Did ATS say too much, too soon?

Vishwa Mohan, TNN, Mar 16, 2010, 02.24am IST

NEW DELHI: A senior ISI official plotting terror attacks against India went under the radar hours after Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) went public with Intelligence Bureau’s finding that an ‘Uncle’ based in Karachi had drawn an elaborate plan to use Lashkar foot soldiers to target BARC, ONGC installations and other high value targets in Mumbai.

Central authorities were upset with the indiscretion of ATS chief K P Raghuvanshi in declaring to the world that the arrest of two alleged terrorists in Mumbai on Saturday night was facilitated by IB managing to intercept their conversations with ‘Uncle’.

“Uncle (his phone call) is no more (sic)... the ATS sung a lot about its operation and this has not only alerted ‘Uncle’ who had been talking to the terror duo but also sent other terror modules in the state into deep hiding,” a senior official said.

The disclosure by ATS about the terror duo’s — Abdul Latif alias Guddu and his brother-in-law Riraz Ali alias Rehan— constant calls to someone called ‘Uncle’ has caused a lot of heartburn among central agencies here, forcing the home ministry to pull up the elite squad asking it “to keep quiet and better concentrate on its job”.

The duo was arrested by the ATS on Saturday night near Matunga railway station and the police claimed that both Latif and Ali, residents of Bandra and Dahisar areas in Mumbai respectively, were planning to carry out terror strikes on ONGC installations, Thakkar Mall and Mangaldas market in the city.

“Preliminary probe suggested the duo was getting instructions from someone called ‘Uncle’ from Pakistan to execute their activities,” ATS chief K P Raghuvanshi had reportedly told the media on Sunday while announcing their arrests.

Officials here lamented that the revelation of Uncle’s role was a “real hit on the head for us”.

Asked whether the two arrested militants in Mumbai were on a reconnaissance mission or were planning to hit a target, the official — while terming them as “big catch” — said the two men were working with a specific plan to hit some target.

He, however, admitted that their arrest had become necessary as they were about to hit their targets “very” shortly.

“Since the agencies here had been keeping track of their movements/plan and phone calls from Karachi, the Centre had alerted ONGC as well as Maharashtra government accordingly. More specific alert had been sent to the state and the oil company 10 days before the arrest,” said the official.......http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTAvMDMvMTYjQXIwMDkwMQ==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom