Syed Zabiuddin, the Indian Muslim terrorist behind 26/11 Mumbai massacre

Syed Zabiuddin, the Indian face behind 26/11

February 02, 2010

The Indian face behind the November 26, 2008 carnage in Mumbai [ Images ] has emerged out of the shadows. Intelligence agencies have revealed that the mystery man with a heavy Indian accent who was handling the Mumbai attacks was 29-year-old Syed Zabiuddin Syed Zakiuddin Ansari.

The various transcripts and telephonic conversations between the handlers and the attackers, which are in possession with the Mumbai police and the Intelligence Bureau, point out to the role of Syed Zabiuddin in the attacks.

His exact words at the start of the attack at the Nariman House in Mumbai were ‘Tell the media that this is just the trailer, the real movie is yet to begin’. He stayed in touch with the fidayeen member Abu Akasha and his men at the Jewish centre and during the course of the attack used words such as gathbandan (alliance), karenga (to do something) and prashasan (administration), which are very typical Hindi words as against the strong Urdu spoken by the rest of the handlers, who were of Pakistani origin.

The tapes also reveal that Syed Zabiuddin was extremely particular that the fidayeens on the ground should conceal their Pakistani identity at any cost. He is heard saying on tape to the Nariman House attackers to identify themselves only as Indian citizens.

He also directs them to say that they hail from the Toli Chowki area in Hyderabad.

According to the IB, while listening to the transcripts they had a strong doubt about a man of Indian origin present in the control room. While we were sure that Abu Jundal, who is also of Indian origin, was present along with the 26/11 operations team, we were trying to ascertain who this other Indian in the camp was.

Abu Jundal is the man who imparted accent training to the 26/11 attackers so that they could speak like Indians and not get identified as Pakistanis.

The Syed Zabiuddin story

Indian intelligence agencies say that the rise of Syed Zabiuddin was phenomenal. We have been able to establish that he is from Gevrai, a small village in Beed district, Maharashtra [ Images ].

Born on November 13, 1981, he almost made it to the second rung of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba [ Images ], barely seven years after taking the terror path. The son of an insurance agent, Syed Zabiuddin did his schooling at Gevrai and then joined the Indian Technical Institute in Beed district.

It was at this time that his entire path changed and he started drifting towards terrorism.

Like several other jihadis produced on the India [ Images ]n soil, Syed Zabiuddin too made up his mind to join an extremist outfit following the Gujarat riots. Through his earlier days, he had witnessed communal riots in Maharashtra and also was keen on the happenings following the demolition of the Babri Masjid [ Images ]. Immediately after the Gujarat riots, he came in contact with the Students Islamic Movement of India.

Syed Zabiuddin shuttled between Uttar Pradesh [ Images ] and Maharashtra, organising camps and recruiting youth into the SIMI [ Images ]. Prior to taking the terror path, he was sent along with several other SIMI activists to train with the Lashkar. He was asked to approach Mumbai-based operative, Rahil Sheikh who managed to slip him into Pakistan and undergo training.

The IB says that Syed Zabiuddin trained along with several other Indian operatives on the Pakistan-Iran border before returning to India.

According to the IB, he remained with the SIMI for nearly two years before moving completely into the Lashkar. His main areas of operations were Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, from where he managed to recruit the highest number of persons.

From India operations, Syed Zabiuddin was asked to move into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir [ Images ] and take care of operations there for some time. Here too he was given the task of facilitating the entry of Indian operatives, who could fight alongside the Lashkar in Kashmir.

Over a span of just four years, he had built up an excellent network. Although his biggest assignment with the Lashkar was the Mumbai attack, he started off with the Delhi [ Images ] serial blasts, which occurred in 2008. The blasts at New Delhi were mainly an Indian Mujahideen-based operation and the attack on the capital city was probably one of the biggest assignments for the IM.

Prior to handling the Delhi blasts, Syed Zabiuddin was also given a brief to carry out a fidayeen strike in Gujarat, which was to result in the assassination of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi [ Images ].

He slipped into Gujarat along with 11 other operatives and was getting ready for the operation. But the IB picked up information and passed it on to the Gujarat police, which foiled the plot. Ansari managed to give them the slip and fled to Pakistan. His 11 accomplices were, however, arrested.

After executing the Delhi blasts, Syed Zabiuddin was instructed to lie low before being summoned to handle the Mumbai attack. The Lashkar thought that it would be a good idea to use Ansari in this attack since he was familiar with the Mumbai terrain and could guide the attackers well.

Moreover, the Lashkar also wanted to ensure that there was a person speaking with an Indian accent, as it would then look as though the attack was being manufactured in India.

Intelligence sources point out that Syed Zabiuddin is very much in Pakistan and as of today, he is one of the most important men in the Lashkar network that India would like to lay its hands on.

Vicky Nanjappa in Bengaluru.

NRI Muslims financing SIMI, IM’s jihad in India

Diaspora cash fed domestic jihad

 Praveen Swami,May 08, 2009, The Hindu

Kerala computer engineer’s story casts light on Indian Mujahideen funding

 Nawaz’s journey into jihad began in SIMI’s study groups

India so far had little success in cracking down on terror financing

 

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 HYDERABAD: Late last year, four Keralites training with a Lashkar-e-Taiba unit in the Kupwara mountains, along the Line of Control in northern Kashmir, were shot dead by security forces.

And since the September shootout, the police in Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have been scrambling to unravel the threads that tied Indian Mujahideen groups in the south to each other and to the Lashkar.

But the investigations also show that the Indian Mujahideen was fed and watered by transnational financial networks: networks linked both to diasporic Islamists living in west Asia and Pakistan-based organisations like the Lashkar.

From the story of Ernakulam-born computer engineer Sarfaraz Nawaz, who was expelled by the Oman authorities earlier this year, investigators have been able to understand the relationship between domestic terror and diaspora cash.

SIMI background

Like so many Indian Mujahideen-linked figures, Nawaz’s journey into jihad began in the Students Islamic Movement of India’s study groups.

Nawaz began attending SIMI meetings in 1995, soon after he graduated from high school. He became an “Ikhwan” or full-time SIMI member within a year and by March 2000 was made a member of the now-proscribed Islamist organisation’s central committee.

Close ties

While in New Delhi, where he also served as the SIMI’s office secretary, Nawaz developed a close relationship with several key members of what would later become the organisation’s jihad faction, including Safdar Nagori, Yahya Kamakutty and Peedical Abdul Shibly.

When the SIMI was proscribed in 2001, Nawaz decided to move abroad. He first found work in a computer firm operating out of Ibra, in Oman, and later joined the Ajman-based Ibn Sina Medical Centre, which was owned by the former Kerala SIMI president Abdul Ghafoor.

Later, other SIMI contacts helped him to find a job in Dubai. Finally, in July 2006 Nawaz moved back to Muscat and began working at the al-Noor Education Trust, which offered computer courses.

Newly married and prosperous, Nawaz appeared to live the kind of quiet life most in the Indian diaspora aspire to. But the Oman authorities now believe the appearance was intended to deceive.

Soon after returning to Muscat, the investigators say, Nawaz made contact with Abdul Aziz al-Hooti, a Muscat-based businessman with substantial interests in the automobile business and the Lashkar. Hooti, in turn, introduced Nawaz to a ranking Pakistani Lashkar operative, who is so far known only by the aliases Rehan and Wali.

Funds flow

Early in 2008, the police in Hyderabad and Bangalore believe, Nawaz and Rehan met in Dubai to finalise funding for two important “projects.”

In Hyderabad, fugitive Indian Mujahideen commander Tadiyantavide Nasir was preparing several Keralites to journey across the Line of Control to Lashkar training camps in Pakistan.

Safe house

Nasir used his position as an instructor at the city’s Jamia Arifiya Nooriya seminary to recruit volunteers. He set up a safe house in Madikere, near Coorg, for their basic indoctrination.

In August, 2008, Rehan allegedly provided the funds and contacts that led the first group of volunteers’ travel to Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Mujahideen units also needed funding, Nawaz was told, to execute a series of bombings in Bangalore.

Rehan and Hooti, the Bangalore police say, asked Nawaz to travel to India for an on-site briefing about these plans. Both men were evidently impressed by what he found, for an estimated 2,500 Oman Rials was despatched to the Indian Mujahideen through a Kannur-based hawala dealer.

Later, the investigators say, Dhaka-based Lashkar operative Mubashir Shahid provided more money to secure Nasir’s escape into Bangladesh and to compensate the families of the men killed in Jammu and Kashmir.

Complex web

Police officers involved in the Nawaz investigation believe that several similar funding networks fed different elements of the Indian Mujahideen.

Indian Mujahideen co-founder Sadiq Sheikh, for example, lived in Dubai for several months with the help of ganglord Aftab Ansari and his lieutenant Amir Reza Khan. During his stay, Sheikh said in a statement to the Hyderabad Police, he discovered that key Indian Mujahideen commander Riyaz Ismail Shahbandri also visited the city to raise funds.

Sheikh never met with Shahbandri’s contacts, but it seems likely that Nawaz himself was in touch with several SIMI-linked figures who were engaged in fundraising for jihadist groups. Important among them was CAM Basheer, a fugitive SIMI leader, who is thought to be living in Sharjah using fake identification.

Basheer, police sources say, visited Nawaz in Muscat at least once and carried funds intended to facilitate Nasir’s efforts to recruit jihadists in Kerala.

Maulana Abdul Bari, a Hyderabad cleric last sighted in Saudi Arabia, is also thought to have raised funds in the diaspora for the training of jihadist cadre recruited in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

A costly failure

India has so far had little success in cracking down on terror financing. Nawaz’s story shows just how expensive this failure has been and how costly it could, yet, prove.

Kerala, a key state in islamic terrorism in India; Kerala Muslims involved in Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Kashmir terrorist attacks. The Lashkar finds the Kerala IM to be the most dedicated

The Lashkar finds the Kerala wing of the IM to be the most dedicated and hence has chosen its cadres for Kashmir. link

Kerala terror module key in 11 accused for Bangalore blasts

In Kerala where 27 per cent of the population is Muslim, the police worry that an underground network of fundamentalist groups has managed to throw its web far and wide. Link

Jihadi Terrorism Training Camps in Kerala

Terror link: Keralite held in Hyderabad

M P Prashanth, 21 Jan 2009, KOZHIKODE: Sainudheen alias Abdul Sattar alias Sattar Bhai, believed to be the brain behind terrorist activities in India including the blasts at Bangalore and Gujarat, was arrested from Toly Chowk in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Sainudheen, who was arrested jointly by the Counter Intelligence Cell with assistance from the Central Crime Station (CCS) and the Kerala police, belongs to Kondotty in Malappuram district.

Sainudheen, who is wanted by many states including Kerala, used to coordinate terror activities of SIMI and the Indian Mujahideen. Sainudheen is believed to be a major link in sending five youths to Kashmir for terror training. The youths had stayed with him in Hyderabad on their way to Kashmir.

Hamid, Kerala native arrested in Delhi, mastermind of Coimbatore Blasts

Coimbatore blasts mastermind arrested in Delhi
New Delhi | Friday, Dec 26 2008 IST

An Indian Mujahideen militant and one of the chief masterminds of the 1998 Coimbatore blasts, that killed 33 people and left more than 150 injured, was apprehended here today.

Living in Yamuna Vihar area of North-East Delhi for the past several years, Hamid was arrested by the Kerala Police sleuths, following a tip off by intelligence agencies, said Kerala Police sources, adding the militant was the South Zone commander of the IM and had links with the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).

Kerala Black Pepper gardens – the center of Saudi sponsored Islamic terrorism in India – the secret SIMI connections
Balaji Reddy, Aug. 17, 2008

Saudis and oil rich tycoons of Islamic Middle East have for a long time targeted the Indian black peeper gardens for investments. They faced resistance. But they used Islamic terrorists groups to acquire the precious Tillacheri black pepper gardens.

The Jihad in God’s own country

“God’s Own Country,” as Kerala’s tourism advertisements call it, hasn’t seen a terrorist strike — an exception among the major southern States. But Islamist groups are gaining both followers and influence. Last year, the State government said SIMI now operates through twelve front organisations, mainly in the districts of Malappuram and Kondotty.

In the imagination of Kerala Islamists, SIMI-linked terrorists are inheritors of an unbroken line of Islamist resistance dating back to struggles against Portuguese imperialism. Recruits are told of Zayn-ad-Din, a Malabar coast resident who in his 1580 book, Tuhfat al-Mujahideen, called on “the Faithful to undertake a jihad against the worshippers of the Cross.”

Link Police sources tell NDTV that at least 200 men have been recruited from three different districts across Kerala. The strategy of the hardline militant groups appear to have been to target young men bellow the age of thirty, send them in batches to Hyderabad for religious studies and physical training and then push them onwards to the Line of Control. But the police say they don’t know how many men may have actually crossed over.In Kerala where 27 per cent of the population is Muslim, the police worry that an underground network of fundamentalist groups has managed to throw its web far and wide.

Link “The accused disclosed that from Kerala they went to Kashmir via Hyderabad, trained there for a couple of months and then returned to Kerala.

Intelligence Bureau sources told rediff.com that the Lashkar is short-staffed for its Kashmir battle and has been constantly preparing youth from Kerala. Over the past one year, nearly 100 youth — who form part of the IM module in Kerala — have been sent to train in Kashmir.

The Lashkar finds the Kerala wing of the IM to be the most dedicated and hence has chosen its cadres for Kashmir.”

Andhra group recruited Kerala terror suspects’
Express news service,  Nov 27, 2008

Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on Wednesday told the state Assembly that the suspected militants from the state were recruited by Hyderabad-based religious group Noorisha Tareekath. He was replying to an adjournment motion moved by Opposition member Aryadan Muhammed, who alleged that the state has become a safe haven for terrorists.

Kerala terror link worry police

NDTV Correspondent

Monday, October 27, 2008 9:42 PM (Srinagar, Thiruvananthapuram)
In the Kashmir valley, the police are still in disbelief at the letters they have received from hundreds of miles away.

“If that’s my son who is involved in any such terrorist or separatist activity. I disown him and I don’t want the dead body of him to be brought here and burry here,” reads one.

From Kerala, the parents of two killed alleged terrorists have written to the Kashmir police, calling their sons traitors. The two men were among five killed trying to cross the Line of Control.

Security forces are alarmed at this new turn in the Kasmir insurgency. And they worry whether the Valley is being used as launchpad for a new kind of pan Islamic militancy. The police in the south echo their concerns.

Recent arrests have shown that the four boys who travelled from the south to the north and wanted to cross over into Pakistan were not an aberration.

Police sources tell NDTV that at least 200 men have been recruited from three different districts across Kerala. The strategy of the hardline militant groups appear to have been to target young men bellow the age of thirty, send them in batches to Hyderabad for religious studies and physical training and then push them onwards to the Line of Control. But the police say they don’t know how many men may have actually crossed over.

In Kerala where 27 per cent of the population is Muslim, the police worry that an underground network of fundamentalist groups has managed to throw its web far and wide.

Now, they have begun a massive search operation to see how many men have gone missing in these districts in recent months. As they join the dots, from Kerala to Kashmir, in a chilling new map of terror.
Islamic Terror Tentacles: Kerala Militants Fighting for Kashmir?
By Animesh Roul
Kerala State police succeeded in apprehending one Faisal on Oct 25 who recruited several youths and brainwashed them to fight and die for Islam and for so called ‘Muslim Land’. According to his confessions, as many as 300 youths (mostly with criminal records) from Kerala have been recruited by various terrorist groups; the recruited youths have undergone initial indoctrinations in Hyderabad (India) and Bangalore and then traveled to Pakistan for further training.

Cops find Kerala connection in terror attacks
10 Oct 2008, 0000 hrs IST, C Unnikrishnan, TNN

MUMBAI: Investigations into the Indian Mujahideen (IM) terror module recently busted by the Mumbai police have revealed a Kerala connection. The
police are now gathering details about the operatives being active in two districts of northern Kerala.

Sources said one of the districts is next to Mangalore, while the second, though has a significant Muslim population, was never on the terror map. The IM module has been active in Mangalore and the recent arrest of four members from the coastal belt adds credence to it. Two of the key persons in the IM module–Riyaz Bhatkal and his civil engineer brother Iqbal–belong to Mangalore, though they managed to escape the police dragnet.

Is Kerala Emerging as India’s New Terror Hub?
A. Vinod Kumar
August 22, 2006

Despite incriminating evidence of co-operation between Kerala based groups and major pan-Islamic terrorist organisations, there is general lethargy in the state police machinery and intelligence agencies to crack down on such groups owing to the political patronage they enjoy in Kerala. Many of these groups have openly allied with major political Fronts in recent years,

Kerala terrorists practice  terorist skills on blade attacks on dogs

Kerala jihadis trained on dogs?
31 Oct 2008, 0144 hrs IST, Ananthakrishnan G, TNN

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A series of blade attacks on stray dogs in Nadapuram in Kerala’s Kozhikode district in late 2006 has now been traced to Islamic terror outfits that have found a convenient roosting space in the state’s tranquil environs.

Terror trail links Kerala with Kashmir
Praveen Swami

Men shot dead in Lolab among dozens who have trained with Lashkar-e-Taiba since 2001
Police believe they were part of a group from Malappuram, holed out with a Lashkar unit

A Kerala-based SIMI organiser visited Sopore to help send the group to a Lashkar leader

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Ahmedabad blasts terrorists were brainwashed with Iraq, Babri, Gujarat riots

‘Brainwashed with Iraq, Babri, Gujarat riots’
Kamaal Saiyed, Feb 11, 2009

Surat: Tears streaming down his face, his hands trembling, the man who allegedly led the serial bombing of Ahmedabad that killed 58 and injured over 200 last July claimed he was brainwashed and ensnared into doing what he did by radical Islamist handlers.
Qayamuddin Kapadia, 28, of the Indian Mujahideen — prime accused in the Ahmedabad blasts and a key suspect in the Surat bomb-planting as well as in the Delhi blasts — spoke exclusively to The Indian Express in the custody of Surat police today.

The plan to carry out the Ahmedabad blasts and the planting of 29 live bombs in Surat, Kapadia said, was firmed up in January 2008 at a clandestine meeting of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in Halol in Vadodara.

But that was only a culmination of earlier meetings, including a SIMI meeting that he attended in Kerala in August 2006. Among those who led the crucial Halol meeting was SIMI General Secretary Safdar Nagori whom the Madhya Pradesh police arrested in March last year, Kapadia said.

If Kapadia is to be believed, his transformation from an ordinary Muslim youth with ordinary dreams and a loving family to look after to one of the country’s top Terror accused, is a tale of intense indoctrination.

It started with Kapadia, a deeply religious youth, meeting up with Sajid Mansuri, the SIMI hardliner and a qualified engineer who is also in police custody now for the Ahmedabad blasts. His journey to terror began in a closed little room in Vatva.

“I met Sajid Mansuri during December 2007, we soon became friends. Both he and I were privately doing Islamic propagation work in Vadodara, and we began getting much closer to each other. Some time later, he introduced me to Abdul Subhan alias Tauqeer in a room in Vatva area where Maulana Abubashar (another key accused in the blasts) and a few other youths were there. Later, Sajid Mansuri left the place and we stayed with Tauqeer.”

Tauqeer, says Kapadia, would hold a Majlis (meetings) with them thrice a day in that room. “We were not allowed to go out even to the mosques for prayers, we were told to pray inside that room.”

The Majlis sessions were intense, appealing strongly to the religious, emotional and intellectual sentiments of the captive audience. “Each Majlis would start with the recitation of the holy Quran verses by Maulana Abu Bashar. Then Taqueer would begin by reminding us about the war sanctioned by the holy Prophet to save Islam in this world. The topic would then gradually shift to the current situation of Muslims the world over — we would be made to believe Muslims everywhere are being tortured and and murdered, giving many examples, like that of Palestine and the torture of innocent Iraqi Muslims by US soldiers.”

Then the speakers would turn closer home. “They would keep reminding us about the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the 2002 Gujarat riots. They would show us photographs of dead bodies of Muslim women and children burnt and brutally killed in communal violence”, Kapadia recalled.

“From among us, they selected enthusiastic youths who are both physically and mentally strong, and loyal to their ideology. They relentlessly kept convincing us that someone from the community should take revenge and kill people of particular community. I was one of the few Taqueer selected, and he he kept me with him for three months.”

The recruits were kept isolated. “They didn’t allow us to meet even our family members. During Majlis, they would explain to us the meaning of verses from the Quran and interpret those to convince us that we must take revenge and give a proper retaliation to persecution. Later, I came to know that the particular volumes of Quran that they had used to read out and interpret meanings was different from what is found in the market.”

Kapadia remained in Tauqeer’s company for three months from April 2008 and visited different places in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. According to Kapadia, Taqueer spoke fluent English, regularly read English newspapers, and kept watching international news on TV. “He would particularly look for news of the torture of Muslims in the other countries. Taqueer wanted to keep everything secret and had warned Kapadia not to disclose his working style even to Sajid Mansuri, he said.

Weeks went by, and soon came July 26, when the bombs they planted in Ahmedabad left a trial of blood and gore. Three months of desperate hide-and-seek with the law and then Kapadia was picked up from Indore.

“Main sirf ek baat kehna chahta hoon un Muslim ladkon se jo abhi tak in logon ki giraft mein nahin aye hain. Yeh log aapko Muslimon par huwe zulm ke photo dikhakar aur kaumwad ki batein sunakar aapko emotional karke apni taraf attract karte hain. Aur desh virodhi kaam karne ke liye uksate hain.” (I want to convey only one message to Muslim youths who haven’t been ensnared yet. They will show you photos and tell you stories of torture on Muslims and make you emotional. They will then convince you to carry out anti-national activities.)

Kapadia broke down saying he has lost all touch with his elderly parents, his wife and his small daughter and they have no one to take care of them.

Bangalore Islamic terror attacks shows prove links between Lashkar-Indian Mujahideen

“The Lashkar finds the Kerala wing of the IM to be the most dedicated and hence has chosen its cadres for Kashmir.”

Revealed: LeT’s close ties with Indian Mujahideen

Vicky Nanjappa in Bengaluru
February 07, 2009

The cracking of the Bangalore serial blasts case has confirmed security agencies’ claims about Lashkar-e-Tayiba’s links with the dreaded Indian Mujahideen.

Interrogation of terror suspects revealed that they belonged to a terror module in Kerala operated by the Lashkar.

Giving more proof of the close links between the Lashkar and the IM, interrogations revealed that the cadres were constantly monitored by Riyaz Bhatkal and Abdul Subhan alias Tauqueer. While Bhatkal headed operations for the Lashkar in south India, Subhan was in charge of the Indian Mujahideen.

Abdul Sattar, one of the accused in the Bangalore blasts case, says that the orders to carry out the attack came from both Bhatkal and Subhan. The duo was in constant touch with Sattar and monitored every bit of the operation.

They even coined the code word for the Bangalore operation, Tomato Work.

The arrested men also revealed that they returned to Kerala after the Bangalore assignment and after having spent some time there were directed to leave for Kashmir. Lashkar has been constantly sending Indian Mujahideen operatives from Kerala to train in Kashmir, they added.

Their brief was to specialise in Kashmir and fight alongside the Lashkar in the Valley.

The accused disclosed that from Kerala they went to Kashmir via Hyderabad, trained there for a couple of months and then returned to Kerala.

Intelligence Bureau sources told rediff.com that the Lashkar is short-staffed for its Kashmir battle and has been constantly preparing youth from Kerala. Over the past one year, nearly 100 youth — who form part of the IM module in Kerala — have been sent to train in Kashmir.

The Lashkar finds the Kerala wing of the IM to be the most dedicated and hence has chosen its cadres for Kashmir.

All these operations in South of India were being monitored by Riyaz Bhatkal, who was also handed over additional charge of overseeing the IM when it was being set up.

Bhatkal, according to the IB, is a crucial link in the terror network. It is also said that Bhatkal was aware of the November 26 attack in Mumbai when it was being planned and helped in arranging local help.

Bhatkal, who originally was an underworld operative, was handpicked by the Lashkar for its south-based operations. The IB says that the Lashkar was impressed with his dedication.

Besides, Bhatkal shared a good relationship with IM mastermind Abdul Subhan and guided him in all the operations.

Both Bhatkal and Subhan are missing and a massive manhunt has been launched for the duo. While Subhan is believed to be hiding in Pakistan, Bhatkal, according to security agencies, is in the Gulf.

IB sources say that nabbing both these men would be crucial to several terror-related probes.

Abdul Subhan, Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal, Qayamuddin and Shadab Malik — top Indian Muslim terrorists at large

Missing pieces of the terror jigsaw
Vicky Nanjappa

December 29, 2008
The Indian Mujahideen has become the face of home-grown terror in India. While some key IM members have been arrested by law enforcement agencies, its leaders continue to evade the security net.

While Mansoor Peerbhoy — who allegedly sent IM’s e-mails ahead of the terror attacks in Delhi and Ahmedabad — has been arrested by the Mumbai police, Abdul Subhan, Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal, Qayamuddin and Shadab Malik are still out there, likely planning their next attack.

Intelligence Bureau officials told rediff.com that these men matter most if the investigations into this year’s terror attacks have to progress. Terror groups work on a need-to-know basis and hence, it is almost impossible to elicit complete information about the terror operation from the foot soldiers who have been arrested so far.

Abdul Subhan, for instance, could provide important leads into the IM’s operations, even about any role the organisation may have played in the Mumbai attacks, IB sources say.

The IB suspects Subhan may have slipped into Pakistan.

Another big catch would be Riyaz Bhatkal, who took charge of the IM’s financing at the Lashkar-e-Tayiba’s behest. While some sources suggest he too may be in Pakistan, other investigators believe he is still in India.

IB sources say Bhatkal, who has close Lashkar ties, could shed light on how the Mumbai attacks were financed. He raised funds and handled Lashkar operations in south India before he was re-assigned to the IM. The Lashkar wanted his assistance to ensure IM’s growth.

Investigations into the Hyderabad blasts of August 2007 also suggest Bhatkal’s hand.

Another man on the run is Qayammuddin, a key member in the outlawed Students Islamic Movement of India. From him, the investigators believe they could secure information pertaining to the terror trade route.

Iqbal Bhatkal, Riyaz’s brother who helped set up terror modules in south India, is suspected to be still in India.

Shadab Malik assembled the components for the bombs used in the Delhi  blasts. He is said to have collected the material from someone only known as ‘Sharukh Khan’, likely a false name.

‘Sharukh Khan’, according to the police, had a bomb factory in Karnataka, which supplied improvised explosive devices to the IM.

When these terrorists are arrested, the law enforcement agencies will obtain crucial insights on the terror modules operating in north and south India. While the northern module is known as the Mahmood Ghaznavi brigade, the southern module is known as the Shahabuddin Ghauri brigade.

ISI’s micro and macro plan to destabilize India

Maps seized from terrorists paint evil picture

Vicky Nanjappa in Bengaluru

January 13, 2009 18:53 IST

More proof of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence trying to meddle in India’s affairs has come to light with security agencies seizing two maps from terrorists in the Jammu region.

Intelligence Bureau officials told rediff.com that the maps provided shocking evidence and also pointed to the ISI’s interest in destabilising India, particularly through the northern and western parts of the country. Intercepts picked up by the IB and the revelations by infiltrators suggest that the ISI hopes to accomplish this mission by 2020.

The ISI’s plans are in motion on the western front with assistance from Bangladesh’s intelligence agency Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, the terrorists have revealed.

Southern India is next on the agenda and IB sources reveal that the plan is to destabilise the region by using the modules in Hyderabad and Kerala.

IB sources say while this may only be loud thinking by the ISI, the fact is that they have a plan on hand, two in fact: macro and micro plans.

Experts say when compared to the macro plan, micro planning is extremely dangerous. The macro planning largely involves the Pakistan Army, which will continue to engage security forces on the border so that infiltration into India becomes easier. Interrogation of several terrorists in the Jammu region has also revealed that maps handed over to them are in possession of several members of the army and that these maps are given only to inspire these ultras.

IB sources say that all terror strikes the country has witnessed so far, have been part of the micro planning. It may be aimed at meaningless killings, but the operations are well-defined.

The first step in micro planning seeks to create a communal divide in India. The ISI takes the help of local modules to execute selective but comprehensive violence so that they are able to establish territorial control.

The ISI is not alone in this operation, but has divided this responsibility with the DGFI. While ISI-sponsored modules target Mumbai, Delhi , Gujarat and other areas in north India, the DGFI takes care of areas like West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura.

The ISI-sponsored cells would focus more on infiltration in the country and provide logistical support to terror operations. The DGFI, on its part, would have to rally behind it local terror and insurgent groups apart from gathering intelligence.

Mumbai terror attack shows strong local Muslim support network

Probe suggests extensive local support network
Josy Joseph
Friday, December 05, 2008

Links seen between Mumbai attack and raid on IISC in 2005

NEW DELHI: Investigators have fanned out across India to check out several leads available from the Mumbai attacks. The information gathered so far indicates the existence of a massive secretive network with tentacles in Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore,
Dhaka, and elsewhere.

In Delhi and Kolkata, investigators are trying to find out who bought the SIM cards that were later recovered from the slain terrorists in Mumbai. Sources said the Kolkata police have identified at least two youths who may have bought SIM cards in West Bengal. They are believed to have bought the cards from three different places using a fake voter’s identity card in the name of Hossain Ur Rahman. In Delhi, investigators are looking at shops in Karol Bagh from where the SIM cards were bought.

The jigsaw being put together suggests the terror attacks mounted by Pakistan-based youths had strong support from a homegrown network. The same network may have been involved in recent strikes. Though it is not a cohesive group, the network
comprises several former Simi (Students Islamic Movement of India) members with a strong base in Hyderabad and other parts of South India. The group has deep linkages with the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has since denied involvement in the attacks. This group is influenced by Taliban and al-Qaeda ideology.

Suspicions about this group, which for some time has been calling itself Indian Mujahideen, have been firmed up by links emerging between the latest Mumbai attacks and the 2005 attack on the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

The networks of Shahid Bilal, a Hyderabad resident who was killed in Pakistan some time ago, and Riazuddin Nasir, his close associate who was arrested in Karnataka, had joined hands with a faction of Simi and other like-minded youths to create a network of India’s most formidable terror supporters. This group is believed to have carried out several bombings in Indian cities and assisted in the attacks on the IISc, mostly under the banner of Indian Mujahideen. The Mumbai attacks were carried out under the banner of Deccan Mujahideen.

Sources said Abu Hamza, who escaped after the December 28, 2005, attack on the IISc, was a key motivator for the 10-member terror group that attacked Mumbai. They were convinced by Hamza that it was easy to fool the Indian police and escape back to Pakistan, according to arrested terrorist Ajmal Kasab, now in the custody of the Mumbai Police.

Investigators believe that the Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Dhaka-based operatives obtained the Indian SIM cards and supplied them for use during the attacks. The terrorists were also provided with SIM cards from Austria and the US. Besides, several GPS systems and a Thuraya satellite phone were in the possession of the terrorists, according to a source.

The investigators are also combing through several leads pointing to the possible involvement of the underworld, especially smuggling gangs, in organising logistical support for the terror group. The customs department has for the past few months been investigating the massive smuggling of diesel and other items by a group of Dawood Ibrahim henchmen, especially one led by a Colaba-based customs clearing agent. His son and the son’s employees are being investigated.

As of now, the most noticeable challenge for the investigators is to find out the extent of local support made available to the terrorists. “We still haven’t made a breakthrough,” said a senior official. He said unless the local contacts are unearthed, it would be difficult to get at the full truth behind the conspiracy.

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SIM cards used in Mumbai attack bought from Kolkata

“The SIM cards were purchased from Park Street and 24 Parganas (South) including Maheshtala in the name of Hossain-ur-Rahman and smuggled out of the country through Indo-Bangladesh border and then to Pakistan, official sources said.

The buyer of the pre-paid SIM cards had submitted forged election identity card as proof of residence bearing address as Bashirhat, near the Indo-Bangla border, they said, adding the agencies were trying to locate remaining seven SIM cards.”

9 reasons how UPA government encouraged Islamic terrorism in India

Fight against terror – record, reasons and suggestions!

Monday, 01 December 2008, 03:30 PM
B R Haran

This is the 19th major terror attack happened in the last four and a half years (7th attack in the last 7 months) of miserable administration by the UPA government. The enormity of the attacks could be realised from the fact that more than 1200 people have lost their lives and almost three thousand people have been injured in this period. No sensible, responsible and patriotic government would have brazenly continued in office after this Mumbai terror attack, and in the first place, no such government would have allowed the ‘internal security’ to reach such squalid levels!

It is not at all difficult to find out the reasons for this government’s utter failure in the fight against terror.

1.  The first move by this UPA government after coming to power in May 2004 was to repeal ‘POTA’, the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The repealing of POTA has become, in other words, as enacting of another POTA, the Protection of Terrorists Act!

2. The UPA government refused to hang the dreaded terrorist Afzal Guru, the mastermind of Parliament attack.

3. Its state government in Kerala passed a resolution for the release of hardcore terrorist Abdul Nazar Madhani from Coimbatore prisons. It didn’t prevail upon its ally, the ruling DMK in Tamilnadu, to appeal against the release of Madhani, giving scant regards to the death of sixty innocent people and injury of over 200 people in the Coimbatore blasts. (It is no surprise that Unnikrishnan, father of martyred Major Sandeep, showed the doors to Madhani’s supporters!)

4. It restrained the Gujarat government from taking severe actions against the accused in the Godhra train carnage and the subsequent riots. It didn’t approve the Gujarat government’s ordinance (Gujarat Organised Crime Act 2001) on terror. It constituted the Bannerjee Committee with a deliberate intention to exonerate the Godhra accused showing slight respects to the 59 people, who were roasted alive.

5. It facilitated the illegal immigration of Bangladeshis through IMDT Act and Foreigners Act.

6. It restrained the Armed Forces from taking stringent actions against the Kashmiri militants and joined the Kashmir parties like NC & PDP in maligning the Army. It reduced the number of forces deployed in the borders in the name of confidence building measure and facilitated infiltration of terrorists.

7. It allowed SIMI to regroup and spread to all corners of the country.

8. It allowed the mushrooming of fundamentalist institutions such as Madrasas and even started funding them in the name of modernisation and minority development.

9. It has not given freedom to the intelligence agencies to carry out their jobs, but blamed them every time when a terror attack occurred. It has also not allowed the investigation agencies to complete their job and so far, there is not even a single terror attack thoroughly investigated and charge sheets filed.

Read in full including strategies to combat terrorism here

In future, we will see more Indian faces of terror: Newton’s third law has started taking effect

The Rediff Interview/Terrorism expert Maloy Krishna Dhar
‘In future, we will see more Indian faces of terror’

October 29, 2008

With the arrest of a Sadhvi and her alleged accomplices for their alleged involvement in the Malegaon blast, the term Hindu terrorism has got new meaning.

Maloy Krishna Dhar, a former joint director of the Indian Intelligence Bureau, has studied terrorism in-depth for many years. He has written several books on Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence and Bangladesh sponsored terrorism. Dhar took time off to speak with rediff.com’s Vicky Nanjappa about the new trends in terrorism and also about the spate of incidents that have rocked this country in the past couple of years.

What are your views on the eye for an eye attitude of some Hindu outfits?

Newton’s third law (for every action there will be an equal and opposite reaction) has started taking effect. We need to find out the extent to which the Hindu mind is being influenced especially when everyone is flashing what the minorities have had to say. Yes I would say that the mentality is growing and it sure is scary. I think it is time to look beyond the Bharatiya Janata Party and other saffron outfits and think of Hindus as a whole, and see up to what extent they are being influenced.

Sir do you endorse these views?

Definitely not. I have always been saying that people should have faith in the system and try and rectify problems in a democratic manner. I am trying to moderate the system. It is very important to have the Muslims with us. We need to moderate their views too.

What are your views on the Malegaon incident in which a Sadhvi was arrested?

No one is saying anything clearly. What is happening is that the Muslims allege that they are being maligned. Now parties which depend on the Muslim vote are finding it difficult to secure those votes. Another fact is that the BJP and its allies seem to be on a better footing to face the forthcoming elections. Hence it seems as though this is an attempt to reflect terror on the BJP. Let the noise regarding this case settle down and then the truth will come out.

There are allegations that former IB and military officials trained some Hindu activists to carry out blasts. What do you have to say about this?

This is blatant falsehood and bunkum. The IB has no expertise in bomb making. Some military personnel may have knowledge regarding this. But tell me is it necessary for someone to train when all the information is so easily available on the internet. These are just allegations which have not been proven.

You have written and spoken about the presence of ISI cells in India. Despite both the IB and the police claiming to be making inroads how is it that such cells continue to function and carry out blasts at will.

The ISI cells and its modules cannot be fully unearthed. There are several reasons for this. Whenever the IB or the police go for action, a hue and cry is raised by human rights groups and the so-called secularists. Political parties are weak and they end up falling back on the support of the minorities. Electoral considerations are another reason for not being able to unearth all the cells. In our country the police are under the ruling party and unless a free hand is given there is very little chance of making headway completely. Although the IB is an old and efficient organisation, their strength in terms of man power is not sufficient. We also need is an IB which will not go by the orders of the political parties.

What about the participation of the people while gathering intelligence?

Yes that is very important. Collaboration between the people and security agencies is required and this should include the Muslim community too. The Muslim community needs to know that being inspired by Pakistan is bad for them.

What are your views on the latest instances of terrorism and the birth of the Indian Mujahideen?

It is a new name that’s it. The Students Islamic Movement of India could not possibly function under its own name once it was banned and hence it became the Indian Mujahideen. Basically the IM has the people from the same resource pool.

What do you have to say about the new age terrorist who is educated and tech savvy?

As I said before, the IM has the people from the same resource pool of SIMI. SIMI always had a pool of educated people.

Do you think that the Mumbai and Gujarat police have cracked the entire IM module?

They are making headway for sure. But getting leads is one thing and connecting it is another. Once the leads are connected, one could say that they have succeeded completely. As of now what I see is just newspaper investigation and PR work by the police to show that they are doing some work.

There is a hue and cry about the Jamia Nagar encounter, but the Delhi  police maintain that this incident helped them crack the case. What are your views on the same?

Whenever such an act takes place there is bound to be a hue and cry. I would say that the operation is genuine but would also like to add that it should have been done in a better way. Encounter is a science and should be undertaken in such a manner that none can raise a finger.

We see that Jihad is becoming more home-bred. Why do you think this has happened?

It is not exactly correct to say this. It is only now that we are getting to see a more Indian face to this. It just shows that both Pakistan and Bangladesh have succeeded in creating modules in India. In the coming years we will get to see more Indian faces. The need of the hour is to eliminate these modules.

Terror has travelled south. Karnataka and Kerala have become hotbeds for recruitment and training. Did the IB see this coming?

I have shouted and screamed about this in the past. I had given a talk at the Indian Institute of Science two years back where I mentioned that several areas in both Karnataka and Kerala had several modules. But at that time no one believed me. However now everyone seems to be waking up to the problem.

Lastly please rate the states which have coped best with terror.

Well, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat have dealt best with the problem. Kerala has just woken up, Tamil Nadu is yet to wake up, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are waking up.