Varanasi bomb blast: Terror email sent from Mumbai

Varanasi:  The terror email claiming responsibility for the blast in Varanasi on Tuesday has been traced to an unsecured Wi-Fi in Navi Mumbai. 

The email was sent from an ID that belongs to a little known group called Al-Fateh, possibly a front used by the Indian Mujahideen (IM) to mislead investigators. 

Police have traced the internet protocol ID of the email. The email address was used only twice earlier. Sources also say that the investigators have found that the email, sent to some media organisations, was written on December 6. 

A baby girl was killed and at least 25 people were injured in the blast at Sheetla Ghat in Varanasi on Tuesday. A railing collapsed in a stampede that followed the blast, contributing to the injuries. The explosion at Sheetla Ghat, near the main ghat where daily aarti or prayers are offered, took place at about 6:25 pm in the evening just as the aarti ended. Thousands of devotees and tourists had assembled at the ghat for the Ganga arti. 

Police in Uttar Pradesh have begun patrolling communally sensitive towns and cities in the state. Police sources say two people were questioned in connection with the blast. They have now been released. The Union Home Ministry has also sounded a nationwide alert with special stress on four major cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad - in wake of the blast. 

A team of forensic experts collected samples from the blast site on Tuesday night and found traces of Ammonium Nitrate. Sources say the explosive indicates a possible Indian Mujahideen involvement in the blast. It is still, however, not clear whether the device used was sophisticated or a crude one. The Home Ministry has, however, said it was a low to medium intensity blast, which explains the low number of casualties. Home Minister P Chidambaram will visit the blast site today.

Karamvir Singh, the state's Director General of Police, reached Varanasi late Tuesday night. He said preliminary investigation suggests the explosive was kept in the wall between two ghats. He also said the police is taking the Indian Mujahideen e-mail seriously and following up all leads. 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati also visited the blast site late in the night. "We will request the Centre to provide us with Special Force to tackle such incidents in the future and ensure that such incidents don't take place. We will request the Centre to provide us with similar security arrangements made after 26/11 in Mumbai," she said.

In the last two years, a number of emails from terrorists have been traced to Mumbai:

EARLIER EMAILS TRACED TO MUMBAI

·         Sep 2010: Indian Mujahideen e-mail claiming responsibility for Jama Masjid firing

·         Sep 2008: IM e-mail claiming responsibility for Delhi bombings traced to Chembur

·         Aug 2008: IM e-mail, mocking probe into Ahmedabad serial blasts, traced to Khalsa College in Matunga

·         July 2008: E-mail sent minutes before Ahmedabad blasts traced to US citizen's flat in Navi Mumbai