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That's what is troubling investigators probing David Headley's involvement in Pune's blast
Investigators are having a hard time connecting David Coleman Headley, who had conducted a recce of the Osho ashram and the nearby area, to the Pune blast.
That's because he surveyed it back in 2008, and the German Bakery blast took place two years later, in 2010, after his arrest. An official from Pune said, "It is clear that Headley had stayed in the area and carried out a recce. But if he were actually behind the blast, it would have happened long ago. We are trying to determine if he had started any sleeper cells or passed on the details to his bosses."
A top Mumbai police officer said, "Headley is not a bomber. He was sent to India to conduct a survey, and establish sleeper cells. The sleeper cells would conduct the recce, and provide the necessary information to carry out an operation. Investigators also believe that the Osho ashram would have been the target if Headley were behind the blast, as he had conducted a recce there."
| Mahashivratri alert |
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Similar to the 26/11 attacks, the police had inputs about attacks being planned in Pune and Nashik during Mahashivratri, though there was no specific information about the targets. Since Headley's arrest, security was beefed up in various parts of the country, especially at places where he had conducted recces.
The Intelligence Bureau had arrested Muhammad Amjad alias Khwaja, chief of the south India operations of the Harkat-ul-Jihadi-Islami (HuJI), a Bangladeshi militant outfit, in January. He was picked up for playing a part in the 2007 Hyderabad twin blasts. Khwaja reportedly told investigators about attacks being planned in Pune and Nashik. Apart from HuJI, he reportedly had links with Laskar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and the ISI. | | 
