20 April,2009 05:43 PM IST | | PTI
The turf war between the two elite police wings of Mumbai - Crime Branch and Anti-Terrorist Squad - has come into open with the ATS picking holes in the claim by the crime sleuths that Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Sadiq Isar Sheikh was involved in the 7/11 serial train blasts.
Sheikh, arrested by the Mumbai's Crime Branch last year for allegedly masterminding the serial train blasts, was questioned by the ATS, which is probing the 7/11 blasts case, and was also subjected to series of scientific tests after which he was cleared of his involvement.
"We have conducted thorough investigations. There's no link between Sheikh and 7/11," ATS Additional Commissioner of Police Parambir Singh said here on Monday.
The police official said the 31-year-old Sheikh was also subject to scientific tests, which show that there was no involvement between him and those who had perpetrated the gruesome train blasts on July 11, 2006 in which over 200 people were killed.
"On the next date of hearing (April 28), we will inform the court and seek his discharge from the 7/11 case," he said.
The ATS findings has left the elite crime branch sleuths red-faced who had gone to town with his involvement as the mastermind in the serial train blasts besides being a co-founder of Indian Mujahideen.
