இந்திய முஜாகிதீன் அமைப்பு தலைவர்களை பிடித்ததாக காங்கிரஸ் அரசு அறிவிப்பு

மும்பை போலீஸ் கமிஷனர் ஹாசன் கபூர் இந்தியன் முஜாகிதீன் குழுதலைவர் நிறுவனர் எலோரையும் பிடித்துவிட்டோம் என்று அறிவித்துள்ளார்.

மும்பை போலீஸ் கமிஷனர் ஹாசன் கபூருக்கு வாழ்த்துக்கள்.

Indian Mujahideen founder member caught: Mumbai Police

Zeenews Bureau
Mumbai, Sept 24: Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Wednesday arrested five suspected members of Indian Mujahideen, which claimed responsibility for the serial blasts that rocked Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Delhi, from different parts of the city. The police claimed one of those arrested was a founder member of the group.

The names of the five suspects are: Afzal Mutalib Usmani, Mohammad Sadik Shaikh, Mohammad Aarif Shaikh, Ahmed Zakir Shaikh and Shaikh Mohammad Ansari. Md Sadiq Sheikh is the founder member of Indian Mujahideen along with Atif, who was killed by the Delhi Police in an encounter last week, another person who has not been traced.

While Usmani was arrested in Azamgarh, Saddik has been held in north-east Nehru Nagar in Mumbai, Aarif from north-east Kurla, Ansar from north-east Chembur and Zakir from Bhiwandi in neighbouring Thane district.

The arrest was made three days after the Gujarat, Delhi Police and the ATS launched a joint operation to catch them.

The Mumbai Police Commissioner, Hasan Gaffoor who disclosed the details of the arrests said that this major breakthrough was made possible by the incessant efforts of the Mumbai crime branch in cooperation with the police of other cities as well as Central agencies. He also announced an award of Rs 5 lakh each to the cops involved in the arrests of the alleged terrorists.

The Commissioner revealed that besides 12 kg RDX, the police have recovered a huge cache of ammunition including Ammonium Nitrate rods, detonators and sub machine guns. “All five arrested are members of Indian Mujahideen”, he said.

They were caught with with 10kg of gelatin, 15 detonators, 8kg of ball bearings, electronic circuits, one sub machine gun, a .38 revolver and carbines.

“All five terrorists are originally residents of Azamgarh and they are suspected of stealing the cars used in Ahmedabad blasts. Three of them obtained arms training in a hostile country and the fact cannot be ruled out that the suspects may have a possible connection with LeT,” he said.

The Commissioner refused to comment further on the ‘hostile’ country link of the accused.

He also said that explosives used by them were brought from Karnataka. The Delhi Police had caught a suspect from a University campus in Karnataka in relation with the blasts.

The Commissioner said that the Mumbai Police had been on the tenterhooks throughout Ganesh Utsav as threat level was very high. He cited their catch as a proof that a major terror operation was planned for the city, which was Indian Mujahideen’s target after Delhi.

He gave a short description of the five:

Md Sadiq Sheikh: In his 30s and said to be one of the founding members of Indian Mujahideen, Sadiq was currently based in Bhiwandi, but is a resident of Azamgarh in UP. He is said to have undergone training in a hostile country and was the mastermind who controlled, planned and made arrangements for all the recent blasts.

Afzal Usmani: Aged 32, Afzal is a resident of Azamgarh in UP. He has been arrested for planting bomb at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and for stealing the car which was used in Surat and Ahmedabad blasts. Based in Cheetah camp and a resident of Azamgarh, Afzal is in his 30s and is a software professional. He has also went training in a hostile country in 2004.

Md Zakir: He is 30 years of age and a resident of Azamgarh district. He was currently settled in Cheetah camp of Mumbai. He was a project engineer with a company in Mumbai. He is alleged to have visited ‘hostile’ country twice for training.

Md Arif Sheikh: In his late 30s and a resident of Azamgarh, Arif is currently settled in the Mumbra area and is an electrician by profession. He is trained in a ‘hostile’ country in making explosives and reportedly specializes in circuit based bombs. The police said he is responsible for the making of all bombs used by Indian Mujahideen.

"Arif made the circuits used in the bombs and sent them to Delhi," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria said.

Clues from car thieves

The crackdown on car thieves operating from and around the city following the July 26 serial blasts in Ahmedabad led the Mumbai police to the first of the five Indian Mujahideen (IM) members.

"We had received information from car thieves and others that there was one Afzal Mutalib Usmani who was involved in the theft of cars and based on further information we tracked him to a railway station in Mhau in Uttar Pradesh almost a month ago," a senior crime branch official said.

The crime branch of the city police had begun cracking down on gangs of car thieves after it was revealed that four cars, two used in the July 26 Ahmedabad serial blasts and two found unexploded in Surat, were stolen from Navi Mumbai.

"Afzal was accused in a 1996 attempt to murder case and had nine cases against him including one under MCOCA," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria said.

After nabbing Afzal, the police learnt that he had stolen the cars from Navi Mumbai and planted the car bombs at the Ahmedabad civil hospital and marketplace, officials said.

"After the blasts, Afzal allegedly went with Atif, one of the main members of Indian Mujahideen, and a group of 10 to 12 persons to Delhi," they said.

From Delhi, he travelled to other parts of the country including Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh, before returning to UP, officials said.

Afzal was allegedly close to Roshan Khan, one of the founders and main operatives of IM along with arrested Mohammed Sadik Shaikh and was on a mission based on instructions issued by him, crime branch officials said.

"Afzal who was nabbed in Uttar Pradesh gave details regarding the terrorists who were killed in Delhi and his other accomplices in Mumbai," they said.

The descriptions and details given by Afzal helped police nab the four others of the group from north-east suburbs of the city, officials said.

According to the police, Sadik is one of the core members of IM and was liaisoning with agencies from Pakistan like the Inter Services Intelligence and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba.

One of the other arrested persons Mohammed Arif Shaikh had made bombs used by the group since 2005 and equipment like the gelatine and ammonium nitrate came from a storage centre that Roshan Khan had created in Karnataka, crime branch officials said.

Another member of the group, Mohammed Zakir Shaikh, who is a scrap dealer by profession, was also involved in placing unexploded bombs in the city of Surat.

The police are still on the lookout for other persons who were involved in the theft of cars from Navi Mumbai with Afzal.

’Involvement in almost all attacks since 2005’

The Joint Commissioner of Mumbai Police, Rakesh Maria made some startling revelations about the five.

“These people made their beginning in 2005 and the Varanasi blasts was their first act of terror that killed more than 20. They were also involved in Shramjeevi Express blasts, attacks on courts in Lucknow and Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh, Lumbini Park and Gokul chaat shop in Hyderabad, Gorakhpur blasts, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Surat and Delhi blasts. They also lent support to the 7/11 blasts that shook Mumbai local trains and killed over a hundred persons,” he said.

All of them have worked for the banned outfit SIMI at some or the other point in time, he added.

He went on to say that this is a major dent in the terror network but the police are on the lookout for more suspects. Gaffoor assured the press that the city was safe.