New Delhi: Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, arrested from the Indo-Nepal border, was among the “principal conspirators” and “executors” of various terror attacks in India, according to National Investigation Agency (NIA).
30-year-old Yasin, who was earlier associated with banned outfit Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), entered into a conspiracy with others to wage war against India and formed IM in 2003 when “certain ultra radicalised youth segregated themselves from SIMI” after “communal mobilisation”, NIA said in its charge sheet filed in a Delhi court last month.
The charge sheet was filed in July against five suspected operatives of IM for their alleged involvement in hatching a conspiracy to carry out terror strikes in the country. It said IM was formed in the aftermath of “communal mobilisation caused due to factors like the Babri Masjid demolition incident (1992) and the riots in Gujarat after the Godhra incident (2002).”
It said Yasin, along with Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal, decided to “form a new terrorist organisation called the IM to carry out terrorist attacks in different parts of India with a view to terrorising the Indian citizens, especially the majority community...”
NIA also said Yasin was “instrumental” in making efforts to motivate young boys on the path of ‘jehad' to indoctrinate them and gradually induct them into IM, while staying in his home town of Bhatkal in Karnataka.
It said the identity of some IM operatives was first disclosed after the Batla House encounter here on September 19, 2008 and Yasin was looking for a safe hideout after the incident.
“Yasin Bhatkal was trying to escape the clutches of law in the wake of exposure of identities of the operatives of the IM after the Batla House encounter...,” NIA said, adding that after the encounter, Yasin regularly met other conspirators at his hideout in Shaheen Bagh here.
Detailing the terror attacks carried out by IM, which was banned on June 22, 2009, NIA said IM was involved in November 23, 2007 blasts in the courts of Varanasi, Faizabad and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi blast of March 7, 2006, Mumbai serial blasts of July 11, 2006 and Hyderabad twin blasts of August 25, 2007.
Besides this, Jaipur blast of May 13, 2008, Ahmedabad serial blasts of July 26, 2008, September 13, 2008 serial blasts in Delhi, Pune's German Bakery blast in February 2010, Chinnaswami stadium blast in Bangalore on April 17, 2010 and Mumbai serial blasts of July 13, 2011 were carried out by IM, NIA said.
Regarding Yasin's role, NIA said he, along with other conspirators, developed different modules and sleeper cells in Delhi, Darbhanga in Bihar, Nanded, Mumbai, Pune, Bhatkal in Karnataka and Hyderabad.
It also said Yasin had contacted several students of Anjuman Engineering College in Bhatkal to motivate them in the name of ‘jehad'.
NIA also said IM operatives and its frontal organisations are receiving regular funding from abroad to finance their terror activities and the outfit was “assisted” by Pakistan-based handlers.
The 42-page charge sheet named arrested accused Mohammad Danish Ansari, Mohammad Aftab Alam, Imran Khan, Syed Maqbool and Obaid-Ur-Rehman under various penal provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the IPC relating to conspiracy to commit certain offences against the state.
Besides them, names of 12 top IM members—Yasin, Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal, Mohsin Choudhary, Amir Reza Khan, Tahsin Akhtar, Shahnawaz Alam, Asadullah Akhtar, Ariz Khan, Mohd Sajid, Mohd Khalid and Mirza Shadab Beg—are mentioned in the charge sheet as absconders.
The special NIA court had earlier issued non-bailable warrants against them.
