Mulund blast accused was paid Rs 4 lakh for operation

USED THE MONEY TO SET UP BIZ

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: Mulund blast accused, Wajhul Qamar Khan alias Murtuza Chaudhry alias Babu Bhai (44), was paid the maximum amount of Rs 4 lakh to engineer the 2003 train blast, which killed 11 people and left 82 injured. Khan was paid the entire amount before the blast. He later used this money to set up his own business.

According to anti-terrorism squad chief, Rakesh Maria, Khan was arrested on May 10 from LBS Marg in Kurla. There were reports that Khan had an account in the State Bank of India. Between February 2002 and March 2003, money was deposited in Khan’s account four times. “However, he told his mentors that he had used it for terror purpose only,’’ an officer said. Khan will remain in police custody till May 20.

Investigators said that after the blast on March 13, 2002, Khan fled to Uttar Pradesh and then to Madhya Pradesh. “He started an embroidery unit in Dharavi in 2006 and currently stays in Thane with his wife and five children,’’ said Maria. He stated that a Pota court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Khan. “He has five employees working in his shop. It is difficult to believe that such a workaholic man took part in a bomb blast conspiracy. However, we are gathering evidence against him,’’ said an officer.

Khan was not the only suspect to be paid money for the blast. Maria, while probing the Mulund blast case as additional commissioner of police in 2003, had said that all the members of this group were paid between Rs 5,000 and Rs 50,000 for “various jobs’’.

The Times of India, May 13, 2010