The Bangalore serial blasts case has been cracked.
Seven months after the terrorists attack on the city, the Anti Terrorist Cell has revealed that the serial blasts of July 25, 2008, were carried out by associates of key Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative Riaz Bhatkal, who continues to remain elusive.
Investigating agencies have in their custody nine persons, including a father-son duo. The four men in the custody of the police are Mohammad Sami, Safrudeen, his father Abdul Sattar, Munaaf, Zakaria Abdul Jaleel, Muhammad Faizal, Mujeeb and Badaruddin. Eight of the arrested men hail from different parts of Kerala while Sami hails from Bijapur in north Karnataka.
ATC sources told rediff.com that all the arrested persons are associated with Bhatkal and Tauqeer alias Abdul Subhan -- the techie who is considered to be instrumental in setting up the tech wing of the Students Islamic Movement of India.
Explaining the manner in which the blasts were carried out, the ATC said that these men from Kerala had planted the bombs by disguising themselves as labourers.
Addressing a press conference in Bangalore on Saturday, Police Commissioner Shankar Bidri told media persons that the intention was create havoc and also a sensation.
These youth are misguided and belong to a terror module in Kerala, he added.
How the plot was revealed:
The entire plot was unveiled following the statements of Abdul Sattar, whose custody the Bangalore police got from Hyderabad. Sattar was arrested by Hyderabad Police on January 19. The custody of the rest of the accused was sought from the Kerala Police.
During the interrogation, it was revealed that all the accused belonged to a terror module run by the Lashkar in Kerala.
Sattar, who is an electronics engineer, said he had expertise in preparing bombs. It was he who fitted the bombs with the timer devices, which were finally used in the Bangalore blasts.
Bhatkal and Tauqeer ordered the module to carry out the blasts. Sattar was told to send his son and others to Bangalore to plant the bombs. The accused reached Bangalore in a Scorpio vehicle. They then disguised themselves as labourers and planted nine bombs in different places. One person was killed in the blasts.
Sattar also confirmed the statement given by Sami, who had earlier said that Tauqueer had played a major role in the blasts. Tauqueer was present in Bangalore at the time of the blasts and supervised the operation, he also said.
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