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Indian Mujahideen operative held for serial bombs, 2002 attack on Kolkata American Center

‘Indian Mujahideen had attacked Kolkata American Center’
Mon, Nov 10 08:33 PM

Mumbai/Kolkata, Nov 10 (IANS) The Mumbai police said Monday an Indian Mujahideen operative, held for his alleged role in the serial bomb blasts in various Indian cities earlier this year, was one of the two gunmen who had attacked the American Center in Kolkata Jan 22, 2002.

Joint Police Commissioner (Crime) Rakesh Maria told mediapersons that Mohammed Saddik Israr Ahmed Shaikh, hailing from Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, had opened fire from a Kalashnikov rifle at the American Center in the West Bengal capital.

Nabbed from the Cheetah Camp area of north-east Mumbai, Shaikh had assumed the identity of ‘Sadaqat’ at the time of the incident.

Shaikh, 33, and 19 others were arrested at different times in September-October from various locations around the country. They are all in police custody.

Among the four arrested in the first phase of crackdown by the police Sept 24, Shaikh was employed as a programme engineer with an electronics company in the city.

He had attended terror training camps in Pakistan twice – once for nine months and the second time for one-and-half months, the police said.

The remaining activists of the terror group or their accomplices in the serial blasts were nabbed in October.

The dawn attack on the American Center, when the guard duty was being changed, had left five policemen dead and injured 20.

No consular staff or US nationals were injured when four people draped in shawls came on speeding motorcycles and sprayed bullets at the guards.

The operation was completed in less than five minutes before the terrorists escaped from the scene.

Later, two Islamic groups, including the Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islam (HuJI) based in Bangaldesh, had claimed responsibility for the attack.

In Kolkata, police deputy commissioner Jawed Shamim said a team from West Bengal Saturday visited Mumbai to cross-check the details.

‘Joint Commissioner of Police (STF) and I along with other officials went to Mumbai Saturday. On interrogating him (Shaikh), we found that he is Sadaqat operating under the name Sadiq,’ Shamim told reporters.

‘We were looking for Sadiq for a long time. We are trying to bring him to Kolkata,’ Shamim added.

Shaikh, along with absconder Riyaz Bhatkal alias Roshan Khan and another Pakistani – Atif – are believed to be the founders of the Indian Mujahideen.

Shaikh’s role has also come to light in the July 11, 2006 serial blasts in Mumbai’s suburban trains, police said. He was one of the key IM persons in direct touch with Pakistan-based Roshan Khan and Amir Raza.

Shaikh, along with absconder Riyaz Bhatkal, alias Roshan Khan and another Pakistani – Atif – are believed to be the main founders of the IM around 2005.

The police have said the Indian Mujahideen played a central role in the recent serial blasts in different parts of the country and was also involved in almost all blasts in the country in the past four years.

Muslim terror attacks leaves Bangalore psychologically scarred

Terror strikes leave indelible mark on Bangalore
Rati Ramadas
Sunday, November 09, 2008, (Bangalore)After a spate of terror attacks across the country how do people deal with the idea of terror? How does one regain a sense of safety and security? Does one look to the government for help or work on warding off the demons on one’s own?

Bangalore was ripped by serial blasts on July 25. There may be no telltale signs of a terror attack now, but in the minds of ordinary Bangaloreans it has left an indelible mark.

Shrimati Bhat, who has lived in Bangalore for over 30 years, says fear has become a familiar emotion with her.

” Whenever my family goes out I worry a lot more. I expect a call from them every 1 to 2 hours. I keep watching television to see if there are any other attacks. If something happens in Assam or Mumbai I will be worried. It was not like this in earlier days,” said Shrimati Bhat, Resident, Bangalore.

The fear factor finds resonance across Bangalore. Many say they would rather be cautious by avoiding late night commutes or going to crowded places.

“From fear we now live in a state of paranoia. We always thought Bangalore is still a safe haven. Now the crucial difference is the element of surprise. This state of preparedness makes a change to the image of what Bangalore is, to what the life is in the city,” said G K Karanth, sociologist.

The IT sector is worried that the image of the city has taken a beating. Travel advisories by the US, the UK and Canada advise against travel to terror-hit cities like Bangalore.

“All IT companies and business heads will be anxious. People will be spending more time. Business continuity, disaster recovery management if they are not in place, will India be a preferred destination? The answer is ‘yes’. But at the same time, there will be a lot of review as to whether in the long term it will be safe,” said Lathika Pai, Founder, Fides Global Consultants.

Since the blasts, six suspected terrorists have been held in Karnataka. According to the police, the men are linked to the Delhi and Ahmedabad serial blasts that claimed several lives. Bangaloreans are looking towards the government to gain a sense of safety and security.

Bodo militants, not Islamic terrorists masterminded serial bombings in Assam: Police

Bodo militants masterminded serial bombings in Assam: Police
11 Nov 2008, 1001 hrs IST, IANS

GUWAHATI: Twelve days after the wave of bombings in Assam that killed 83 people and wounded 300 more, police on Tuesday said evidence suggests the  involvement of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) in triggering the explosions, rejecting earlier theories of Islamist terror groups being directly involved in the attacks.

Police and officials of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the serial bombings of Oct 30 claim to have almost reached the final stage of the investigations with all evidences pointing towards the NDFB, in a ceasefire with New Delhi since 2005.

The sequence of events before and after the explosions in Guwahati (three blasts), Kokrajhar, Barpeta, and Bongaigaon are sensational.

Investigators have found that three Maruti cars used in the Guwahati bombings were all purchased by NDFB cadres, while a motorbike used in the Bongaigaon blast was also owned by a NDFB rebel.

No police official, however, would like to come on record.

According to investigators, plans for executing the serial blasts were chalked out by NDFB chairman Ranjan Daimary, believed to be based in Bangladesh. Daimary was apparently unhappy over the slow progress of the peace talks with New Delhi and did the planning with the support of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami (HuJI). The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) had a minimal role in the blasts, officials said.

“The NDFB masterminded the bombings with the ULFA giving a helping hand to the terror strike with support from the HuJI. But it was the NDFB that is primarily responsible,” a police official said, requesting not to be named.

The run up to the blasts:

Oct 28: The three vehicles used for the blasts in Guwahati arrived here from different locations and were parked at a house in the Gorchuk area, in the city’s outskirts.

Oct 29: All the three vehicles were packed with explosives in the same place.

Oct 30: The three cars were driven to the allotted parking lots in the city for the big terror strike. One of the cars was driven by a man named Thumri Narzary, believed to be a NDFB cadre. Police are now in possession of the call list of Thumri’s mobile phone and the location from where he called based on mobile tower positions. After parking the car at the chief judicial magistrate’s court, Thumri left Guwahati for an unknown location.

Thumri’s mobile phone was later tracked at Rangia, 70 km from Guwahati, and then in Kokrajhar. After Kokrajhar, Thumri’s mobile phone could not be tracked.

The owners of the three cars used for bombings were traced to Baksa district in western Assam. The NDFB’s designated camp is located in Baksa. Police and security forces have cordoned off the NDFB’s camp since Monday night, suspecting some of the kingpins of the blasts could be hiding inside the barracks.

The NDFB has denied any involvement in the explosions and has blamed the government for trying to derail the peace process.

Authorities are now contemplating an end to the three-year-old ceasefire with the NDFB after the investigations.