13/7 Jihadi Terror blasts- Goof ups galore. 13/7 operation by the Indian Mujahideen was a major operation and today it appears as though the National Investigation Agency is on the verge of cracking it. Unlike several other blasts carried out by the Indian Mujahideen, the 13/7 blasts has two interesting angles to it- the first being a blend between Indian and Pakistani operatives and secondly the Maharashtra ATS getting wrong from day one. NIA officials tell rediff that what they are getting to understand from Yasin Bhatkal is that the Indian Mujahideen is attempting to blend in the Pakistani nationals for major operations in India. The close circuit television footage of an operative by the name Waqas has been confirmed by the mastermind of the 13/7 attack, Yasin Bhatkal. The Indian Mujahideen chief who is being questioned by the NIA has told them that it was Waqas who had planted the bomb at Zaveri Bazar and he was roped in from Pakistan for this operation. Yasin Bhatkal says that Waqas a Pakistani national was trained in Pakistan and was an expert and preparing and planting bombs. He was roped in specifically for the 13/7 operation since it was a big one and they needed to plant multiple bombs in such a big city. Waqas was the perfect choice for this operation and everyone of us were pleased with the manner in which he carried out the operation. Wrong trail- Yasin Bhatkal’s account is nothing but embarrassing for the Maharashtra ATS who started out with the 13/7 investigations. While they managed to get it right in respect of Yasin Bhatkal, Tabrez and Waqas, the rest of the persons they picked up or claimed to pick up were all in no way connected with the blast. Take for example the case of Naquee Ahmed, Nadeem Shaikh and Haroon Naik. All these persons were informers. In fact what the NIA is getting to know is that the case of Naquee Ahmed is quite embarrassing as he was part of the Delhi police operation trying to bust the IM module which carried out the 13/7 blasts. The Maharashtra ATS however decided to arrest Naquee Ahmed and show him as one of the accused despite several directives and requests from the Delhi police and the Intelligence Bureau telling them who this man really was. As a result of this arrest, there were two major slip ups that took place. Firstly Yasin Bhatkal who was hiding at Bycula managed to get away. Secondly information regarding the whereabouts of Waqas too which were known to Naquee never came out. Today Yasin tells the NIA that Waqas stayed at Byculla for nearly a month and half before the 13/7 attack. He visited a local gymnasium where he met with the other operatives and planned out this attack. Not once did he come under the radar of the local police. Yasin further adds that he had planted the bomb at Dadar and said that he took the help of Waqas and Tabrez and Waqas who planted the bombs at Opera House and Zaveri Bazar respectively. They were shadowed by another operative by the name Tahseen who ensured that the logistics were provided. Following the attack, all of us dispersed and did not discuss anything between each other, Yasin pointed out. In case Waqas was needed for another operation, he would have been handled by persons in Pakistan and we ensured that we did not communicate through email or phone and this helped us escape, he says. The NIA is now trying to get out the names of four other persons who helped with case. Yasin Bhatkal says that the ATS had claimed that it had got all the men, but the fact is that those names being quoted by the ATS were on the wanted list and they had all managed to escape. Yasin however adds that Waqas continues to remain in India on the instruction of his handlers in Pakistan. The last I knew about Waqas was that he was in Uttar Pradesh and after that I have no idea about him. He is handled directly by handlers in Pakistan and meets us only if he is given specific instructions. Currently with Yasin in jail, Waqas is the primary bomb maker for the IM and getting him would be a major catch for us, the NIA says.
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 17:33:26 +0000
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