khan, a real estate broker, had introduced the three to Rubina, the widow who owns the flat on the third floor. The three claimed that they were call centre employees and belonged to Bihar," Quereshi said.

"However, in December, they left the house and never returned," he said. According to media reports, the person who called himself as Imran was believed to be Yasin Bhatkal, the fugitive IM operative suspected to have masterminded the Mumbai blasts and the Delhi High Court blast last year. His two companions were said to be Pakistani nationals.