TNN

New Delhi, Sep 26: The Centre has taken the first step towards banning the Indian Mujahideen - which has claimed responsibility for the serial bombings in Varanasi, Faizabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Delhi - by asking states to share all the details about the outfit emerging during the ongoing probe.

The move is a part of an exercise initiated recently to collect evidence against four of SIMI's national level fronts - Tahreek-e-Ehyaa-e-Ummat (TEU), Tehreek-Talaba-e-Arabia (TTA), Tehrik Tahaffuz-e-Sha'aire Islam (TTSI) and Wahadat-e-Islami - which have so far not been banned in the absence of "concrete evidence".

"Since the IM is believed to be a hardline splinter of SIMI, it is important to get all the details about the outfit before making a complete dossier, an essential prerequisite before banning any outfit," said a senior home ministry official, adding the ongoing investigation has, so far, only thrown up sketchy details.

The recent claims made by both the Delhi and Mumbai Police have pinpointed the IM's command in the hand of the Pakistan-based banned outfit LeT which through one of its commanders, Abu Al Qama, has not only been managing the new outfit but also acting as a vital link between both IM and SIMI for carrying out operations in India.

"These are the preliminary findings which need to be corroborated by more concrete evidence in due course. The home ministry has been in touch with states before imposing a ban on the outfit," said the official.

Currently, both LeT and SIMI are two of the 34 terrorist organizations banned under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967. Though LeT is banned in Pakistan as well, the outfit is still active there, with all its infrastructure intact, through its front, Jammat-ud-Dawa.

The security agencies here are looking for details whether SIMI too is similarly working in India through its 50 fronts. The mystery, officials believe, will be unravelled only after the home ministry's current move on seeking details of all these fronts. While four out of SIMI's 50 fronts are currently operating at the national level, the remaining 46 are active in eight different states.

Security agencies suspect that all these fronts "are being used for carrying out SIMI's activities, including collection of funds, circulation of literature and regrouping of cadres". Twenty-three out of the 46 outfits are active in Kerala followed by eight in Maharashtra, seven in West Bengal, three in Bihar, two in Uttar Pradesh and one each in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Delhi.

Though some of them are put under the list of banned outfits by the respective states, most of these organizations have been working without any restrictions.