26/11-type threat: Mumbai Crime Branch gives clean chit to 10

A cop at CSMT that was among the places targeted during 26/11. File pic

The Mumbai Crime Branch has found nothing suspicious about 10 people who were named in a WhatsApp message that warned of a 26/11-type attack in the city. As the cops have given a clean chit to the ten, they are trying to find out who is behind the threat message and why he tried to implicate so many people, who are either from Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh or have some connection with it.

As part of their weeklong investigation, sources said, Crime Branch teams visited UP, Haryana and Vasai to question the people who were named in the WhatsApp message. The police found that nine of them belong to Bijnor and only two of them were known to each other. Of the ten, one person was in Haryana and the other in Vasai, though their mobile numbers are from Bijnor only. "We have verified everything but nothing suspicious has been noticed during the interrogation," said a Crime Branch officer.

Also read: 26/11-like attack threat: Switched off numbers worry Mumbai cops

Initially, the police were able to track down only six people. The numbers of the other four are switched off since February. Later, they located those four.

Sources said the police are still keeping a tab on the activities of these people ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi but their primary concern is to locate the person who used a Pakistani number to send the message.

Sources said a certain Anees Ahmed, who also hails from Bijnor and is now in Doha, is suspected to be behind the message. The police are likely to issue a lookout circular against him as he was earlier involved in sending such messages.

The agencies have hit a dead end after they found the IP address of the message was from the UK. They have sought more details from WhatsApp.