Delhi Police investigation on Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Ajaz Sheikh (27), who was arrested from Saharanpur, has revealed that the terror outfit was planning a strike in the national Capital during the upcoming festival season. Investigation revealed that he was the logistics man and hawala router of the banned terrorist organisation, had fled to Nepal after the arrest of Yasin Bhatkal last year and was hiding their since then.
“He was recently asked by his Pakistan-based handlers Riyaz Bhatkal and Mohsin Chowdhary to reach Delhi. He was specifically asked to do break journeys and not to directly go to Delhi in order to avoid being traced. He was instructed to reach the national capital via lucknow, Moradabad and Saharanpur. Ajaz was supposed to get further orders after reaching Delhi,” the official said. Police is now trying to ascertain the people he met during his journey in lucknow and Moradabad. It is also being investigated that where he stayed in these cities and for how many days.
Although Ajaz has claimed that the person(s) he was supposed to meet or what he was supposed to do after reaching Delhi was to be revealed to him only at the last moment, investigators believe that given his role in IM, he was supposed to provide money to some sleeper cell operatives of IM through hawala which could have been used to plan a terror strike in the national Capital. “It is also being investigated that who were his contacts in Saharanpur and Delhi to whom he was supposed to meet,” the official said.
Ajaz has also revealed that his main role was to provide finance to IM operatives which he used to get through foreign money transfers using fake identity cards made by him. In the past he had provided bulk cash to people like Yasin Bhatkal, Tehsin Akhtar, Asadullah Akhtar, alias Haddi, Waqas (all arrested). One of the first tasks entrusted to Sheikh by his Pakistan-based handlers was to assist Yasin Bhatkal in the execution of the German Bakery blasts of February 2010.
In this strike, he facilitated in arranging a mobile handset, SIM card and the rented accommodation near Bharati Vidyapeeth, Pune, which were used by Yasin Bhatkal in fabricating the improvised explosive devices (IED) and executing the blasts.
“A week before the blast, he got a call from Mohsin Chowdhary who told him that he will get a call on a mobile phone which was with Yasin Bhatkal and to do as told over phone. An hour later, he got a call from a PCO and he was asked to come to a hotel where he was given a heavy bag. He came back to their base and handed over the phone and the bag to Bhatkal. This bag contained the explosives which were used in the German Bakery blast,” the official said.
Ajaz has also told his interrogators that he had met Tehsin Akhtar, alias Monu earlier this year and given him Rs1 lakh each twice. He also met Waqas twice, first in Mumbai and then in Kolhapur and also supplied him money.“He also met Asadullah Akhtar, alias Haddi in Pune and gave him Rs1 lakh. All this money was routed through hawala and was used for everyday spending, traveling and logistics,” the official said.