Mentor working for Saudi govt, says Jundal

26/11 TRAIL

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal (31) suspects that his mentor, Fayyaz Kagzi, was working for the Saudi government. He said Kazgi tipped off security agencies about his whereabouts before he was kept under surveillance.
 

    Jundal told the police on Tuesday that Kagzi may have given his mobile number to the police, which led to his arrest.   Currently in the custody of the state anti-terrorism squad (ATS), Jundal revealed this during his interrogation at the crime branch lock-up last week. “I left Pakistan and went to Saudi Arabia. Last year, I telephoned Muzammil, an LeT area commander in India, and took Kagzi’s number. Later, I spoke to Kagzi and thereafter I felt that I was being monitored. However, I could not do anything to avoid it,” Jundal is believed to have told the police in Mumbai. 

    Jundal is wanted in four terror-related cases in Maharashtra: 26/11 terror attack, 2006 Aurangabad arms haul, Pune German Bakery bomb blast and Nashik police academy attack planning.
 

    Jundal told the police that after fleeing India, he went to Pakistan via Bangladesh and found Kagzi there. “Jundal told us that after seeing Kagzi near an LeT camp, he thought Kagzi may have been chased by the police and fled. However, he later realized that Kagzi was missing since they planned the arms haul transportation,” a police officer said. Jundal himself worked as a police informer before he fled Pakistan, it is learned.
 

    He shared contact details of Kagzi with the police. According to Jundal, he last saw Kagzi in Saudi Arabia and met him there too. “Jundal told the police that he met Kagzi in Saudi Arabia and they discussed several things. Kagzi told Jundal that he was working in the Gulf and had no plans to return to India,” said an officer.
 

    Jundal told the police that the ammunition that he transported till Chandwad near Manmad, was supposed to be kept at Kagzi’s house in Beed. “However, during the arms haul case, Kagzi went missing and never returned home. It became difficult for us to think of a safe place to keep the arms and ammunition,” Jundal told the police.

 

The Times of India, August 15, 2012