Man accused of sending terror email after blast acquitted

 Ejaz Shaikh

Mateen Hafeez





Mumbai:  A Sewri court on Tuesday discharged Ejaz Shaikh (28), a suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative, in a case of sending terror email after the 2010 Varanasi bomb blast.
Shaikh, a Pune resident, was first arrested on September 6, 2014, from outside Saharanpur station in UP by the Delhi Police's special cell. Later, he was taken into custody by the Maharashtra ATS for his alleged role in providing logistics in the 2010 Pune German Bakery blast, the 137 Mumbai triple blasts and the Varanasi email case. On February 6, this year, Mumbai crime branch's cyber crime investigation cell (CCIC) took Shakih in custody for allegedly sending another terror email after a blast outside Delhi's Jama Masjid.

“During the investigation, the police did not find evidence against Shaikh and hence we filed an application under Section 169 of the Code of Criminal Procedure requesting the court to discharge him from the case,“ confirmed a senior ATS officer. Shaikh's lawyer, advocate Tahawwar Rana, said, “We have been saying my client is innocent. Today , the court has discharged him.“

On December 7, 2010, a day after the completion of 18 years of Babri Masjid's dem olition, an email was sent from Mansarovar building, Section 17, Vashi, claiming responsibility of the Varanasi blast. The sender had hacked into the unsecured WiFi of the sixth floor residents. The email was sent with a subject, “Indian Mujahideen ­ Let's feel the pain together“, and the mail focused mainly on the Babri Masjid demolition and Ayodhya verdict.

The police had earlier said that besides sending emails, Sheikh used to provide logistics to the IM men in India and prepared fake identities needed by them to procure mobile SIM cards, collecting foreign money transfers, obtaining rooms on rent and even in getting enrolled in professional educational institutions as a cover, police said. Police said he was never present during the actual crime.

The Times of India, Apirl 8, 2015

IM suspect gets clean chit from M’rashtra ATS

GERMAN BAKERY BLAST

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: A Maharashtra antiterrorism squad team that interrogated suspected Indian Muajhideen operative Anwar Malik Hussain for a couple of days in connection with the 2010 Pune German Bakery bomb blast, said that Hussain had no role to play in the Pune blast.
   

 “Our team interrogated Hussain, verified his statements and concluded that he had no role to play in the Pune bakery blast. He did not supply explosives,” said Amitesh Kumar, additional commissioner of police, ATS. Hussain was arrested in West Bengal a few days after the Bodh Gaya serial blasts in connection with a fake currency notes’ case. 

    The police claimed that he was carrying fake Indian currency amounting to Rs 1.19 crore. ATS sources said it is suspected that Hussain had supplied a few “packets” in October 2009 to IM chief Yaseen Bhatkal. But he did not know about the content of the packets. 

 

The Times of India, August 7, 2013

ATS questioning IM man in WB in connection with Bakery blast

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: A Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) team left for West Bengal on Wednesday to question a suspected Indian Mujahideen operative in connection with the 2010 German Bakery bomb blast in Pune. 

    ATS sources said it is suspected that the operative, Anwar Malik Hussain, had supplied a few “packets” in October 2009 to IM chief Yaseen Bhatkal. The packets are believed to have contained explosives which were later used in making the bomb that went off at the bakery.
 
    Sources in the state ATS said the team went to Nadia district in West Bengal and interrogated Hussain for over two hours. However, the interrogation did not yield any result in connection with the explosives, they said.  An ATS officer said, “Hussain might not have been told about the content of the packets. He has admitted to carrying a few packets for several days before handing them over to Bhatkal. We are still verifying and corroborating his statement. Moreover, Bhatkal was arrested by the West Bengal in December 2010 but fled after getting bail.”
  
  The officer said that Hussain told the ATS team that he had never visited Pune. “However, it seems he had some knowledge about a possible terror strike before the German Bakery blast but was not told about the location,” he added.
 
    Hussain was arrested by the West Bengal police last week after the multiple blasts in Bodh Gaya. He was carrying fake Indian currency amounting to Rs 1.19 crore.  The ATS had arrested only one person, Mirza Himayat Baig, in the bakery case. Baig was sentenced to death by a Pune court this year.
   
 The CBI has already issued red corner notices against Bhatkal, Fayyaz Kagzi, Mohsin Chowdhary, Raheel Shaikh and two others in connection with the German Bakery blast. 


The Times of India (Pune), July 18, 2013 

‘3 passengers shared cab accused took to reach city’

PUNE BOMB CASE

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Investigations into the arrest of terror accused, Qateel Siddiqui, revealed that he had shared a cab with three other persons while travelling from Pune to Mumbai with an explosive. The bomb planter came to Mumbai and disposed of the bomb into the sea off Worliin February 2010.
 

    According to the police, Siddiqui (27) was an active member of the Indian Mujahideen. “Hewasto plant a bomboutside
 

Dagduseth Halwai temple on February 13, 2010. However, a flower vendor did not allowhim to keep his bag containing the bomb,” said anti-terrorism squadchief RakeshMaria. 

    “This forced Siddiqui to leave the area. He later went to an isolated spot and removed the bomb’s detonators and took a share cab to reach Mumbai,” he added. There were three other unsuspecting passengers in the cab in which Siddiqui was travelling,the policesaid. “During the journey, Siddiqui kept thebagcontaining thebombon hislap,” a policeofficer said. 

 

 

The Times of India, May 13, 2012

Why dispose of bomb in Mum, ‘IM man’ asked

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The police are questioning suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Qateel Siddiqui about his visit to Mumbai to dispose of a bomb near Worli sea face in February 2010. The bomb was to be planted at Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati temple on the same day as the German Bakery blast. 

    “We are questioning Siddiqui as to why he brought the bomb 200km away to Mumbai to throw it when he could not execute his plan,” said an ATS officer. Siddiqui was taken into ATS custody a few days ago and produced before a Pune court. Police said Siddiqui’s bid to plant the bomb was foiled when a vendor refused to allow him to keep his bag outside the temple. “We are trying to find out why he came to Mumbai to dispose off the bomb. We suspect he was in touch with senior operatives who might have instructed him,” said the officer.
 

    When asked what justification Siddiqui gave for his Mumbai visit, ATS chief Rakesh Maria said, “It is part of our investigation.” 

 

 

The Times of India, May 5, 2012

ATS takes custody of IM man for Pune temple blast attempt

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) has obtained custody of a suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative for links with the Pune temple blast bid case. The attempt was made outside the Dagduseth Halwai Ganapati temple on February 13, 2010, the day a powerful bomb ripped through German Bakery, in which 17 people were killed.
 

    The suspect, Qateel Siddiqui, was till now in Bangalore jail in connection with other blast cases. “This is the first arrest in the temple case,” said ATS chief Rakesh Maria.
 

    An ATS officer said the squad was clear about Siddiqui’s role in the temple case. “He is not involved in the German Bakery blast, but we want to question him in connection with the Dagduseth case.”
 

    Last November, the Delhi police arrested Siddiqui, along with Mohammed Adil, alias Shoeb, Irshad Khan, Gauhar Khomani, Gayur Jamali and Abdur Rehman, for their involvement in the bakery blast and the blasts at Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Stadium and Delhi’s Jama Masjid. But the ATS arrested only one person, Mirza Himayat Baig, in connection with the bakery blast. Later, the Delhi police came to believe that Siddiqui was involved only in the temple blast bid. 

    According to the police, Siddiqui and Baig were involved in ferrying bomb consignments to various locations in Pune; the temple blast plan failed as a flower vendor did not allow Siddiqui to keep a bag containing the bomb outside the temple; from Pune, Siddiqui came to Mumbai and threw the bag in the sea off Worli.
 

    In a written reply to the legislative council on March 31, home minister R R Patil said that IM operatives carried out a “dress rehearsal” outside the temple for other blasts. But he did not clarify if this was akin to a recce or a simulation. “One of the accused in the (temple) case is in a Bangalore prison and we are seeking his custody,” Patil had said then.

 

 

The Times of India, May 3, 2012

Pune blast probe: RR drops bomb in House

‘IM Dry Run Outside Temple Days Before Explosion’

Sharad Vyas & Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: Investigations into the blast at Pune’s German Bakery have established that Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives had carried out a “dress rehearsal” outside the city’s Dagdusheth Halwai temple.

The dummy run took place right outside the temple about three days before an attempted blast at the famous shrine simultaneously with an explosion at the bakery. The explosion at the temple was averted because an alert vendor raised an alarm.

During investigations into the blasts, the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) arrested a suspected IM member Mirza Himayat Mirza Baig.

In his written reply to the legislative council, state home minister RR Patil on Friday admitted that IM operatives carried out a “dress rehearsal” outside the temple. However, he did not clarify if it was akin to a recce or complete simulation of the actual blasts. “One of the accused in the case is jailed in a Bangalore prison and we are seeking his custody,” said Patil.

The request for custody is pending in Delhi’s Tees Hazari Court. In the last week of November, the Delhi police had arrested six suspected IM operatives, including Qateel Siddiqui. In his confession, Siddiqui said the IM had planned to carry out simultaneous bomb blasts at Dagdusheth Halwai temple and German Bakery on February 13, 2010.

“One arrest has been made in the German Bakery blast case. One accused in the temple bomb planting conspiracy case is in the custody of the Bangalore police,” ATS chief Rakesh Maria said.

“The accused, Qateel Siddiqui, visited the temple three days before the blast, and kept his bag with the vendor after purchasing flowers from him. However, on the day of the blast, the vendor refused to keep his bag,” he added.


‘Amravati univ site hackers from Pakistan’
Mumbai: The Maharashtra police have traced the IP address of the computers used to hack the websites of Amravati university and 27 other institutes to Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan. The state home department on Friday informed the legislative council that it is pursuing leads with the help of the Centre. However, the incident has highlighted the need for extending the state’s cyber police network to other parts of Maharashtra. “We are planning to open up five additional cyber cells in other parts of the state,” said minister of state for home Satej Patil.

“The new cells will be helpful in tracking cyber terrorism, theft and virus attacks of various kinds,” added Patil.

The issue was raised by leader of the opposition Vinod Tawde who blamed the government for dragging its feet on the matter. “It has been two weeks since the incident but the government has taken no responsibility,” Tawde said.


The Times of India, March 31, 2012

Red corner notices for 6 accused soon

BAKERY BLAST


Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) is in the process of the issuing red corner notices (RCN) against the six accused in the last year’s blast at German Bakery in Pune. Seventeen people, including five foreigners, had died in the February 13 explosion.

On September 7 last year, the investigators had claimed to have cracked the case with the arrest of a suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative, Mirza Himayat Baig. The ATS had further said that the plot was hatched by Pakistan’s banned outfit Lashkare-Taiba and executed by IM.

“Six persons—Fayyaz Kagzi, Zabihuddin Ansari alias Zaby, Mohsin Chaudhry, Yaseen Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal and Riyaz Bhatkal—are wanted in the case. The court will soon declare the wanted accused as absconders and RCNs will be issued,” ATS chief Rakesh Maria said.

The Times of India, February 13, 2011

Pune bakery chargesheet in two days

TAKING STOCK: The German Bakery blast killed 17 people

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) is likely to file a chargesheet in the Pune German Bakery blast case within two days.

ATS sources said they were about to file the chargesheet on Saturday, but a delay took place owing to pending work. December 6—when the chargesheet is likely to be filed—is 90 days from the date of the first arrests made in the case. In the document, the ATS will point out the cross-border origin of the RDX used in the blast.

The ATS arrested Mirza Himayat Baig (29), a leader of the banned Indian Mujahideen (IM), from Pune on September 7, but it has failed to trace two other suspects: Mohammed Zarar, alias Yaseen Bhatkal, who hails from Karnataka; and Mohsin Chawdhary, a resident of Pune.

The blast, which took place at 6.50 pm on February 13 in the bakery at Koregaon Park, killed 17 people—among them four foreigners —and injured 65. The RDX bomb was planted at 4.30 pm, the timer being a mobile phone alarm, the police said.

ATS sources said the squad has been in touch with intelligence agencies about the whereabouts of Bhatkal and Chawdhary, but no leads have been provided by the agencies yet.

“As of now, we will file the chargesheet against Baig. The RDX was procured by Chawdhary, who had brought it to a cyber cafe in Udgir, Latur. The cyber cafe was owned by Baig and the conspiracy was hatched there,” a source said. “The bomb too was assembled there—a week before it was planted at the bakery.”

The source said Baig was in touch with fugitives Raheel Shaikh, Fayyaz Kagzi and Zabihuddin Ansari, alias Zaby, all wanted in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case, but the ATS has not been able to extract information about their location. “Hence, it is difficult to say what role they played in the Pune blast, if at all.”

The Times of India, December 4, 2010

Pune blast case: ATS ready to file charge sheet

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) has almost completed its probe into the Pune German Bakery blast case and is ready to file the charge sheet. The ATS had arrested Mirza Himayat Baig (29), the leader of the banned outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) from Pune on September 7 in connection with thecase.

ATS chief Rakesh Maria on Sunday said that they were busy compiling the charge sheet. “We have collected a lot of evidence, including forensic reports, witness statements, documentary evidence and bank statements of Baig. We have also scanned the financial transactions carried out by Baig in the last three to four years,” said Maria.

An RDX bomb, planted within the premises of the German Bakery in Pune, had killed 17 people and injured 65 others. The bomb, which went off at 6.50 pm on February 13 in the bakery at Koregaon Park, was planted at 4.30 pm. A mobile phone alarm was used as the timer, the police said. Among the 17 dead were four foreigners.

The ATS said the blast was the handiwork of the LeT and carried out with the help of fugitive IM operatives. Baig, who is believed to have united the LeT and IM operatives in the state, owned Global Cyber Cafe in Udgir, Latur. “The explosives were brought to Udgir and the bomb was made at the cyber cafe,” added Maria.

The ATS is now hunting for two key suspects — Mohammed Zarar alias Yaseen Bhatkal, who hails from Karnataka, and Mohsin Chawdhary, a resident of Pune.

The Times of India, November 1, 2010

Pune blast accused may be booked for Nashik terror plot

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: The anti-terrorism squad (ATS), which is probing the German Bakery blast case, is likely to book the alleged mastermind, Mirza Himayat Baig, for plotting terror attacks in Nashik.

Baig (29) was arrested on September 7 for his alleged role in the Pune blast. He was involved in assembling and transporting the bomb which
was planted at the bakery in Koregaon Park on February 13.

In the Nashik case, the ATS had arrested Bilal Shaikh alias Bada Bilal (27), a college dropout, who had allegedly planned terror attacks at the police commissionerate, police training school and cantonment there. Baig’s name cropped up during interrogation. “Baig and Shaikh are known to each other. Baig has visited Nashik several times. We will seek his custody in the Nashik case soon,’’ said ATS chief Rakesh Maria.

“Shaikh had conducted a recce of the sites in Nashik and told Baig about them. Baig was aware of this conspiracy,’’ said Maria. The police also claimed to have seized 700 gm of RDX from Shaikh. Shaikh, said police, was hiding in Satpure area of Nashik, where he was living as Amin Manik Parekh.

According to the police, Shaikh studied in Pune for some time before he went to Pakistan for a terror training in 2008. “In Pune, Shaikh met Chhota Bilal, a Surat resident, who was Baig’s friend. Chhota Bilal introduced Shaikh to Baig saying the former had potential for their work,’’ an ATS officer said. Since then, the two were in constant touch with each other. “The Indian Mujahideen group was about to carry out attacks in Nashik,’’ said the officer. Shaikh had moved from Solapur to Nashik in May this year.

Asked if the police will book Shaikh in the Pune blast case, the officer said, “We are questioning both the accused in separate cases. We will take action after we have gathered evidence against Shaikh.’

The Times of India, September 19, 2010

Pune blast accused may be booked for Nashik terror plot

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: The anti-terrorism squad (ATS), which is probing the German Bakery blast case, is likely to book the alleged mastermind, Mirza Himayat Baig, for plotting terror attacks in Nashik.

Baig (29) was arrested on September 7 for his alleged role in the Pune blast. He was involved in assembling and transporting the bomb which
was planted at the bakery in Koregaon Park on February 13.

In the Nashik case, the ATS had arrested Bilal Shaikh alias Bada Bilal (27), a college dropout, who had allegedly planned terror attacks at the police commissionerate, police training school and cantonment there. Baig’s name cropped up during interrogation. “Baig and Shaikh are known to each other. Baig has visited Nashik several times. We will seek his custody in the Nashik case soon,’’ said ATS chief Rakesh Maria.

“Shaikh had conducted a recce of the sites in Nashik and told Baig about them. Baig was aware of this conspiracy,’’ said Maria. The police also claimed to have seized 700 gm of RDX from Shaikh. Shaikh, said police, was hiding in Satpure area of Nashik, where he was living as Amin Manik Parekh.

According to the police, Shaikh studied in Pune for some time before he went to Pakistan for a terror training in 2008. “In Pune, Shaikh met Chhota Bilal, a Surat resident, who was Baig’s friend. Chhota Bilal introduced Shaikh to Baig saying the former had potential for their work,’’ an ATS officer said. Since then, the two were in constant touch with each other. “The Indian Mujahideen group was about to carry out attacks in Nashik,’’ said the officer. Shaikh had moved from Solapur to Nashik in May this year.

Asked if the police will book Shaikh in the Pune blast case, the officer said, “We are questioning both the accused in separate cases. We will take action after we have gathered evidence against Shaikh.’

The Times of India, September 19, 2010

Pune blast mastermind had put up near city police HQ

ATS: Baig Was In Mumbai To Buy Bomb Ingredients

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Anti-Terrorism Squad officials on Thursday said that Pune blast’s prime suspect, Mirza Himayat Baig, had come to Mumbai to buy a cellphone and a rexine bag days before German Bakery was rocked by an explosion. “The mobile was used in the blast as a timer and the bag was used to carry explosives,’’ said the officials.

Interestingly, Baig, while in Mumbai, stayed in a guest house which is located close to the Mumbai police’s HQ. While only Baig (29) has been arrested in this case, two others are still at large, officials said.

“Baig had come to Mumbai in a private bus just before the blast. He identified himself as Yusuf and stayed in a guest house for Rs 180 a day near Crawford Market area. We have seized the (guest house’s) register,’’ said ATS chief Rakesh Maria. “While Baig visited several places in south Mumbai, we are still trying to find out if it was for carrying out a recce,’’ an official said.

Baig, said police sources, had procured nine blank caste certificates from the authorities which could have been used to get admission for his boys (new recruits) in various institutions to avoid suspicion. “He also managed to procure a fake driving licence in the name of one Prakash Bung,’’ an officer said.

Besides this, the police claimed to have seized three original election identity cards. “The cards contained Baig’s photos under various names like Imamuddin Shaikh, Khayyum Shaikh and Ahmed Baig. The age in these IDs have been shown 29, 30 and 31 years. We are checking who had issued these IDs (in Udgir, Latur) and will summon the authorities for questioning,’’ said a senior officer. Moreover, Baig allegedly possessed a handicapped person’s ID. “In this card, his disability was mentioned as ‘speech and hearing impairment’. This card was issued in the name of Ahmed Baig by the Samaj Kalyan office in Latur,’’ the officer added.

“We have identified the agents who helped Baig to procure the election IDs and our teams in Pune, Udgir, Beed, Akola, Aurangabad and Mumbai are working on the leads,’’ the official said.

FOOT IN MOUTH
Reacting to ATS deputy IG R G Kadam’s statement that it was not Mirza Himayat Baig, but one Mohsin Chaudhary, a wanted accused, who carried out the Pune blast, ATS chief Rakesh Maria said, “It was Baig who went to Pune with the explosives and was present there when the bomb was being planted. Kadam said something by mistake since he was not aware of the facts.’’ Kadam on Wednesday had told a private TV channel that Baig never went to Pune.

The Times of India, September 17, 2010

‘Bomb was brought in buses’

Pune Blast

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Alleged mastermind of the Pune German Bakery blast, Mirza Himayat Baig and wanted accused Ahmed Zarar alias Yaseen Bhatkal, had carried a 3 kg RDX bomb from Udgir in Latur district to Pune—a distance of 380 km—in state transport buses, sources in the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) said. The detonators were attached to the bomb hours before the blast on February 13.

The ATS on September 7 arrested Baig (29). “The bomb was assembled at Baig’s cyber cafe—Global Internet Cafe—in Udgir. Later, Zarar joined him in Udgir and the duo took a bus for Pune. They changed several buses before they reached the Pune bus station. To reach the target, the duo hired an auto,’’ said a senior ATS officer. The police seized four detonators and 1,200 gm of RDX from Baig’s cyber cafe. He is said to be the chief recruiter for banned outfit, Lashkar-e-Taiba, in Maharashtra. To avoid suspicion, the duo carried the bomb in a polythene bag.

It takes around 10 hours by road from Udgir to Pune. The explosive was brought to Udgir by another wanted accused, Mohsin Chaudhary, on February 7 and the trio assembled the bomb between 1 am and 4 am on February 8. “Between February 8 and the morning of February 13, the bomb was kept at Baig’s cyber cafe and he would check it every day. The bomb was kept in a corner of the Cafe and people would surf the net in the same room,’’ a source said.

The blast, said investigators, was carried out to protest the arrest of around 21 Indian Mujahideen (IM) members in Maharashtra in 2008. Moreover, investigators found that Baig had also planned attacks at Maharashtra Police Academy, Military Cantonment and police commissionerate, all in Nashik district. These targets were decided in May.

The Times of India, September 15, 2010

‘Pune was targeted to avenge arrest of IM members’

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: Mirza Inayat Baig (29), the alleged mastermind of Pune’s German Bakery blast, had plans to carry out attacks in Mumbai, too, sources said. “Baig had surveyed some targets. They chose Pune to avenge the arrest of Indian Mujahideen (IM) members. Most of these members were from Pune,’’ a senior official said.

Baig came under the police scanner while they were looking for 12 missing IM operatives. The focus was more on one Yusuf but he was untraceable. Later, the police realised that Baig himself was Yusuf. ATS teams were put on the job to trace the 12 missing IM members and it was then that they reached Baig.

Moreover, investigators found that Baig had also planned attacks at the Maharashtra Police Academy, Military Cantonment and police commissionerate, all located in Nashik district. Baig, made these revelations while he was being quizzed by the ATS. An associate of Baig had done the recce of these places from ‘outside’ and could not enter the targets. Baig was arrested in Pune on September 7 while he was waiting for a bus. Owner of a cyber cafe in Udgir in Latur, Baig has been termed as the commander in-chief of the Pakistani banned outfit, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), in Maharashtra. On January 31, Baig did a recce of German Bakery where a bomb went off on February 13, this year, killing 17 and injuring 65.

“Baig had given the responsibility of conducting the recce of the three ‘targets’ in Nashik to his associate, Bilal Fareed Shaikh,’’ said a senior ATS official. A Solapur resident, Shaikh (27) had been staying in Nashik on two fake names; Amin Parekh and Sutar Iqbal. Shaikh has been arrested by the Nashik police on charges of conspiring in terror attacks in Nashik under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). “The three targets in Nashik were decided by Baig and his handlers in Pakistan. We have recovered 700 gm RDX from Shaikh, 1,200 gm RDX and four detonators from Baig. They started planning the attacks in May this year,’’ the officer said.

The police are yet to establish why the suspects were planning terror attacks in a small district like Nashik. During investigation, it came to light that Baig and two wanted accused, Mohsin Chaudhary and Yaseen Bhatkal alias Ahmed Zarar Sidibappa, met outside Pune once. “The meeting took place a week after the blast. Chaudhary paid Rs 50,000 to Baig as remuneration for executing the German Bakery blast,’’ the officer said.

The police have filed an application in court, asking it to order to freeze a bank account in Udgir. “This bank account belongs to Baig but he opened it in a friend’s name one-and-half-years ago,’’ said an officer. When asked why Chaudhary was not asked to plant the bomb, an officer, said, “Chaudhary is a known face in Pune. The planner wanted some new face.’’

The Times of India, (Mumbai), September 14, 2010

Terrorists prefer small modules: Interrogators

Strategy Changed After IM Module Was Busted In 2008

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: The interrogation of suspected German Bakery blast mastermind Mirza Himayat Baig (29) has revealed that the terrorists are preferring to form small modules. The terror suspects realized there could be a larger number of arrests if the modules were big. This strategy was adopted after a big module of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) was busted in September 2008 and 21 suspects were arrested.

“During the interrogation, Baig has admitted that the module involved in the German Bakery blast consisted of only three persons. However, we are not buying this,” said Rakesh Maria, the 59-year-old additional director general of police of the anti-terrorism squad (ATS).

Baig was arrested on September 7 from Pune for his alleged role in conspiring, assembling and transporting a bomb which was planted at German Bakery in Koregaon Park area. Seventeen persons were killed and 65 others were injured in the deadly RDX blast that occured on February 13.

The largest module of IM suspects was busted in 2008 while the Mumbai crime branch was also probing to find out the origin of a terror email sent to several television channels claiming responsibility for the Ahmedabad and Delhi blasts and the Surat terror strikes. An e-mail was traced to the house of US national Ken Haywood in Navi Mumbai. The crime branch later arrested Mansoor Peerbhoy, a computer engineer from Pune, and 20 others.

Before this, a module of suspected members of the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was busted by the ATS in 2006. “The ATS had then arrested 21 members of a module run by Fayyaz Kagazi and Zabihuddin Ansari alias Zaby. Both Zaby and Kagazi are still at large,” said an ATS officer.

A senior ATS officer said the decision to form small groups of the terror outfit was finalized at the Colombo meeting in 2008. “The group also instructed all members to keep a low profile and avoid the police glare. This is why Baig never came under the radar,” said a security establishment official.

Baig was entrusted with the job of forming small modules, the ATS said. “For this, he travelled to Parbhani, Beed, Aurangabad and other cities in Maharashtra. He visited Mumbai too, but never planned any attack there. The focus was western Maharashtra only,” said a senior ATS official.

Maria said Baig was a tourist and would travel a lot. “He would visit these cities to supervise the activities of the new modules.” He added that Baig was being questioned about the other persons in other modules and those heading the modules. “He is also being grilled about the other Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commanders in other states,” said sources in the security establishment.

The ATS has seized six computers and hard discs from Baig’s cyber cafe, Global Internet Café, in Udgir, Latur. The hard discs will soon be sent for a cyber analysis,” said an official, adding that the ATS was also trying to obtain the mirror-image of the computers for their probe.


The Times of India, (Pune), September 11, 2010

Missing RDX of 2006 used in bakery blast?

Baig Knew Suspects In Arms Haul Case

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: The anti-terrorism squad (ATS) is checking whether the missing RDX in the Aurangabad arms haul case in May 2006 was used in the bomb which was planted at Pune’s German Bakery.

The ATS arrested suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) Maharashtra commander, Mirza Himayat Baig (29), on Tuesday in connection with the Pune blast. Baig was close to Fayyaz Kagazi and Zabihuddin Ansari alias Zaby, both wanted suspects in the Aurangabad arms haul case.

The ATS had seized 43 kg RDX, 16 AK-74 rifles, 50 hand grenades and 3,200 live bullets and arrested 19 youths in the Aurangabad case. “Though Baig knew about the arms haul, he was neither questioned nor arrested in the case,” said an ATS officer. A car driven by Zaby, which contained hand grenades and RDX, had managed to give the police the slip in May 2006. The car was later found in Malegaon but the deadly RDX was missing.

“Wanted accused Mohsin Chawdhary had brought the RDX, which was used in the Pune blast, to Baig’s cafe in Udgir, Latur, on February 7. We are questioning Baig to find out if the missing RDX of 2006 was stored somewhere and used to assemble the bomb that went off at German Bakery,” said an officer.

The source of the RDX found in 2006 is still not known. “In the Pune blast around two to three kg RDX was used,” state ATS chief Rakesh Maria said.

The ATS was tightlipped about the “mode of communication” used by the group to interact with each other. There is a possibility of them chatting on the Net or using the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) facility from Baig’s cyber cafe.

Baig has been charged with conspiracy, and assembing and transporting the bomb. The bomb went off inside German Bakery on February 13, killing 17 and injuring 65 others. The police say the blast plot was hatched by the LeT and executed by the fugitive members of banned outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM).

When asked whether the suspects would be booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), Maria said, “We have already invoked sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). We are yet to decide on MCOCA.”

Earlier, the ATS had invoked MCOCA in all bomb blast cases, including the 7/11 train bombings, 2006 Malegaon blast, 2008 Malegaon blasts, Aurangabad arms haul and the arrest of Indian Mujahideen suspects.

Talking about the merging of the operatives of the LeT and Indian Mujahideen, Maria said, “Baig was called for the meeting at a hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He met Kagazi and the others and they decided to group all the recruits and members of the sleeper cell under one command. Baig stayed in Colombo for three weeks.”

From Colombo, Baig went to Chennai and then to Hyderabad before returning to Latur where he started the cyber cafe, Global Internet Cafe. “Kagazi handed over Rs 2.4 lakh to Baig for recruiting new boys and other expenses. However, Baig used this money to set up the cyber cafe but, at the same time, identified boys and sent them to Pakistan for training,” Maria said. According to sources, the police has a list of more than half a dozen boys who had gone to Pakistan for terror training. Interestingly, Baig has never been to Pakistan himself.

Maria said the module headed by Baig was “very techno savvy” and kept changing its methods and improving skills. “Baig is tremendously ingenious,” he added.

Baig, a resident of Udgir, Latur, was arrested by the Pune police in 2007 for possession of firearms. He was wanted in another case registered by the ATS in Mumbai under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for distributing jihadi literature in Pune.

Baig had cleared his first year diploma in education but failed in the second year. He was studying at a Pune-based college and had stayed in the college hostel from 2003 to 2005.

Baig was also a member of Kerala’s Popular Front of India and he was assigned with the task of enrolling more members for the party.

ATS made several rounds of Udgir
Udgir (Latur): Sleuths of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) visited Udgir on several occasions in the recent past. In fact, one ATS team that had camped in the town left from there on Wednesday night. Mirza Himayat Baig (29), who was picked up by the ATS in Pune on Tuesday, is a resident of Udgir and ran an internet cafe there. The bomb used in the German Bakery blast was believed to have been assembled in the cafe, where Baig also held a series of meetings with his accomplices in the blast case. P 3

Baig taken to Mumbai for interrogation
Pune: Mirza Himayat Baig (29), who was arrested by the ATS in Pune in the German Bakery blast case, and his associate, Bilal Baba Hussain Fareed Shaikh, who was arrested in Nashik in another case, have both been taken to Mumbai for interrogation. Investigations in the blast has prima facie revealed that the accused had found the bakery to be a soft target as it was frequented by foreigners, an ATS official said. P 3


The Times of India, (Pune), September 10, 2010

THE PAST SEVEN MONTHS

FEBRUARY 13: A powerful blast rips through German Bakery in Koregaon Park at 6.52 pm, killing nine people and injuring many others. Subsequently, the terror attack left 17 dead and 65 others injured

FEBRUARY 14: Union home minister P Chidambaram, chief minister Ashok Chavan, state home minister R R Patil visit the blast site. Chidambaram maintains it was not an intelligence failure

FEBRUARY 15: Investigating agencies scan the footage recorded by CCTV cameras installed at the entrance of Hotel O opposite the eatery

FEBRUARY 16: A forensic report confirms the use of RDX, ammonium nitrate and petroleum hydrocarbon oil in the explosive

FEBRUARY 18: Investigators seek help from autorickshaw unions to identify a moving autorickshaw captured by the CCTV near the blast site

FEBRUARY 28: ATS chief K P Raghuvanshi appeals to people who visited German Bakery from 4 pm till the time of the explosion to contact the ATS office

MARCH 2: The blast site is cleared by the police

MARCH 6: With not much headway in the probe, investigation agencies hope for a breakthrough from the images of nearly 1,000 people caught on CCTV cameras

MARCH 9: Investigators zero in on a man caught on a CCTV camera who may have planted the bomb

APRIL 7: The ATS submits a preliminary report to the home department assuring a breakthrough. Officials said they were looking for two youths, one from New Delhi and the other from South India.

MAY 12: Officials claim that four prime suspects from southern India fled to Pakistan and that they may ask the Centre to ask Pakistan to help bring them back.

MAY 12: US ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer visits the blast site

JULY 4: R R Patil admits that the probe has been delayed, adding that those behind the blast have been identified and would be arrested

AUGUST 10: Patil claims that the police have the names and addresses of the suspects, but they are untraceable. The suspects would be arrested soon, he says.

SEPTEMBER 3: Patil declares that the names of the suspects involved in the German Bakery blast case would be known after September 10

SAMAD BLUNDER

* On May 24, Abdul Samad Zarar was picked up from Bajpe airport in Karnataka on his return from Dubai by the Maharashtra antiterrorism squad. He was booked in a nine-month-old Arms Act case.

* He is the brother of Yasin Bhatkal, one of the founder-members of the IM and was suspected of being involved in the February 13 blast

* The ATS had claimed a major breakthrough with Samad’s arrest. Union home minister P Chidambaram had complimented the ATS only to dilute the statement later. The minister cautioned the police to verify the facts.

* Samad was subsequently released on July 4 after a court granted him bail on June 15. Additional sessions judge S L Pathan, observed there was no evidence against Samad and that the ATS had never shown him as a ``wanted accused’’ in the 2009 arms seizure case.

Abdul Samad

The Times of India (Pune), September 9, 2010

He was strong contender to head state LeT module

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Lashkar-e-Taiba’s western India commander Himayat Baig had emerged as the strongest contender to head LeT’s module in Maharashtra during a meeting of the outfit’s recruits and the fugitives of the banned Indian Mujahideen held in Colombo,
Sri Lanka, late in 2008.

Baig (29) ran Global Internet Cafe at Udgir in Latur where the German Bakery blast conspiracy was allegedly hatched. He was arrested by the Pune police in 2007 for possession of firearms.

“Baig is a big catch for us,” said state antiterrorism squad (ATS) chief Rakesh Maria. “He is the mastermind of the German bakery blast and had been planning several other attacks in western Maharashtra. He is a bigger fish then the other fugitives. Baig would provide manpower whenever required for meetings and other plans.”

Maria said, “In 2008, Baig spoke to the fugitives of banned outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) and the Lashkar handlers. He suggested that they will be in a better position to perform if the two banned groups merge into one group informally. Baig is so clever that he did not go inside German Bakery to plant the bomb knowing there was a CCTV camera installed.”

Baig has been under suspicion after the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case where the Maharashtra ATS arrested 19 persons and seized 43 kg RDX, 16 AK-47 rifles, 3,200 live cartridges and 50 hand grenade bombs. “Baig had played a role in that case and he will be booked for it,” said an ATS officer.

Talking about the Colombo meeting, Maria said, “To avoid coming under the police scanner, Baig went to Hyderabad and then Chennai before taking a Colombo flight. In Colombo, he met the fugitive members of the IM and the sleeper cells of the LeT and convinced them to come under one umbrella.”

In the Aurangabad arms haul case, two operatives, Fayyaz Kagazi and Zabihuddin Ansari alias Zaby, have not been arrested. “On the one hand there was Kagazi and Zaby while the other group was led by Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal. The Bhatkal brothers are wanted for their role in the Gujarat, Delhi and Surat blasts.
Baig spoke to the Bhatkal brothers and the other group and convinced them to work together. It was Baig who reorganised the sleeper cells and the fugitives and formed a new module,” said Maria.

The arrest of 21 IM members in 2008 and information extracted from them helped Maria detect the Pune blast. In 2008, Maria was heading the Mumbai crime branch when the 21 IM members were arrested.

HIS BACKGROUND
Baig ran Global Internet Cafe at Udgir in Latur where the German Bakery blast conspiracy was allegedly hatched.

He was arrested by the Pune police in 2007 for possession of firearms.

He suggested operatives of IM and Lashkar merge to form an informal group

The Times of India (Pune), September 9, 2010

Bakery blast mastermind arrested

Himayat Baig (face covered), main suspect in the German Bakery blast case, being produced in the Shivajinagar court, Pune, on Wednesday.

ATS Says Himayat Baig Heads LeT Module In State, Hatched Conspiracy Along With IM Operatives His Associate Bilal Shaikh Also Held, But In A Nashik Case Two Key Suspects Are On The Run

Mateen Hafeez & Asseem Shaikh | TNN

Mumbai/Pune: Nearly seven months after a bomb blast ripped through Pune’s popular German Bakery, killing 17 people and injuring 65, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Wednesday claimed to have cracked the case with the arrest of Mirza Himayat Baig Inayat Baig, who allegedly heads Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) module in the state.


The ATS has also arrested Bilal Baba Hussain Fareed Shaikh (27). Bilal, allegedly an associate of Baig’s, was arrested in Nashik in connection with a case there and has also been charged with plotting terror strikes in Maharashtra. He has, however, not been booked in the Pune blast case yet.


The police said the blast was the handiwork of the LeT and carried out with the help of fugitive Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives. Baig (29), who is believed to have united the LeT and IM operatives in the state, was arrested in Pune on Tuesday. He was in touch with his LeT handlers in Pakistan, said ATS chief and additional director-general of police Rakesh Maria in Mumbai. “Baig is the mastermind of the Pune bomb blast. His arrest will definitely help us prevent other terrorrelated cases,” Maria said.

On Wednesday, a magistrate court in Pune remanded Baig to police custody till September 20.
The ATS is now hunting for two other key suspects — Mohammed Zarar alias Yaseen Bhatkal, who hails from Karnataka, and Mohsin Chawdhary, a resident of Pune. Both are allegedly Indian Mujahideen operatives. Zarar is believed to have planted the bomb.

Baig is a resident of Udgir in Latur. He was arrested by the Pune police in 2007 for possession of firearms.

ATS officials did not say anything about LeT operative David Headley’s possible role. Earlier, it was said that Headley had done a recce of Osho Ashram and Chabad House. “We cannot say anything about Headley’s role in this case at this stage,” said ATS additional commissioner Sukhvindar Singh.

The bomb, which went off at 6.50 pm on February 13 in the packed bakery close to the Osho Ashram and Chabad House in the tony Koregaon Park area, was planted at 4.30 pm. A mobile phone alarm was used as the timer, the police said. Among the 17 dead were four foreigners — an Italian, an Iranian and two Sudanese.

“The man seen in the CCTV grab at German Bakery is Zarar,” said Maria, adding that the ATS teams were being assisted by several other agencies to track down the fugitive suspects.
“The (Pune blast) conspiracy was hatched on January 31 this year at Baig’s cyber cafe, Global Internet Cafe, at Udgir. Chawdhary and Zarar were called by Baig to the cyber cafe. Baig recceed German Bakery,” said Maria.

CASE CRACKED
ARRESTED LeT COMMANDER HIMAYAT BAIG (29)
Baig, a resident of Latur, is involved in two previous criminal cases. In the first case, Baig was arrested by the Pune police in 2007 for possession of firearms. In the second case registered on August 20, 2008 in Mumbai, Baig has been booked under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). He could also be booked in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case, where the police recovered around 30 kgs of RDX, AK-47 rifles and live bullets. He is said to be the link between the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Indian Mujahideen groups. He failed to clear the second year of his diploma in education (D Ed) course.

ON THE RUN
MOHAMMED ZARAR ALIAS YASEEN BHATKAL
A resident of Karnataka, Zarar is believed to have planted the bomb at German Bakery. He is allegedly an Indian Mujahideen operative and had participated in the conspiracy hatched at Baig’s internet cafe at Udgir, the police said. The ATS has said that his is the face in the CCTV footage at the Bakery.

ON THE RUN
MOHSIN CHAWDHARY
A resident of Kondhwa in Pune, Chawdhary is allegedly an Indian Mujahideen operative and had also participated in the conspiracy hatched at Udgir, the police said. He is suspected to have smuggled into the country the RDX used in the bomb.

ARRESTED (In a Nashik case)

BILAL BABA HUSSAIN FAREED SHAIKH (27)
Originally from Hotagi village in Solapur district, Bilal left college after he failed in his first year B.Sc. Police alleged that he went to Pakistan for terror training in January 2008 and returned a year later. He has been charged with plotting terror strikes in Maharashtra but has not been booked in the Pune blast case yet. After the Pune blast, Bilal left his village and started staying in Nashik. He procured fake documents in the name of Amir Manik and was living in a rented apartment. He was working in a company at Satpur in Nashik under another fictitious identity. Bilal is suspected to have done a recce of several other places in Nashik which the group had planned to target.

The group met again on February 3 and finalised the plan to plant the bomb at German Bakery. The deadly explosive, RDX, was brought by Chawdhary. “We are still probing the source of the RDX and who helped Chawdhary smuggle it into the country,” said a senior officer.

An ATS officer said that on the day of the blast, Zarar and Baig came to Pune in a state transport bus and changed two rickshaws to reach German Bakery. “While Baig waited outside, Zarar entered the bakery, planted the bomb and left,” said Sukhvindar Singh. Soon after the blast, the two left Pune discreetly for their homes and were not in touch with each other over mobile phone for a few days, the police said.

The police claimed to have seized from another of Baig’s houses in Beed 1,200 gms of explosives believed to be RDX, a soldering gun, wire, wire cutter, two mobile handsets and several SIM cards which were procured on fake names and fictitious addresses.

The police teams visited Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi and several other places before zeroing in on the accused. “The detection is based purely on human intelligence,” said an officer, adding that Baig was picked up after a tip-off from some people.

ATS deputy superintendent of police (Pune unit) Vinod Satav said that following a tip-off, Baig was picked up from platform no. 3 of the Mahatma Gandhi bus depot in the Pune Cantonment area. He was waiting for a municipal transport bus to go to Shivajinagar.

Satav said that under sustained interrogation, Baig revealed the names of Chawdhary and Zarar as his co-conspirators.

Baig was arrested under sections 120(b), 302, 307, 326, 325, 324 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code, 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosives Act and 16, 18 and 21 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and Amended Act 2004.

Bilal, originally a Solapur resident, was arrested on Tuesday evening from the Satpur area of Nashik where he was staying on a fake name and identity, said an ATS officer.
The police said Baig had taken shelter at the house of IM operatives Iqbal Bhatkal and Riyaz Bhatkal in Karnataka for a month where he had gone for training. “Baig is the main link between the fugitive LeT operatives, Fayyaz Kagazi and Zabihuddin Ansari alias Zaby (both are wanted in the Aurangabad arms haul case), and Indian Mujahideen operative Akbar Chaudhry, who was arrested by the Mumbai crime branch in 2008. Baig later united the operatives of Indian Mujahideen and LeT to create a new module,” the officer said.

Baig, Zarar and Mohsin Chawdhary had also planned to attack at least eight to nine other sites in western Maharashtra but they were asked to lie low after the Pune blast. “This group had recceed several other sites. They photographed the targets and saved the photos in pen drives,” said an officer.

Meanwhile, as Satav filed the report seeking 14 days’ police custody of Baig, Pune Bar Association (PBA) president Milind Pawar filed an application before the court stating that the association members in their meeting held on Wednesday had appealed to the lawyers not to represent Baig in the blast case as he was involved in a crime against the nation.

Global Internet Cafe in Udgir, once owned by Baig, was closed down by the current owner on Wednesday following Baig’s arrest

The Times of India, Pune (Mumbai), September 9, 2010