ATS confirms LeT man’s links to 2006 arms haul

TERROR TRAIL: Yusuf alias Salim alias Aslam Kashmiri was arrested by New Delhi police on August 25, 2009 with two packets of sweets containing chemical explosives, 4 detonators and 2 timers

Mateen Hafeez I TNN
Mumbai: A two-member Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) team that questioned arrested Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Salim alias Yusuf alias Aslam Kashmiri confirmed that they had established his role in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case in Maharashtra.
The Mumbai Crime Branch said it would also question Aslam in connection with the 26/11 investigation.

The Aurangabad arms haul mastermind, Zabihuddin Ansari alias Zaby, had managed to escape when the ATS was on his trail three years ago. According to ATS officials, Aslam Kashmiri, who was suspected to have smuggled some weapons into India and delivered them to Zaby, could be the same accused who is wanted in an ATS case in Maharashtra.

Aslam, during his interrogation, said he underwent training in a Pakistani camp two years ago and had met banned outfit Jamat-ud-Dawa’s (JuD) top leaders, including Zarar Shah and Zakiur-Rehman Lakhvi.

“We mentioned Aslam Kashmiri as a wanted accused in the arms haul charge sheet,’’ ATS chief and additional director-general of police Krish Pal Raghuvanshi said.

Aslam, who ATS officials said could be Aslam Kashmiri, was arrested in the capital by the New Delhi Police’s special cell on August 25. The special cell, Delhi’s anti-terror wing, claimed to have seized an Amritsar-to-Nanded railway ticket, two packets of sweets containing chemical explosives, four detonators and two timers from Aslam.

“It’s too early to say anything about his involvement in other cases,’’ said P N Aggrawal, joint commissioner of police, special cell. The special cell claimed that two of Aslam’s associates dodged the police and managed to escape on Tuesday.

“We are looking at all the angles to find out if Aslam could be brought to Mumbai for a detailed interrogation,’’ said ATS additional commissioner Param Bir Singh.

Mumbai Crime Branch’s joint commissioner Rakesh Maria said: “If he (Aslam) has met Zarar Shah and Lakhvi during his training in Pakistan, we will definitely question him as |the two Pakistanis are prime conspirators in our 26/11 case.’’

The Times of India, August 28, 2009