ATS connecting dots to Abu Jundal links before arrest

PUNE: The Anti-Terrorism Squad's (ATS) Pune unit is still to arrest Zabiuddin Ansari, alias Abu Jundal, for his role in the German Bakery blast even though he was deported from Saudi Arabia to India two years ago. Police officials said they are collecting evidence against him in the case.
Jundal is currently lodged in Arthur Road jail in Mumbai. ATS sources told TOI that Jundal has been arrested in the Aurangabad arms haul case, apart from several othersand many other cases.
"Jundal had conspired with Fayyaz Kagzi alias Zulfikar Fayyaz Ahmed and Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig in Colombo in March 2008 when plans to carry out for diabolic design to cause terrorist activities in India were finalized. While Baig was arrested and sentenced to death by the Pune court in 2013, we are still looking for Fayyaz. We want to confront and interrogate him and Jundal together since they have imparted training to Baig about assembling a bomb for an explosion," an ATS source said.
An explosion on February 13, 2010, had killed 17 people and injured 64 others in the eatery in Koregaon Park. Jundal is suspected to have worked as a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) handler in the 26/11 attack in Mumbai. Other arrested and absconding suspects are members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and LeT.
On why Jundal was not arrested,
Assistant commissioner of police Bhanupratap Barge of the Pune unit of ATS, who is investigating the bakery case against the absconding suspects, told TOI on Friday that Jundal's arrest was on hold in the blast case since his team is in the process of collecting more evidence against him before filing a supplementary chargesheet against him under sections of the Indian Penal Code, Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
"Jundal and 21 other suspects are facing trial in the Aurangabad arms haul case. We will take a call on arresting him as soon as possible after consulting senior ATS officials," Barge added.
According to the chargesheet in the blast case, read Jundal, Fayyaz and Baig, who were residents of Beed, are old friends. The trio had gone absconding after a huge cache of arms and ammunition like 16 AK-47 rifles, 3,200 live cartridges, 43 kg RDX, 50 live grenades and other articles were seized in 2006.
Baig was arrested on September 7, 2009, while Jundal was deported to India on May 27, 2013. However, even after remaining in the custody of police agencies in various cases, the ATS has not arrested him for his involvement in the German Bakery blast case even though the issue is discussed by at senior police officials level time and again.
The main suspect, Mohammed Ahmed Sidibappa, alias Yasin Bhatkal, who had allegedly planted the bomb in the bakery, was arrested by the on March 13, 2014. A supplementary chargesheet was filed against Bhatkal on August 6 the same year.
The chargesheet stated Jundal and Kagzi had given money to Baig to fund the purchase of explosive devices as well as to fund the travel of indoctrinated Muslim youths who wanted to are desirous of undergoing terrorist training in Pakistan.
"We have obtained standing non-bailable warrants to arresting suspects on-the-run after their names came to light during the course of investigation. We have obtained an order from a magisterial court to for declareing them as proclaimed offenders. Our teams have been sent to We have fanned teams various places to arrest them whenever any information about them is received. We have also sought taken help of police agencies to arrest them. Barring Baig, Jundal and the main suspect Mohammed Ahmed Sidibappa alias Yasin Bhatkal, the whereabouts of the others are not known," the ATS officials added.