They nabbed the suspected IM operative, more arrests likely soon

When the police tapped Salman's phone

They nabbed the suspected IM operative, more arrests likely soon

Following the February 13 Pune blast, investigating agencies have stepped up pressure on the Indian Mujahideen (IM). One of the important strategies has been to monitor the phone records of key IM suspects.

And the scheme apparently paid off with the arrest of 21-year-old Salman Ansari, a computer student and alleged IM operative, on March 5. And the security agencies expect more such breakthroughs in the coming days.u00a0 Sources from the intelligence agencies and the police say they have been keeping a track on all terror modules and have been intercepting the calls of key suspects since the attack on German bakery.

Salman was the first IM man to be arrested after the attack. He was tracked through call interception and was later arrested by the UP police near the Nepal border. Salman has been handed over to the Delhi police.

Some intelligence sources said, "It is not clear if IM is behind the Pune blast, but we have been keeping a constant eye on them and also other terror modules. There has always been a watch on suspicious numbers

and call intercepting, but it has become very stringent after the blast. Many such calls are being intercepted and all the agencies have been working to track them."

Salman Ansari, a resident of Azamgarh was wanted since the 2008 attacks in Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Delhi, and had a reward of Rs one lakh on him. Police have also been questioning Salman in connection with the Gorakhpur and Varanasi attacks in 2006.u00a0 His name began to figure among suspects since the Delhi blasts of September 2008. It was the Delhi police who picked up his trail. They wired his name to Uttar Pradesh and other states in December 2008, which led to his arrest.

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