Despite arrests, Simi networks are intact

For an organisation that has emerged as the cat's paw of Pakistan's efforts to "indegenise'' its covert operations in India, including deadly terror strikes against civilian targets, not much is known about Students Islamic Movement of India's networks and organisational bases throughout the country.
With a strength estimated at around 20,000 foot soldiers or adherents, a section of Simi's top leadership, including its general secretary and top ideologue Safdar Nagori, was immobilised in a raid in Indore in March this year. The arrests of Nagori and 10 associates was seen as a significant blow to the organisation and their interrogation was expected to yield some detail on the 7/11 bombings.
But, as the incidents in Bangalore and Ahmedabad establish, Simi networks do not seem to have been significantly disrupted and their links with groups like Harkat ul Jihad-IIslami (HuJI) are sufficiently intact to stage big strikes. As the arrest and interrogation of various Simi members since 2001 has shown, several activists have travelled to Pakistan to receive training under the eye of ISI.
Simi's collaboration with the arm of HuJI based in Bangladesh has been significant. Identified by CIA as HuJI-B, the Bangladesh-based group has become a major agent for planning and staging attacks in India. And from being mere foot soldiers providing local statistics, Simi men are moving up the terror chain, increasingly involved in planning and execution.
Indian agencies have recently noted that Pakistan's dependence on Simi is growing. The organisation is part of ISI's plans to make the jihad in India more local so that the use of Pakistani nationals is kept at a minimum. This allows Pakistan to point to home-grown militants being India's "responsibility'' and counter the charge that it is the fount of terrorism in South Asia. These arguments are not likely to impress the international community as long as Pakistan's role in destablising Afghanistan is apparent, but it helps Islamabad deny links to terror groups.
Simi has been long influenced by a vision of an Islamic state where there is a unity of political and religious states. Nagori has repeatedly held Osama bin Laden as the ideal "mujahid'' and the organisation, as do Taliban and al Qaida adherents, finds democracy and elections to be anathema. Inspired by Maulana Maududi's vision of an Islamic state, Simi remained wedded to "reinstatement'' of the Caliphate. It is ironic that Maududi himself died in Pakistan, frustrated at being unable to realize his vision of an Islamic state. It is no surprise that Simi sees 9/11 as a Mossad plot.
From a theological affiliation to the Deobandi school --many of its activists like members of Jamaat-i-Islami al-Hind are alumni of the famous seminary -- the shift to violent jihad has been quite seamless. A widening circle of influence, funded by Saudi money, has seen Simi develop wide-ranging foreign contacts. The HuJI launch pads are useful as retreats while targets are chosen and assessed by handlers based in Pakistan. Sometimes there is a specific urgency as was evident before the October 29, 2005 Delhi blasts to stage a "big show''.
Simi's founder Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi reportedly once opposed the visit of PLO leader Yasser Arafat for being a "western puppet". Siddiqi was upset at Arafat's straying from his Islamic roots and sought to organize street protests. The radical elements of Simi make-up were never too far from the surface. Siddiqi has claimed that Simi "has been hijacked by elements in other countries'' and is completely different than the group he established.
But there is no denying that Simi has been inspired what it sees as Maududi's goal to make Islam the supreme organising principle for social, religious and political life.
Missing bombs worry cops: Are some unexploded bombs tucked away in some corners of the city? The suspicion has only strengthened in Ahmedabad after 18 bombs found in Surat on Tuesday failed to fire. Ahmedabad saw 19 explosions on Saturday. Subsequently, two unexploded bombs were found in the city with numbers '23' and '24' written on them. Significantly, none of Surat bombs had numbers, even though they were similar in nature, except for the absence of timer devices. It is believed that all the bombs that exploded in Ahmedabad must have also been numbered. Some spots like Hatkeshwar circle and Civil Hospital saw twin explosions in quick succession. TNN PROTECTIVE SHIELD
You have seen them in action for the last four days. TOI gets beneath the special suit that personnel of bomb disposal squad wear
Ahmedabad police have two pairs of ‘Explosive Ordnance Disposal’ suits. This is used by the bomb disposal team for situations like presence of tiffin bombs, high explosives, hand grenade
Made in China, the suits were purchased by the city police 10 years ago. The team has acquired newer equipment over the years as per field research
The suit weighs around 12.8 to 15 kg, along with equipment
It takes about 15 minutes to wear or remove the entire suit
There is a team of seven persons but, most of the time, just one or two persons do the most dangerous job -- removing the bomb and putting it into a carbon sheet to dispose it in a barren area
The basic material used is carbon fibre. The breast plate is the toughest part where hard carbon plates are studded in the cover
The vulnerable areas are joints where plating is not possible. However, officials believe that most of the time, they can sense the danger while disposing a bomb

Some of the Simi leaders who were in Indore In March