‘I did not sleep for 60 hrs during 26/11’

Jundal Guided Attackers Over Telephone

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, who is being questioned for his involvement in the 26/11 terror attacks in the city, told police that he did not sleep for 60 hours while handling operations from November 26, 2008. Jundal was continuously in touch with the Pakistani terrorists over the phone and guided them on how to go about the operations. 

 
    Niket Kaushik, additional commissioner of police (crime branch), said Jundal, who followed the Hanfi sect, began with the Ahle Hadees sect in 2003. “In 2005, he began getting training in terror operations. He got in touch with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) through Aslam Kashmiri. Jundal was introduced to Kashmiri through another accused, Aamir Shaikh, from Aurangabad,” said Kaushik. Shaikh and Kashmiri are in jail now. 

 
    Jundal told investigators that the final touches for the 26/11 operation were given four months prior to the attack. “I did not sleep during the operation. I was entrusted with handling the gunmen in Mumbai,” he told police. Jundal said he visited Nepal in 2005 and attended a meeting of LeT sympathizers. In 2006, after reaching Pakistan, he met militants in camps there. “Jundal had easy access to Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan. Jundal underwent terror training twice,” said Kaushik, contradicting the Delhi police special cell’s claim that he never underwent training as he was suffering from back pain.
 

Observes fast in lock-up, unlike Kasab
    Abu Jundal is observing roza (fast) in the crime branch lock-up. “He told us he wants to observe a fast and adequate arrangements be made for him to have saheri (food at dawn) and iftaar to break his fast. We have agreed and made adequate arrangements,” said crime branch officer Niket Kaushik. However, another terrorist, Ajmal Kasab, who was convicted in the 26/11 case, does not fast at the Arthur Road jail, police officials said. Jundal has been kept on the second floor of the lock-up. “There is no one (else) on that floor. He wakes up at 3.30 am and has his saheri. Later, he offers prayers,” said an officer. For iftaar, crime branch sleuths get him fruits, juice and other food. He breaks his fast after sunset. 

 

 

The Times of India, July 24, 2012

‘26/11 was hatched across 5 nations’

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The interrogation of Zabihuddin Ansari, alias Abu Jundal, by the Delhi police’s special cell and central agencies has shown that the 26/11 suspects operated out of several countries.
 

    The police believe that the conspiracy was meticulously executed in Pakistan, the US, Italy, Spain and Thailand. Still, they are taking Jundal’s account with a pinch of salt. A source said his information about the international nature of the operation had loopholes. “He has given us incorrect or partial information about the accused. It seems the LeT has not kept him in the loop about each and everything. It is pertinent to note that the LeT carried out this operation in a planned manner, but not all its members may have known about the entire conspiracy. Nevertheless, whatever information we have got so far from Jundal indicates the involvement of suspects from various countries,” said a source in the security establishment.
 

    The ten 26/11 gunmen were trained in Pakistan’s Muridke and Muzaffarabad camps, but they were provided with logistical support by Pakistanborn US citizen David Headley, who was initially a CIA agent but later defected to the LeT. The ten terrorists kept in touch with their handlers via VoIP (internet telephony) connections bought by agents in Italy. “Fake identity cards were most likely provided to them by an international fake passport ring operating in Spain and Thailand,” said a police officer.
 

    The Mumbai Police had earlier stressed the importance of interrogating Pakistani nationals associated with the ring to establish a “definite connection” with the 26/11 attacks. “We need to get official information and the opportunity to interrogate them. It all depends on that country’s courts,” said an officer. “Unfortunately, we have not been able to question a father-son duo arrested in Brescia, Italy, in 2010 (see graphic). Though a letter rogatory (a formal request from a court to a foreign court) was sent to an Italian court, authorities there have yet to get back to us.”
 

A MULTI-COUNTRY TERROR OPERATION
    The arrest of Zabihuddin Ansari, alias Abu Jundal, has given investigators a much clearer idea of how the 26/11 terror attack was a multi-country operation, involving places in Pakistan, the US, 

Spain, Italy and Thailand  

US
    Pakistan-born American citizen David Coleman Headley, initially a CIA agent who defected to the LeT, was arrested in the US in October 2009
    He admitted to making many trips to India. In Mumbai, he did reconnaissance of the Oberoi and Taj hotels, CST railway station, Nariman House, Mumbai Port Trust properties, the Gateway of India, Naval defence areas and other military and governmental installations
    He admitted to sending information to Pakistani terrorists. He was not mentioned as an accused in the 26/11 chargesheet
    In 2010, US national security adviser James Jones said India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) had been given access to Headley
    During his interrogation by the NIA, Headley admitted to meeting several Pakistani handlers in Karachi and other places. It now appears that one of the handlers was the recently arrested Zabihuddin Ansari, alias Abu Jundal
 

ITALY On November 21, 2009, Pakistani nationals Mohammad Yaqub Janjua (60) and his son Aamer Yaqub (31) were arrested in Brescia, Italy

26/11 CONNECTION | Accused of transferring money to activate a VoIP connection, used by the 26/11 attackers
    The duo owned a money transfer firm in Brescia, which they used to transfer funds for 26/11
    The Mumbai crime branch believes there is a connection between the Janjuas and a non-resident Pakistani national, Javed Iqbal, who has been named in the 26/11 chargesheet
    VoIP service fi rm Callphonex’s owner, a US citizen of Asian origin, deposed in the 26/11 trial against Ajmal Kasab. The terrorists’ Callphonex account was set up by an individual who used the e-mail account kharaktelco@yahoo.com, which Mumbai Police says is fake
Status | Mumbai Police sent a letter rogatory (a formal request from a court to a foreign court) to Italy, but they didn’t respond. The accused are in an Italian prison
 

SPAIN On November 30-December 1, 2010, Pakistani nationals Junaid Humayun, Atiqur Rehman, Jabran Asghar Malik, Iftikhar Ahmad, Saddique Begum and Tanveer Arshad, and Nigerian national Babatunde Agunbiade were arrested in Barcelona, Spain  

26/11 CONNECTION | Preliminary reports suggest they helped provide fake identity cards to the 10 terrorists. They allegedly worked with the LeT in staging the attack and had links with al-Qaida and the LTTE  

MAIN ROLE | It was to steal passports from unsuspecting tourists in Barcelona and send them to Thailand, where they were doctored. The passports were then given to terror agents to enter countries illegally. Spanish police suspect the module had helped the ten 26/11 terrorists procure fake identity cards whereby they posed as students of colleges in Bangalore and Hyderabad
Mumbai Police are not sure whether the group had anything to do with fi nancing the VoIP connection that the gunmen used to communicate with their handlers during the siege
STATUS | The six Pakistani and one Nigerian nationals are in a Spanish jail
 

PAKISTAN
    The 26/11 chargesheet listed 35 LeT terrorists and their aides as responsible for training the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008, and providing them with logistical support between December 2007 and November 2008
    On November 25, 2009, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court charged seven suspects with planning and helping execute the Mumbai attacks. They were Zakiur-Rehman Lakhvi, Zarar Shah, Abu al-Qama, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum. All are in a Rawalpindi jail
    A probe by the Mumbai police found that Lakhvi and Shah were the main handlers of the 10 terrorists and motivated them before the attack to kill people
 

THAILAND On November 30-December 1, 2010, two Pakistani nationals and one Thai citizen were arrested as part of the Barcelona operation
26/11 CONNECTION | The three worked with the Spanish group and helped doctor stolen passports. Police suspect they had procured fake identity cards for the 26/11 terrorists. A Thai police statement at the time of their arrest said: They are suspected of... many terrorist attacks in Spain and other European Union countries
STATUS | The trio is in a Thai jail

The Times of India, July 23, 2012

Jundal subjected to prolonged questioning

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai:LeT’s terrorist handler Zabihuddin Ansari, alias Abu Jundal, was subjected to sustained interrogation on Sunday. During questioning, he said he was initially not aware of the use of the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul weapons. Jundal is said to have supplied the weapons to the people arrested in the arms haul case. 

    A source said Jundal, who is being questioned for his alleged role in the 26/11 attack, told the crime branch he came to know about the intended use of the consignment a year later in Pakistan, when his mentors there told him it was to be used for a terror attack in Mumbai or killing a prominent politician in Gujarat.
 

    On 26/11, Jundal said he attended conspiracy meetings twice in Rawalpindi. “It was (LeT operational head) Muzammil (Butt) who gave the idea of shortlisting a group of 10 young boys who could be dispatched to Mumbai for the attacks,” Jundal is believed to have told his interrogators.
 

    He said that after fleeing Maharashtra, he went to Kolkata and then Bangladesh, where he obtained a fake passport for Rs 15,000. From there, he went to Pakistan.
 

    “Jundal is being questioned on the roles of the individuals involved in the 26/11 case,” said a crime branch officer. “He said he learnt using VoIP in Pakistan, which he used during 26/11 to communicate with the terrorists.” 

 

 

The Times of India, July 23, 2012

Jundal in cop custody, will be made to face Kasab

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: A day after the state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) was granted the custody of Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, the key 26/11 plotter was brought to the city on Saturday and produced before an additional chief metropolitan magistrate. The judge remanded Jundal in the crime branch’s custody for ten days after the police sought his custody for two weeks saying they wanted to confront him with convicted Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab. 

 
    Jundal, who belongs to Beed, was deported from Saudi Arabia on June 21 and booked in an arms haul case by the Delhi police. He was brought to the Esplanade court at 11.40am clad in a kurta-pyjama, his face covered with a black cloth. The cops removed the shroud to reveal his face to judge S D Rathor. Jundal, who was brought barefoot like all other accused, looked calm and relaxed.

    Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam began his arguments in the court pointing out that Jundal was one of the key 26/11 conspirators.  

 

26/11 CASE
 

Crime branch to request HC to constitute special court
Mumbai: Terror suspect Abu Jundal was produced in court on Saturday.
 

    “We have voluminous evidence against him. We also know that some state actors took part in the attack,” Nikam said. He pointed out that the Bombay high court had said the 26/11 strike was a “war against India”. He further said Jundal was present in the control room set up in Karachi during the attack and his role was much bigger than thought earlier. “We want to confront him with Kasab. We have eyewitnesses and documentary evidence against Jundal. Investigators want to probe the deep-rooted conspiracy of the attacks, so we need his custody,” Nikam said. Reading out sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, he said the police could demand a 30-day custody as per the Act but were seeking Jundal’s custody for only 14 days. When the judge asked Jundal in Hindi if he wanted to say something, the terrorist replied in the negative. Judge Rathor then said, “He is rem anded in custody till July 31.” 

    Jundal is accused of conspiring in the 26/11 attacks with the Lashkar-e-Taiba brass. During the strike, he guided, motivated and instructed the terrorists through a voice over internet protocol (VoIP) facility. Till then, nobody had imagined the presence of an Indian in the Karachi control room. During his interrogation, Kasab had said that one Abu Jundal had given them training in speaking Hindi and even supervised their training sessions and mock drills for the attack. In 2010, there was suspicion that Jundal could be an Indian and perhaps the same Zabihuddin Ansari wanted in the 2006 arms haul case. 

    Meanwhile, the crime br a nch has decided to reque st the Bombay high court to constitute a special court to hear Jundal’s case. The cr ime br anch has formed th ree te ams—one to grill Jundal, the second to do the paperwork and the third for out do or duty. Crime branch offi cers said they will first try to find out how the Beed man got close to LeT’s leaders like Hafiz Saeed, Zarar Shah and Zaki-ur-Rehman La khvi. “It’s not easy for an Indian to directly reach a co ntrol room run by the Pakistani terror outfit,” an offi cer said.

The Times of India, July 22, 2012

Suspect to be in Kasab’s lockup

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai : City crime branch’s lockup is terror suspect Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal’s first home in Mumbai. This ground-plusthree-storey building within the premises of the police commissionerate at Crawford Market will be Jundal’s interrogation room-cumbedroom. It is the same lockup where 26/11 gunman Ajmal Kasab had been lodged during investigations.
 

    The lockup is a drab room that has, in the past, housed don Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Kaskar, Dawood aide Ejaz Pathan, actor Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt and film financier Bharat Shah. The building is guarded by at least six cops. Security in and around the building was beefed up further on Saturday after Jundal was sent in the crime branch’s custody. 

    Next to the lockup building is the office of crime branch’s Unit 1, which is investigating 26/11 terror attack cases. Additional commissioner of police Ashok Durraphe, the chief investigating officer, also sits in the neighbouring building. Crime branch bosses and other investigators, too, are in the next building. The compound has offices of police commissioner Arup Patnaik, three joint commissioners, two additional commissioners and half a dozen deputy commissioners of police. 

    There are two policemen on each floor; more cops are posted outside Jundal’s cell. “Each floor in this building has four small cells. There are no fan or pillows. Two tubelights service the passageway. An accused gets food prepared by a governmentapproved contractor and water from a common tap,” said a police official. However, mo re tubelights have been installed in his cell, monitored by CCTV cameras.

The Times of India, July 22, 2012

Kasab could be rearrested

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Convicted Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab is likely to be rearrested in the 26/11 te rror case so that he can be co nfronted with his handler, Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal. 

    “We cannot question an accused in judicial custody and hence we will have to rearrest Ka sab in the case. The purpose of making Kasab face Jundal is to verify our information that the latter was the one who trained them in Hindi and was one of the handlers for the Nariman House terrorists,” said a Mumbai crime branch officer.
 

    The officer, though, added that they will take a legal opinion on how to go about it since a convict cannot be rearrested twice for the same offence in the same case.  “We have Jundal’s voice during the 26/11 terror attack and a fresh voice sample will be taken for testing. These will be sent to the Mumbai or Chandigarh FSL.” The officer added, “We have formed teams to probe various aspects of the 26/11 case. A special team will interrogate him. A total of three teams will handle the probe; one for interrogation, another for paperwork and the third to make investigation trips outside Maharashtra, if required. At least 50 members will be involved.” 

    To avoid any security risk, Jundal’s medical examination will be done within crime branch premises. A multi-layer se curity cordon has been sp read around him, including quick response team commandos. 

The Times of India, July 22, 2012

Nine-car convoy, commandos accompany Abu Jundal to court

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

    The city police had made a tighter security arrangement for terror suspect Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal than for any other accused so far. Jundal was brought to Esplande court on Saturday morning in a nine-car convoy with two dozen armed-to-theteeth commandos and two armoured vehicles.
    While the Cama Hospital lane gate of the court premises was shut to the public, only a 

 
sea of police personnel could be seen at the two gates leading from the St Xavier’s College end. Police personnel belonging to the state reserve police force (SRPF) and some from the city police’s intelligence wing and special branch were roaming in mufti.
 

    The police allowed only those with a valid identity card to enter the court premises. They were also seen carrying mirror equipment to check vehicles before allowing them inside. Women police personnel were deployed on the ground floor. Approximately 50 police personnel were on the first floor of the court where Jundal was to be brought. Service revolvers of some of the crime branch personnel could be seen easily as they had tucked their weapons near the belt. Policemen from the Azad Maidan police station were also deployed in huge numbers at all the gates.
 

    At 11.40am, soon after Jundal was brought in a special crime branch vehicle accompanied by two armoured vehicles and a huge van full of commandos in bullet-proofjackets, carrying AK-47, the gates leading to the first floor of the court were closed to the public. A handcuffed Jundal was surrounded by more than a dozen police personnel from crime branch’s Unit 1 and property cell officers. Media personnel, who were waiting for Jundal’s entry, were forbidden even to read newspapers in the courtroom. Policemen carrying wireless were seen roaming in the court compound while additional commissioner of crime branch police Niket Kaushik was also present in the courtroom to supervise the police work in court.
 

    Hundreds of onlookers gathered outside the gate to see as what was happening. The police tried to disperse the mob, but none showed any signs of leaving.
    The route to bring Jundal in and take him out of the compound was, therefore, changed.  

 

TRACKING A TERROR SUSPECT
 

What led to his arrest May 9, 2006 | Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal fl ees from Aurangabad highway after dumping arms. He goes to Bangladesh and then Pakistan where he joins LeT’s training camps
May 2011 | He is spotted in Saudi Arabia. Indian police, along with Saudi intelligence, identify him, monitor his calls and prepare to bring him to India
June 21, 2012 | He is deported to New Delhi
June 25, 2012 | He is formally arrested by Delhi police in arms factory case
June 26, 2012 | He admits he was present in LeT’s Karachi control room to monitor the 26/11 attack
July 5, 2012 | He is produced before a Delhi court and his custody is extended for 15 more days
July 20, 2012 | Police of Gujarat, Maharashtra and National Investigation Agency battle for his custody. Delhi court gives him in Maharashtra ATS custody
July 21, 2012 | He is produced in a Mumbai court  

 

State ATS will later arrest him in these cases
 

German Bakery Blast | ATS wants to question Jundal in connection with the 2010 German Bakery bomb blast in Pune, which killed 17. He was allegedly present at a Colombo meeting where the conspiracy for the blast was hatched and Himayat Baig, who has been arrested, was tutored  

 

Aurangabad Arms Haul | Jundal is wanted in the case for the 2006 haul, in which police seized 43kg RDX, 16 AK-47 rifl es, 3,200 bullets and 50 grenades
 

Nashik Police Academy Terror Plot | ATS arrested one Farid Baba Shaikh alias Bada Bilal, and seized 700gms RDX. Jundal is listed as an accused in the case
 

Security cover on July 21 Jundal was brought to court in a nine-car convoy with two dozen commandos and two armoured vehicles. Over 100 police personnel were deployed. The commandos were carrying AK-47 rifl es
 

What he told the Judge Additional chief metropolitan magistrate, S D Rathor, asked Jundal in Hindi, “Do you want to say anything?” A relaxed Jundal said, “I don’t want to say anything”  

 

WHERE HE WILL BE PUT UP
    Jundal will be kept in the crime branch lockup. This ground-plus-three-storey building within the premises of the police commissionerate at Crawford market will be Jundal’s interrogation room cum-bedroom. It is the same lock-up where 26/11 gunman Ajmal Kasab was lodged during investigations
 

    This lockup had earlier housed don Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Kaskar, Dawood aide Ejaz Pathan, actor Salman Khan, fi lm fi nancier Bharat Shah and actor Sanjay Dutt
 

    Security in and around the building was increased on Saturday soon after Jundal was given in crime branch custody

Cases against Abu Jundal Mumbai police (crime branch) 26/11 Mumbai attacks | He reportedly taught terrorists Hindi, gave them tips on Mumbai, motivated them during the attacks from a Karachi control room, and was present when they sailed from Karachi

Mumbai finally gets its hands on 26/11 ‘mastermind’

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The man who remote-controlled the November 2008 Mumbai terror attack that killed more than 150 people will finally land in the city on Saturday.
 

    A Delhi court on Friday granted the custody of Lashkare-Taiba (LeT) operative Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). The court also asked the state cops to produce Jundal before the Mumbai chief metropolitan magistrate to decide on his further custody. The 31-year-old Beed resident faces charges of killing 183 people in Maharashtra alone—166 in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks of 2008 and 17 in the Pune German Bakery blast of 2010. Meanwhile, ATS chief Rakesh Maria said that he had agreed to give the city crime branch the first shot at interrogating Jundal.
 

 

ON ABU JUNDAL’S TERROR TRAIL  

May 9, 2006 Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal flees from Aurangabad highway after dumping arms and ammunition. He goes to Bangladesh and then to Pakistan where he joins LeT’s training camps
 

November 2008 Directs Pakistani gunmen in Mumbai through VoIP 

May 2011 Spotted in Saudi Arabia. Indian police, along with Saudi intelligence, identify him, monitor his phone calls and arrest him
 

June 21, 2012 Jundal is deported to New Delhi 

 

 

 PRIZE CATCH Jundal to be produced in city court today

 

Mumbai: A Delhi court granted the Maharashtra ATS the custody of LeT handler Abu Jundal. ATS chief Rakesh Maria said, “I have spoken to crime branch head Himanshu Roy. I told him to take Jundal’s custody as the 26/11 attacks was the bigger case. In the interest of investigation, we have decided that the ATS will not object when the crime branch seeks Jundal’s custody in the 26/11 case on Saturday,” said Maria.
 

    Jundal will be produced before the Esplanade court on Saturday. “I have also informed the special public prosecutor, Ujjwal Nikam, about our decision not to object to the handover of Jundal’s custody to the crime branch,” said Maria. Besides the 26/11 and German Bakery cases, Jundal is an accused in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul and the Nashik Police Academy conspiracy. The police said Jundal had “instructed and motivated terrorists” to attack and kill people during 26/11.
 

    Jundal was deported from Saudi Arabia on June 21 and formally shown as arrested (by the Delhi police) on June 25. After Saudi Arabia agreed to deport Jundal, the government decided to put him on a flight to Delhi instead of Mumbai. Though the most serious offence against him was involvement in 26/11, the government did not want another fight to erupt between Delhi and Mumbai police. Delhi has named him an accused in an arms manufacturing case. During the 13/7 Mumbai blasts case, the Delhi police had accused Mumbai ATS of arresting their informant, Naqi Ahmed. 

    The Delhi court, which handed over Jundal’s custody to the ATS on Friday, also directed the media not to publish “clear” photographs or show video footage of him citing security concerns. The court said the media should show or publish only blurred images of the 26/11 handler. The LeT operative is being guarded by the Delhi police’s SWAT team and CRPF commandos. Jundal was born on November 30, 1980, in Beed. His father Zakiuddin used to work as an insurance agent. Jundal studied till Class X in Georai and joined the Industrial Training Institute in Beed. He joined SIMI in 2000 and went to Pakistan. In May 2006, while the police were after him near Aurangabad, Jundal dumped arms and ammunition and escaped to Kolkata with the help of his aides, Shahid Bilal and Abdul Khwaja.
 

    He later moved to Bangladesh and obtained a Bangladeshi passport for Rs 15,000 before entering Pakistan. He stayed there for around five years and had a Pakistani passport under the name, Riyasat Ali. This passport (QL1790941), issued on Jan 28, 2009, in Pakistan, showed him as a resident of Punjab province. In India, the last passport issued in his name bore the number E7845118. 

 

 

The Times of India, July 21, 2012

Cops knew of plan to attack Nashik police academy

2010 REVELATION

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: What Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) handler Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal said about a possible 26/11-like terror attack on the Nashik police academy was something the Maharashtra cops knew since September 2010, when they arrested a key Indian Mujahideen suspect, Bilal Baba Hussain Shaikh alias Bada Bilal (27). 

    Jundal told the Delhi police that after the 26/11 attacks, the LeT shortlisted the Nashik academy—a state-level training institution for Maharashtra Police personnel—as a terror target. The plan was to emulate the 2009 attack on a police training academy in Lahore.
 
    “What Jundal told the Delhi police about the plan to attack the Nashik academy was already known to us. Necessary instructions for the academy’s security were issued after that. Shaikh was arrested in September 2010 along with German Bakery blast suspect, Mirza Himayat Baig,” said a source in the state police. The ATS had arrested Shaikh, a college dropout, for allegedly planning terror attacks on the Nashik police commissionerate, the academy and the cantonment there.
 
    “During interrogation, Shaikh admitted to having visited the Nashik police academy and surveyed the entire location. He had even told his mentors that the main gate should not be used to launch the attack as there was
a lot of security there. He had suggested that another gate with relatively less security should be used. He had even given a description of the academy to his bosses,” said a source in the security establishment.
 
    Baig’s name had cropped up during interrogation. “Baig has visited Nashik several times. Shaikh conducted a recce of the sites in Nashik and told Baig about them. Baig was aware of this conspiracy,” the police said, claiming to have seized 700gm of RDX from Shaikh.


The Times of India, July 20, 2012

Lack of proof bails out 7 Jalna blast suspects

Rakesh Dhawade is also an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: A Jalna sessions court on Wednesday acquitted seven accused, including antique dealer Rakesh Dhawade, in the Qadriya Mosque bomb blast case due to lack of evidence. Dhawade, arrested and chargesheeted within eight hours in November 2008 in Jalna, is still in jail for his alleged role in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
 

    Those acquitted include Yogendra Deshpande, Guru Raj, Jayaram Toptewar, Rahul Manohar Pandey, Sanjay Vitthalrao and Maruti Wagh. A bomb was hurled into the mosque on August 27, 2004. The case was later handed over to the Jalna crime branch.
 

    Dhawade was first arrested for his role in the Malegaon blast, along with Lt Col Prasad Purohit and others. “We will appeal in the high court against this acquittal,” said public prosecutor Pradip M Jadhav.
 

    Pune-based Dhawade was an arms and armour expert. He has a collection of nearly 2,000 historical artefacts and was also a consultant for the Aamir Khan-starrer Bollywood film ‘Mangal Pandey: The Rising’. Some of the rare articles in his collection are a sword — about 300 years old — with the Devi Kavacham stotra inscribed on its hilt and a 700-year-old Nepali sword belonging to a royal family. 

    After the ATS arrested Dhawade in the Malegaon case, he was handed over to the Jalna police for his alleged role in the mosque blast. The Jalna police had questioned him and filed a 56-page chargesheet an hour later on the same day. TOI had then written about the ATS’s hasty investigation.
 

    The Jalna police had then said that Dhawade participated in a terror camp where 7-8 youths were trained. These youths were also picked up for the Nanded, Parbhani and Purna (Parbhani) blasts. Dhawade has been accused of collecting funds for the rightwing group, Abhinav Bharat.
 

    Dhawade had told the police that he was the only Indian member of the Arms and Armour Society, London. He was awarded the UK Travel Award 2000-01 by the Nehru Trust at the London museum for research on the “study and exchange of themes of conservation and preservation of historical arms and armour in the UK”.

The Times of India, July 20, 2012

Jundal’s co-accused was LeT’s western India commander

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) handler Zabiuddin Ansari aka Abu Jundal’s co-accused in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case, Faisal Shaikh, was the western India commander of the terror outfit, said the police.
 

    Faisal, now 36 years old, was arrested on July 27, 2006, for his alleged role in the 11/7 train blasts in Mumbai. Originally belonging to Nagpada, he had allegedly planted a bomb on a local train along with a Pakistani national, the blasts chargesheet stated. His younger brother, Muzammil, a software engineer, was also arrested for the train blasts.
 

    “While Jundal headed the arms haul operations and acted as a handler during the 26/11 attacks, Faisal was operations chief during the train blasts,” said a police officer. Faisal had also allegedly sent at least six people to Pakistan for terror training.
 

    Questions had been raised over detection of the train blasts case by the ATS as the crime branch had in 2008 said that those arrested for the explosions were not involved in the terror strike, and a group of Indian Mujahideen operatives had executed the bombings.
 

    “It was Faisal who provided money to a wanted accused, Raheel Shaikh, to flee the country after the arms haul case. Faisal had arranged visa documents for SIMI member Fayyaz Kagzi and five others for going to Pakistan,” the chargesheet said.
 

    Sources in the security establishment said after the arms haul case, wherein Jundal was suspected to have brought firearms and ammunition into Maharashtra, Faisal helped other accused evade arrest. Faisal was trained in Pakistan’s Bahawalpur camp under Azam Cheema, a LeT trainer and wanted accused in the 11/7 and the 26/11 cases.
 

    Faisal reportedly had an “export-import’’ business. However, crime branch officers who picked him up said the “small business’’ was only a front for routing hawala money for terror purposes. “We have come to know that he got hawalarouted money that was used to recruit youths for terror activities,’’ a crime branch officer had said. 

    Faisal visited Pakistan twice in 2004 and 2005 for weapons training and stayed there for six months each time. Muzammil, who used to stay on Temkar Street in Nagpada, sold his house in 1996 and shifted to Mira Road. He joined the Bangalore unit of an MNC on a salary of Rs 40,000 a month.
 

 

    FAISAL FACTOR
• LeT handler Zabiuddin Ansari aka Abu Jundal headed 2006 arms haul and 26/11 terror cases while Faisal Sheikh was operations chief during 11/7 train blasts

• Police had seized 43kg of RDX, 16 rifles, 3,200 bullets, 50 grenades, two swords etc while probing arms haul case in which both Jundal and Faisal are accused

• ATS is probing Aurangabad arms haul and 11/7 train blasts cases

The Times of India, July 18, 2012

Jihadis cheat bosses, pocket terror funds

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Can dedicated jihadis involved in acts of terrorism also be selfish cheats out to line their own pocket? The answer seems to be a resounding yes going by the investigations into several bomb blast cases in the country. Not only foot-soldiers but even the top brass of the banned outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) have duped their foreign-based handlers of lakhs of rupees. Money meant to fund terror activities or recruit new operatives was on many occasion siphoned off and used for ‘personal benefit’.
 

    “The latest example was slain terror suspect Qateel Siddiqui who was murdered in Pune’s Yerwada jail on June 8. He was paid Rs one lakh to enlist new faces into IM. However, when we questioned him about the use of money, he was reluctant to reply. On sustained interrogation, he admitted that he had spent the money on two girls, and that the IM top functionaries were unaware about it,” said an officer in the state’s anti-terrorism squad (ATS) who personally questioned him. Siddiqui was accused in the 2011 Delhi Jama Masjid firing case and the 2010 Chinnaswamy stadium blast case. “Siddiqui told us that he was not interested in following IM’s ideology but was more interested in getting funds for his personal use. He had even opposed several programmes of IM,” the officer added.  

 

IM’s India chief invested terror funds in real estate
Mumbai: Many terror operatives routinely use their sponsors’ money to meet their personal ends. Among the more interesting stories about such self-serving mercenary terrorists is that of Indian Mujahideen’s Indian chief Yaseen Bhatkal alias Shahrukh. “Several suspects caught recently told us that Bhatkal wanted to become a developer,” said the ATS officer. “To begin with, he invested Rs 14 lakh in an underconstruction project in Nalasopara. The money was routed to him by his foreign-based mentors in early 2010 to take care of the legal expenses of the jailed IM members. Nobody knew what he did with the money. We have learned that he was interested in investing more money in other projects. Perhaps the founder-members of IM and those who control the outfit’s reins trust Bhatkal blindly,” said the officer.
 

    Bhatkal, who is wanted in the German Bakery bomb blast case, the 13/7 triple blasts, the Delhi arms factory case and the Jama Masjid firing among others, allegedly oversees all IM operations in India. He has been able to dodge the police twice in the past. He even spent some time in a jail but police could not recognize him. 

    The money is sent to IM operatives in India by the outfit’s fund-raising members based either in Pakistan or the UAE through hawala.
 

    Similar is the case of Mirza Himayat Baig, the lone arrested suspect in the German Bakery blast that killed 17. Baig attended a conspiracy meeting with IM leader and accused Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal and Fayyaz Kagzi in Colombo prior to the blast. Later, he was sent Rs 12.5 lakh for the terror ‘mission’. While he used Rs 10 lakh on operational expenses, the remaining Rs 2.5 lakh went towards paying off his various debts. “Most IM operatives use this modus operandi since there is no accountability where money is concerned in the outfit. The top functionaries are bothered only about operations. The money does not come out of their pockets and they do not care to keep tabs on it,” said the officer.

The Times of India, July 16, 2012

No terror angle, it’s a murder case: ATS

Laila Khan murder case:

 

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) said on Friday the Laila Khan matter was a murder case and there was no terror angle to it.
    Initially, a case of kidnapping was registered against Parvez Iqbal Tak, the main accused and Laila’s mother Saleena’s third husband, andAasif Shaikh, Saleena’s second husband.  “We told the director general of police that this was a caseof murder and no terror angle was involved,” said an ATS officer. “The DGP took a call on the matter and handed over investigation to the crime branch of Mumbai Police.” 

    A section of the media had reported aboutlinksbetween Laila and LeT terrorists. “But there is no evidence to prove this. It’s a rumour,” the ATS officer said. “We summoned several people and questioned them to verify if Laila or any of her family members had any connection with terror outfits. But such a link could not be established.”
 
    He said the ATS never questioned Tak. “He was on the run and finally caught by J&K Police. Some people have said that we questionedhim,butcould notextract any information. This is not true.”


The Times of India, July 14, 2012

Ultras played ‘victims’ to get money

13/7 A YEAR LATER

 

 

Funds For Bombs Were Collected By Terrorists Who Posed As Riot Survivors, Said They Were Helping Rehabilitation

 

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

    While investigations into the July 13, 2011 blasts initially seemed at a deadend, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had actually picked up the scent as early as August 2011 when it arrested Mumbra resident Haroon Naik in a fake currency case after his arrival at Mumbai airport from the Middle East. Naik has now been arrested in the 13/7 case and is supposed to be an important part of the hawala chain that sent Rs 10 lakh for the blasts from Dubai.

    The five arrested in the 13/7 case have confessed that Indian Mujahideen (IM) and LeT fund-raisers collected money for the attack by posing as victims of riots in India and saying that the money would be used to rehabilitate riot victims. “In 2002, an arrested person (in another case) told the Mumbai police that the LeT had an office to raise funds in Dubai,” said a senior ATS officer. “This office was shut after the outfit was banned. Now, this outfit and the IM are collecting funds in the Gulf by posing as riot victims. ATS sources said Riyaz met Naik in the UAE, held meetings for the blasts and gave him money to send to India.
 

    Five people are absconding in the case for the blasts at Opera House, Zaveri Bazar and Dadar, which killed 27 and injured 127. The ATS has arrested Naik, Bihar residents Naqi Ahmed, Nadeem Shaikh and Kafeel Ansari, and hawala operator Kanwar Pathrija. The wanted include IM Indian operations chief Yasin Bhatkal, two Pakistanis Waqqas and Tabrez, suspected Dadar bomb planter Tahseen Shaikh and 65-year-old Bhatkal resident Muzaffar Kola. The ATS filed a chargesheet in May against four men. A supplementary chargesheet against Kafeel will be filed soon. “We have submitted the forensic reports, evidence and seized materials to court. We are hoping the trial begins soon,” said the officer.
 

    “IM members are assigned various jobs. Those responsible for collecting funds have two basic issues, the Babri demolition and Gujarat sectarian violence,” said the police source. “Sometimes they show clippings of violence and photos of riot victims and give a narration alongside. Donors then agree to give money for rehabilitation and financial help. This modus operandi of the IM and LeT has resulted in them getting a lot of money for terror-related activities.” Police sources said the donors are unaware of how their money is used. “They donate money in good faith, not knowing that it could be used to create terror,” said an ATS officer.
 

    The outfits also use fake Indian currency. Naik was arrested with fake currency of Rs 97,000 at Mumbai airport. Yasin, who was the operations in-charge, is suspected to be in south India, while the two Pakistani bombers may have reached Nepal. The ATS may ask the court to discharge Kola, whose Dubai-based company was used to channel the Rs 10 lakh. Kola has told police that he was unaware of the transaction and has been in India for two years when he has been diagnosed with cancer. JULY 13 BLASTS | 

 

SEARCH FOR CLOSURE
THE ATTACK | 3 blasts on July 13, 2011 at Zaveri Bazar (6.54pm), Opera House (6.55pm) and Dadar (7.06pm)
 

TOLL | 27 dead, 127 injured
 

ACCUSED OUTFIT | Indian Mujahideen
 

MOTIVE | To strike a blow against Indian economy
 

CHARGES | Murder and attempt to murder and other crimes under Explosives Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act
 

PROBE | Across 18 states, with 150 investigators from Mumbai and others in Delhi, Kolkata and Bihar
 

CCTV | 4 police teams scanned through images from 187 cameras for 29 days
 

WITNESSES | 12,373
 

CASE STATUS | Chargesheet filed; trial yet to begin THE ACCUSED 10 (5 arrested, 5 at large) IN 

CUSTODY NAQI AHMED WASI SHAIKH, 22 | From Deora Bandhauli, Darbhanga, Bihar; runs leather units in Delhi and Mumbai
 

    First booked in SIM card forgery case. Gave SIM cards obtained on forged documents to IM members. Explosives sent from Delhi were received by Naqi in Mumbai. He also received Rs 1.5 lakh from Bhatkal. Stole the scooter in which Zaveri Bazar bomb was planted. Along with the rest, he facilitated, aided and abetted the blasts
 

NADEEM AKHTAR ASHFAQUE SHAIKH, 23 | Also from Deora Bandhauli, Darbhanga, Bihar
    Stayed at Antop Hill and was first arrested on Jan 12 in the same SIM card forgery case Naqi was booked in. Allegedly ferried explosives from Delhi to Mumbai and stole a scooter used to ferry Opera House bomb 

HAROON RASHID NAIK, 33 | Mumbra resident; hails originally from Beed; ran cloth business in Kolkata Was held at Mumbai airport in August 2011 in a fake currency case soon after the blasts. ATS chargesheet for fake currency says he went to Pakistan for arms training and wanted to avenge atrocities on Muslims. ATS claims he was trained by Al Qaida and LeT, met Osama bin Laden and fought in Afghanistan. Sent Rs 10 lakh from Dubai to Delhi for the blasts
 

KANWAR NAYAN PATHRIJA, 43 | Runs jewellery shop at Chandni Chowk; hails from Ghaziabad, UP
    Received the Rs 10 lakh hawala money from Middle East and forwarded it to Bhatkal
 

KAFEEL ANSARI, around 53 | Hails from Darbhanga, Bihar
    Allegedly gave logistical support, like communications. State ATS took his custody from a Delhi jail
 

 

ON THE RUN  

ZARAR AHMED SIDDIPA alias YASIN BHATKAL alias SHAHRUKH alias IMRAN alias SHIVANAND, 30 | Founding IM member; hails from Bhatkal, Karnataka
    Brain behind several blasts, he arranged hawala money for 13/7 blasts. Received money in Delhi and sent explosives to Mumbai. Visited Mumbai; arranged accommodation for two planters. Allegedly escaped due to turf battle between Delhi police and Maharashtra ATS, which ATS denies  

 

WAQQAS & TABREZ | Only two Pakistanis in operation. Known as Accused A and B in the remand papers of other accused, but named in the chargesheet. Waqqas and Tabrez planted the Zaveri Bazar and Opera House bombs, respectively. Stayed at Habib Apartments, Byculla, where accommodation was allegedly arranged by Bhatkal and Naqi. They were reportedly in possession of fake Indian PAN cards, which they showed when renting the flat. Like Bhatkal, they reportedly escaped due to a turf battle between the Delhi police and Maharashtra ATS
 

 

TAHSEEN SHAIKH, around 23 | From Darbhanga, Bihar; originally from Mumbra
    Allegedly planted Dadar bomb. Suspected to be near Hyderabad now
 

MUZAFFAR KOLA, 65 | Resident of Bhatkal, Karnataka; owns Muzaffar Kola Enterprises, Dubai
    His company was allegedly used to transfer the hawala funds

MOST WANTED: 13/7 mastermind Yasin Bhatkal

Naqi Ahmed, an accused


The Times of India, July 12, 2012

‘Poor police coordination helped big fish flee’

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Had the Delhi police special cell not tried to pick up Indian Mujahideen (IM) leader Yasin Bhatkal and two Pakistani bombers on their own while in Mumbai, the Maharashtra police might have got the main perpetrators of the 13/7 blasts, say state police sources.

    Two Pakistani bombers, Waqqas and Tabrez, were living discreetly at Habib Apartments, Byculla when a Delhi police team came to the city with its informer, Naqi Ahmed. Naqi was later picked up by the Maharashtra Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) in a fake SIM card case. Police sources said that during the time Naqi was with the Delhi police, he was not making his frequent visits to Habib building. This might have tipped off the bombers, which led them to flee. Had they been picked up, they could have been used to trap mastermind Yasin Bhatkal. 

    Sources said the Delhi police did not contact the ATS, but took help from the Mumbai Crime Branch at a time when the ATS was the prime agency probing the 13/7 strikes. Crime branch sleuths even arranged the accommodation for the Delhi police, said sources. “If the Delhi police were aware of the conspiracy and Naqi’s role, they should have contacted the ATS and shared inputs. A joint effort would have yielded a better result,” said an ATS officer.
 

    The ATS was probing a racket in which SIM cards were obtained with fake documents. But while it was searching for Naqi, he was with the Delhi police. “Had it been a joint operation of two states’ police teams, Bhatkal might have been in police custody,” said a senior police officer.
 

    It is also learnt that the Delhi police visited a gym where Waqqas worked out, seized the visitors’ register and collected the rent agreement for the room at Habib Apartments. The register and rent agreement are still with the Delhi police. “This is how we lost vital evidence in the case,” said a police source.
 

Hawkers move court
    Hawkers who were banned from working near Opera House, one of sites of the 13/7 blasts, have approached the Bombay High Court seeking permission to resume business there. The petition is filed by Pancharatna Hawkers Vendors Welfare Association. The association said its members were operating stalls for years before the blasts. TNN

The Times of India, July 12, 2012

6 yrs later, no clarity on real culprits behind train blasts

Cops Claim ATS-Crime Branch Infighting Delaying Detection

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Six years have passed since seven bombs ripped apart seven locals, killing 187 people and injuring hundreds, but still, there is no clarity on the real culprits.
    “Owing to the infighting of the ATS and crime branch, we are yet to zero in on the actual culprits,” a source said.   The 13 suspected SIMI members who were said to be responsible for the blasts are still behind bars but the crime branch in 2008 had claimed that they were not responsible and that the carnage was the handiwork of the now-banned outfit, Indian Mujahideen (IM). 

    Seven RDX bombs, planted in the first class compartments of seven trains, exploded during the evening peak hour on July 11, 2006, near Matunga, Khar, Bandra, Borivli and Mahim stations. “An IM operative, Sadique Shaikh, arrested by the crime branch in September 2008 had said the blasts were engineered by the IM and not by those (suspected SIMI members) arrested,” a senior crime branch officer had said. He had claimed the bombs were made at Raza Tower in Sewree.
 

    But the anti-terrorism squad, which has been investigating the case, has different theories, which have been questioned several times. According to the ATS, it was the SIMI members who were responsible and that the bombs were made in Govandi. The ATS had also claimed 11 Pakistanis had entered Mumbai, assembled bombs and planted them on trains, before fleeing. But not a single Pakistani was caught. On August 22, 2006, the ATS shot dead Abu Osama alias Umaid, suspected to be one of the 11, a deserted building in Antop Hill. During a probe on the trains, ATS officers had come across the torso of a man, whom they had claimed to be a Pakistani bomber, Saleem. “Post-media reports, the ATS took into custody IM member Shaikh, but discharged him,” said a source.
 

    The accused face charges under MCOCA and the trial is being heard by special judge Y D Shinde. After examining 188 prosecution witnesses, the court is recording the accused’s statements. “The trial is expected to end in three-four months,” an advocate said.
 

CARNAGE TRAIL
July 20, 2006 | ATS begins arrests  

July 25, 2006 | Unani doctor Tanvir Ansari held. 16 arrests till date  

Oct, 2006 | 3 acquitted  

June 20, 2007 | Trial begins in MCOCA court  

Aug 23, 2007 | An accused appeals  

Feb 29, 2008 | Supreme Court admits appeal, trial stayed  

Oct 5, 2009 | SC reserves order on appeal  

July 2010 | Trial resumes  

June 2012 | Recording of statements of the accused starts

The Times of India, July 11, 2012

Jundal case witness freed

Noor-ul-Huda

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: A 2006 Malegaon serial blast accused, Noorul-Huda, who was booked for keeping jihadi literature six years ago, was taken into magisterial custody and released on surety on Monday. Huda is a prosecution’s witness against key 26/11 handler Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal and in the Aurangabad arms haul case. 

    Advocate Farooque Memon, Huda’s lawyer, said, “He was first arrested in 2006 for allegedly keeping jihadi literature and then booked after a fake bomb was found. Later he was booked for the serial blasts. During that time on October 22, 2006 the court granted him bail in the jihadi literature case but he was already in jail in the blast cases. He was finally released in the blast cases in November last year. We approached the court asking to maintain the bail order of 2006. Interestingly, he was still in jail as per police records since some papers were misplaced.” Formally, Huda was taken into magisterial custody for some time and released on surety in the sixyear-old case. He was facing the charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
 

    After Abu Jundal escaped from Malegaon and dumped his Indica car there, five youths, including a doctor, were arrested from the textile town of Malegaon in the arms haul case. Huda’s father, Shamsud Duha, had then told TOI, “After the Aurangabad arms haul, the police picked him up and took him to Mumbai on May 11, 2006. They interrogated him and then let him go.’’ He had added, “Huda, as usual, was taken by the police for questioning. We are used to seeing him being picked up often,’’ Duha said.

The Times of India, July 11, 2012

City cops get Tak’s remand

Mumbai: A J&K court on Saturday allowed the Mumbai crime branch to take Parvez Tak to Mumbai in connection with the Laila Khan disappearance case. “We have gotfour daysof transit remand,” said Himanshu Roy, crime branch head. The police team with Tak is expected to reach the city by Sunday morning.
    Cops said they recovered many photographs of Laila with high-ranking officials and politicians from her house on Saturday.—Mateen Hafeez

The Times of India, July 8, 2012

ATS does U-turn over terror suspect

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The state ATS, which had said it would bring suspected Lashkare-Taiba (LeT) operative Aslam Kashmiri to Maharashtra in connection with his alleged role in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case, said it would not seek Kashmiri’s custody since he is not a “wanted accused in the case”.
    

Kashmiri was arrested on August 25, 2009, by the Delhi police’s special cell. The then ATS chief, K Pal Raghuvanshi, said Kashmiri was named as a “wanted accused” in the arms haul chargesheet. Now, at a time when the ATS is struggling to get custody of another LeT handler, Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, the issue of Kashmiri’s role may again crop up. “Kashmiri is not a wanted accused in our case (the arms haul case),” said a senior ATS official in Mumbai. During his interrogation, Kashmiri claimed he underwent training in a Pakistani camp in 2007 and met senior leaders of banned terror outfit, Jamat-ud-Dawa. State ATS officials, who had grilled the terror suspect after his arrest, claimed “Kashmiri’s role in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case had been established”.

FLIP-FLOP: Sleuths wanted custody of Aslam Kashmiri (center) in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case

The Times of India, July 8, 2012

Parvez does a flip-flop, now claims Laila and family alive

Difficult To Come To Any Conclusion Till We Get His Custody: City Cops

S Ahmed Ali & Mateen Hafeez | TNN

    Giving a new twist to the mysterious disappearance and “death” of Bollywood starlet Laila Khan and her family, main suspect Parvez Iqbal Tak on Friday told the Jammu and Kashmir police that all of them were alive. Tak, a day earlier, had said they had all been shot dead and their bodies buried in a forest around 120 km from Mumbai.
    Laila, her mother Saleena Patel, sister Azmina Patel, twin siblings Zara and Imran and a relative Reshma Khan went missing from their Oshiwara flat in February 2011.
 

    “He has been constantly changing his statements to the Jammu police, so we cannot rely on him. Until he comes into our hands and we interrogate him, it will be difficult to even assume the family has been killed,” Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner of police (crime), said.
 

    Tak was arrested by the J&K police on June 21 this year from Kishtwar and is currently in their custody. The Mumbai crime branch team reached Jammu on Friday to take Tak into custody. “The Jammu police are cooperating with us and tomorrow (Saturday), we will be moving the local court seeking his custody,” said Niket Kaushik, additional commissioner of police.
 

    The crime branch has also detained Tak’s partner and Laila’s mother Saleena’s second husband Asif Shaik. Shaik is believed to have told the police that he divorced Saleena five years ago and was unaware of the family’s whereabouts.
 

    But Himanshu Roy feigned ignorance about Shaik and said he was not in their custody. “I don’t know where Shaik is,” he said.     Tak, who is facing two cases of cheating in J&K, had confessed to the police on Thursday that Laila and her family were shot dead by hired killers. But before his confession, Tak, who allegedly is Saleena’s third husband, had been maintaining that the family was safe in Dubai. 

    Laila’s father Nadir Patel, who filed the first missing person’s complaint with Oshiwara police, told the police that Laila was his second born child with Saleena, whom he married on April 7, 1979, in Mumbai. During her marriage, Saleena went by the name Atiya Khan, he told the police. Patel currently stays with his second wife Shaista and two daughters at Mira Road. 

    “Six months ago, I heard a car registered in Atiya’s name was found parked in Jammu. I tried searching for Atiya and my daughters but in vain. So, I approached the police and lodged a complaint. I came to know that Atiya and my daughters were last seen with Tak on February 8, 2011. I suspect that Tak had abducted my daughters for property,” he told the crime branch. 

    Mobile phone records of Laila, whose original name is Reshma Patel, showed her last location as Nashik. Laila has a bungalow at Igatpuri in Nashik district. 

 

LIFE & TIMES OF LAILA KHAN
The 24-year-old Bollywood starlet was born to Saleena and Nadir Patel at Choksi Hospital in Malad. Laila, whose original name is Reshma Patel, studied at a Golibar school in Santa Cruz. The Patels, originally from Gujarat, used to live in Santa Cruz and later moved to Malad

WHO IS PARVEZ TAK? Parvez Iqbal Tak is the main accused in the mysterious disappearance and alleged murder of Laila Khan. He is a member of NCP and even fought assembly election in 2008 on NCP ticket from Kishtwar. Parvez has a police record of cheating and fraud. Records show that he duped an 85-year-old retired naval officer of Rs 3 lakh at Hoshiarpur in Punjab. Tak also duped a local of Rs 3 lakh

KILLED BY OFFICIAL APATHY

Sabarat Khan
The 19-yearold boy went missing from his south Mumbai residence on April 11 and a missing person’s complaint was lodged at Pydhonie police station. Sabarat’s family suspected one of his cousin and a friend killed him but the police did not act. An unidentified body was found at Vasai, which turned out to be that of Sabarat. He was killed by his cousin and two accomplices over an old fued.

Karankumar Kakkar
Despite his family filing a missing person’s complaint with the Amboli police, the cops refused to entertain it and said he would return after some days. The family had told the police that they suspected Vijay Palande and his friend Simran Sood were behind Karan’s disappearance. Karan was an aspiring producer and Palande along with Sood had befriended him. They said if the police had acted, Delhi-based businessman Arunkumar Tikku may have still been alive. Palande and Dhananjay Shinde killed Karan on March 5, chopped his body into pieces and dumped them at Kumbharli ghat near Chiplun.

Meenakshi Thapa
A small-time actor, Meenakshi, who is originally from Dehradun, goes missing from Mumbai and her brother Navraj lodged a missing person’s complaint in Mumbai, while mother filed one in Dehradun. Navraj in his complaint suspected two junior artistes—Amit Jaiswal and Priti Surin, both from UP—whom she had befriended on the sets of the movie Heroine. Eventually, it was found that Jaiswal and Surin took her to Gorakhpur in March on the pretext of work, where they beheaded her, while also asking for money from her family. Thapa had told them that she belongs to a rich Nepalese family and acting was a hobby for her.

Nitin Dhakan
A Borivli builder, Nitin, who was missing since April 27, was murdered over a failed property deal. Nitin and his acquaintance, Ashok Burman, had paid a token amount of Rs 1.11 lakh to the main accused, property broker Gopal Pandey, to buy a plot at Saibaba Nagar in Borivli. When the two learnt the plot was embroiled in litigation, they began delaying the purchase, said the police. This is believed to have irked Pandey who then plotted Nitin’s murder. He was abducted and set ablaze in Manor forest. The police arrested Pandey on June 13 and found that he had killed two more persons, loan agent Sanjay Chavan and autorickshaw driver Vijay, and dumped their bodies on the outskirts of the city.

The Times of India, July 7, 2012