Despite the arrest of suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (Let) operative Mirza Himayat Baig and another suspect for their alleged involvement in the German Bakery blast, there has not been much headway in the investigations.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which arrested Baig (29), a native of Beed in September 2010, has submitted a chargesheet against him in the special court of additional sessions judge in Pune. Another suspect Mohammed Qateel Siddiqi alias Sajjan alias Sajan alias Javed alias Shahjada Salim was arrested in Delhi. However, none of the six suspects named in the chargesheet have been arrested yet.
Among those who are yet to be arrested are the ones who masterminded the blasts and planted the bomb. The chargesheet that was submitted to the court on April 12, 2010, says that Baig was arrested by the ATS near Pul Gate in Pune on September 7, 2010, and that 1,200 kg of explosives were recovered from him.
Besides Baig and Qateel, the chargesheet names Mohsin Choudhary, Yasin Bhatkal, Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal, Faiyaz Kagzi and Zabiuddin Ansari.
Here are the thumb sketches of the suspects:
Yasin Bhatkal (28) is a resident of Bhatkal in Karwar, Karnataka. He is said to be the main conspirator of July 13, 2011, triple blasts in Mumbai. He managed to escape when the Delhi police arrested six alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives from different parts of the country in November 2011. Well-versed in Urdu, Kannada and Nawayath; Yasin holds a passport issued from Bangalore in 1983 which is valid till 2013. Yasin was under the scanner over his suspected links with the IM even before the German Bakery blast took place.
Mohsin Ismail Choudhary (35) is a resident of Manisha Apartment, Mithanagar in Kondhwa. He has been on the radar ever since the IM media module was busted in June, 2010. Mohsin was close to Iqbal Bhatkal, brother of Riyaz. His name is also linked to IM co-founder Mohammed Israr Sadiq Ahmed Sheikh.
Riyaz Shahbhandri and Iqbal Shahbhandri:
Born in 1976, Riyaz alias Roshan is a resident of Bhatkal in Karwar, Karnataka. Riyaz, whose real name is Roshan Khan, is alleged to be a co-founder of the Indian Mujahideen (IM). He is suspected to have links with the Mumbai underworld, especially the Fazlu Rehman gang. Interrogations of some arrested IM members reveal that Riyaz Bhatkal was a key LeT operative in South India who had planned the Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and New Delhi serial blasts.
Riyaz and his brother Iqbal are being held responsible for at least 11 blasts across India since 2005.
Riyaz, who stayed in Dubai for a considerable amount of time, is said to have shifted base to Pakistan at the insistence of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and has become a part of the Karachi Project. Riyaz and his brother Iqbal are suspected to have masterminded the German Bakery blast while sitting abroad.
Faiyaz Zulfikar Ahmad and Sayyad Zabiuddin Ansari:
Faiyaz is a resident of Beed. The chargesheet says Kagzi and Ansari were associated with Baig for a long time. On May 9, 2006, a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including 16 AK-47 rifles, 3,200 live cartridges, 43 kg of RDX and 50 live grenades, along with other such items, were seized from them during transit, but the duo managed to escape.
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