In a debate moderated by
TIMES NOW's Editor-in-Chief
Arnab Goswami, panelists -- G Parthasarthy, Fmr
Indian High Commissioner to
Pakistan;
Maroof Raza, Strategic Affairs Analyst;
Maj Gen (Retd)
G D Bakshi, Former
Research Fellow,
IDSA;
Zafar Hilaly, Former Pak
Ambassador to US; Barrister
Zafarullah Khan,
Senior Advocate and
President Watan Party; and Col Bashir
Wali Mohammed, Former, DG, IB, Pakistan -- discuss the issue of IM founder
Yasin Bhatkal's arrest, and whether catching him is significant if Pakistan is not cornered after extracting evidence from him.
Yasin Bhatkal, co-founder of banned terror outfit
Indian Mujahideen, wanted in around 40 blast cases, has been arrested from Indo-Nepal border, in the second prize catch after LeT mastermind
Abdul Karim Tunda in the last fortnight.
On the run for over five years in several countries including
Nepal,
Bangladesh and Pakistan, 30-year-old Yasin was nabbed in a joint operation by intelligence agencies and
Bihar police. He was arrested along with another IM leader Asadulla Akhtar alias 'Haddi'. He hit the spotlight after the
2008 Delhi serial blasts in which 30 people were killed. He was suspected to be the mastermind of these five blasts. During the probe, his role was traced back to 2004 as for allegedly distributing explosive material from
Karnataka. He is also suspected to have played an active role in the
2006 Mumbai serial train blasts that left
187 people dead. Yasin, who hails from
Bhatkal village of
Udupi district in
North Karnataka, is wanted in a string of terror attacks in
Ahmedabad,
Surat,
Bangalore,
Pune,
Delhi and
Hyderabad. It is the second major breakthrough for Indian agencies after the arrest of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda on August 16. Yasin, who is also wanted in the
German Bakery bomb blast in Pune on
February 13,
2010, that left 17 dead, formed IM with his borther
Riaz and associates Riyaz Shahbandri,
Abdul Subhan Qureshi,
Sadiq Israr
Sheikh and gangster-turned terrorist
Amir Reza Khan. The IM, patronised by Pakistan-based LeT, was designated a terrorist group by the government under the
Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in June, 2010. The banned outfit was declared by the US as a
Foreign Terrorist Organisation in
2011. Yasin Bhatkal's name had come up in connection with the explosion outside Delhi HC on
September 7, 2011 in which 12 people were killed. Bhatkal is one of the alleged key conspirators in the Jangli Maharaj road blast in Pune on
August 1 last year. One person was injured in the blast. Bhatkal is also wanted in the 2010 Chinnaswamy stadium blasts in Bangalore. The IM co-founder is also wanted in Ahmedabad blasts (2008) and Surat blast (2008). He is also allegedly involved in blasts in
Jaipur (2008),
Dashashwamedh Ghat in
Varanasi (2010) and in Mumbai (2011). Bhatkal is also a suspect in twin bomb blasts case at Dilshuknagar, Hyderabad early this year. He is wanted by
NIA and state police forces in several cases of terror activities and waging war against the country. Regarding Bhatkal'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.
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- published: 30 Aug 2013
- views: 16377