Yasin Bhatkal, one of the co-founder of Indian Mujahideen and a mastermind of several terror attacks in the country founds Azamgarh, besides Dharbhanga as a most favourate hunting ground to look for new recruits to operate its subversive activities.
Though his name only crops up during serial court blasts in the State in November 2007 and that too when IM’s connection in several blasts in Uttar Pradesh surfaced following Batala House encounter and arrests made after it but the investigation agencies here found him to be main brain behind most of the terror activities.
ADG (law and order) RK Vishwakarma on Thursday also claimed that the sleuths of the Anti-Terrorits Squad (ATS) will try to seek police custody remand of Yasin Bhatkal to grill him regarding his involvement in serial blasts at Sankat Mochan Temple and Cantt Railway station besides serial blasts in court compounds. However, the local sleuths would find it very difficult to get most dreaded terrorists remand as sources confirmed that they never brought his name in their case diary or charge-sheet
submitted in the court. Sources confirmed that the local probing agencies avoided to name Yasin Bhatkal as they already opened the case making claims that the above blasts were triggered by the militants of Harkat-ul-Jehade Ismali (HuJI).
Sources said that the sleuths of the ATS which is premiere agency to check terror activities in the State was stunned when after Batala House encounter in Delhi in September 2008, they found that almost terror activities in the State has been executed by IM and the brain behind it was co-founder of the Group, Yasin Bhatkal alias Ahmed
Siddibappa alias Shahrukh along with Riyaz Bhatkal.The then DGP, Vikram Singh, claimed that the arrest of IM member, Mohamed Saif, a native of Sanjarpur in Azamgarh, during Batala House encounter in New Delhi, confirmed that it Atif aka Basheer, who was killed in the above encounter, was the mastermind behind serial blasts in court compound and it was IM member, Arif aka Abdul Qadir, Arij aka Zunaid, Mohammed Saif, Khaleed Mujahid and Shahzad.who executed blasts in lucknow Court, while with Sajid and Chotu aka Salman, planted the bombs in Varanasi, while in Faizabad, it was Shadab aka Malik, who done the job. The other IM militants,who were wanted by Delhi police also played a key role in the blasts here in the State. Interestingly almost of the above hails from Azamgarh and belongs to IM which clearly pointed that Bhatkal’s brother chose Azamgarh to make recruitment for IM and executed terror activities through them in the State.
Not only this, in February 2010 when Shahzad aka Guddu, an active militant of IM who too was carrying a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh, was nabbed by ATS from Khalispur locality of Bilariyaganj in Azamgarh , he revealed that the terror activities in UP has been handiwork of IM and that Atif Ameen, already killed in Batala House encounter was their main commander who worked on directions of Bhatkal brothers. Shahzad, was given the charge of terror operation in North India and was also asked to execute Fidayeen attack at Indian Institute of Technology campuses during counseling session of the students in July 2009. The above time was chosen as a bog crowd of students as well as their parents turned up IITs.
However, this plan was foiled as Atif Ameen, who was to provide all other assistance like, money, weapons and explosive fell prey to bullets of the Special Crime Branch of Delhi police during encounter at Batala House in September 2008. He also revealed at that time that Sadiq Sheikh has been given incharge of Mumbai terror module by Bhatkal brothers. Shahzad also disclosed that for fidayeen attack Bhatkal brothers selected youngsters from Azamgarh and they left for Pakistan through sea route after hiding themselves in containers. These IMs recruits were given fidayeen training by laskar-e-Taiba commanders in Pakistan but the entire plan was foiled after Batala House encounter.
Shahzad’s confession was later on corroborated when another key IM militant Salman aka Chotu was held here by ATS before he was handed over to Delhi police. Chotu was involved in serial bomb blasts case reported from Varanasi, Gorakhpur in 2007. He was also involved in serial blasts at Jaipur, Ahmedabad, New Delhi and had returned from Pakistan when he was nabbed. Chotu too revealed that Bhatkal brothers including Yasin were main brain behind terror activities in the country which included attacks in UP also and that most of Bhatkal’s team members are from Azamgarh. Besides Chotu, another IM member, Arif aka Abdul Qadir aka Zaheed, held from Khadra at lucknow on September 29, 2008, who planted bomb at lucknow Court on November 23 serial blasts, and also involved in serial blasts at Ahmedabad also revealed that how youths from Azamgarh were recruited and sent to Pakistan for militant training in Pakistan by Bhatkal brothers.