Yasin Bhatkal’s talk of help from ‘Damascus’ has agencies worried

[Suman]

NEW DELHI: Former Indian Mujahideen boss Yasin Bhatkal made a call to his wife from Hyderabad jail saying he would be out soon with help from Damascus, triggering fears about the jailed jihadi getting help from Islamic State, the terrorist organization which controls vast tracts of Syria and Iraq.

The five-minute-long chat has sent authorities into a tizzy, leading them to scale up security arrangements at Hyderabad prison where Bhatkal, mastermind of many jihadi attacks, is lodged and discuss alternative plans where he could be secured better.

READ ALSO: ISIS loyalists gain ground in Afghanistan

The authorities are particularly worried about the Damascus angle, the capital of Syria, a big part of which is now in IS's control and has been used as a launch pad for jihadi offensives not just in its neigbourhood but far from its shores. Though confined to Syria and neigbouring Iraq, IS has supplanted Al Qaida as the leading jihadi group in notoriety.

The group has adroitly blended its extremist interpretation of Islam and modern communication tools to find recruits across the globe, as well as to inspire 'lone wolf' attacks, like the recent ones in France.

READ ALSO: Stop calling terror group 'Islamic State': Cameron

In the intercepts, Bhatkal is heard telling his wife Zahida, "Damascus se log madad kar rahe hain. Mai jald hi riha ho jaoonga."

Agencies suspect IS could help Bhatkal by enlisting the support of Ansar-ul-Tawhid Fi Bilad Al Hind (AuT), the jihadi group that had tweeted pictures of the two terrorists killed in the Batla House encounter in 2008 and called them martyrs. This was first reported by TOI last September.

Intriguingly, AuT has been at loggerheads with the Indian Mujahideen to which Bhatkal belongs, and consists of IM operatives who rebelled against the leadership of Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal in order to join the jihad in Afghanistan. Yasin Bhatkal's conversations, a source said, point to an effort by IS to repair the rift between the rival factions of IM.

AuT last year uploaded three different videos with subtitles in Hindi, Tamil and Urdu with messages from various IS operatives, including the Friday sermon of its chief Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi in which he called for jihad against India among other countries.

It had also uploaded videos condoling the death of an Indian jihadist who died fighting in Afghanistan even as it carried a video message by a former IM operative calling Indians for global jihad.

Bhatkal is learnt to have made at least 10 calls to his wife who lives in Jamia Nagar, southeast Delhi, and his hope of getting out soon has been a common thread through most of the conversations. The agencies have also established that the IM commander spoke to some anti-social elements he had met in judicial custody.

Worried by what they have gathered, agencies have written to Hyderabad jail and security has been beefed up there. They are particularly intrigued by the Damascus bit.

All those people including his family members who met Bhatkal after his arrest are being scanned for clues.

The conversations also bring out the softer side of Bhatkal's personality. The hardcore jihadi, who has shown no remorse for killing innocents, is a loving husband. It was his fondness for Zahida which helped Indian agencies track him down to his hideout in Nepal. Bhatkal had sent Rs 1 lakh home as 'eidi' (gift) to Zahida before Eid in 2013 through hawala. The cash along with a mobile phone was delivered to Zahida at her Delhi house by Bhatkal's deputy Tehsin Akhtar alias Monu.

Bhatkal soon started chatting with Zahida on that mobile, helping intelligence agencies, already tracking the route of hawala transfer, map his location in Nepal near Pokhara. He also promised to be with her for the rest of his life and make sure that she faced no difficulties.

 

[Hindustani78]

Impossible for Bhatkal to smuggle mobile into jail: Telangana DG Prisons | Siasat

New Delhi, July 04:
Telangana Director General (Prisons) VK Singh on Saturday said that the call made by Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal was made by an official telephone in the Cherlapally Jail, adding that it is impossible for him to smuggle a mobile phone into the high security prison.

Singh was referring to media reports, which claimed that Bhatkal made calls to his wife via a mobile phone smuggled into the jail. The reports further stated that he had 'hinted' to his wife that he would be out of jail soon, possibly with help from Damascus, which led to speculations of the IM having links to dreaded terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

"To smuggle a mobile phone into the jail is impossible. However, they have the facility to talk to family members via official telephones. Yasin Bhatkal was also granted this facility on the orders of the court. These conversations are all recorded and these recordings are shared with investigative agencies," Singh told ANI in a telephonic interview.

"All these calls are recorded and this is a routine exercise, and all the prisoners are aware of such a procedure. We cannot comment on the call.

 

[GR!FF!N]

We should secure this one...

Solution...

Seriously,we should make these animals "Squeal" and then get rid off them.

 

[illusion8]

We should secure this one...

Solution...

Seriously,we should make these animals "Squeal" and then get rid off them.

Even rats have their uses....and this SOB seems to be useful..he is a squealer and a big mouth...will let IB get lot of secret info.

 

[Imran Khan]

damn its just a fart nothing to be worry

 

[illusion8]

"To smuggle a mobile phone into the jail is impossible.

Who's he kidding?

mobile phones seized in indian jails - Google Search

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/587387/hyderabad-blasts-5-im-operatives.html
Hyderabad, Dec 19, 2016, PTI

Five senior operatives of banned terror outfit Indian Mujahideen were today awarded death penalty by a special NIA court here in the February 2013 Hyderabad blasts case.

This is the first case that any operative of the IM has been convicted.

On December 13, the court convicted the five members, including IM co-founder Mohd Ahmed Sidibapa alias Yasin Bhatkal, Pakistani national Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Tahaseen Akhtar alias Monu and Ajaz Shaikh, who are at present in judicial custody and lodged in the Cherlapally Central Prison here.

Eighteen people were killed and 131 injured in two deadly explosions in Dilsukhnagar, a crowded shopping area in the city, on February 21, 2013.

On November 7, the final arguments had concluded in the case before the NIA special court.

Since IM founder Riyaz Bhatkal, the prime accused in the case, is absconding, the trial was split up against him.

The court convicted Yasin Bhatkal and others under various sections of Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The NIA special court, after hearing the defence and prosecution's arguments, pronounced the quantum of sentence.

According to NIA, Riyaz Bhatkal arranged for explosive substances and directed Asadullah Akhtar and Zia-ur-Rahman at Mangalore to receive the same.

After receiving the explosive materials and the money sent by Riyaz through hawala and money transfer channels, Asadullah Akhtar and Waqas reached Hyderabad and joined Tahseen Akhtar, who was already hiding there, it had said.

Together they prepared two IEDs after procuring the other required materials as well as two cycles for mounting the IEDs from Hyderabad, the agency had said.

After preparation of the IEDs on February 21, 2013, the accused mounted two bombs on two bicycles. They had planted them in two separate places in Dilsukhnagar which resulted in powerful explosions, it had said.

 

[PlugnPlay]

Who's he kidding?

mobile phones seized in indian jails - Google Search

Pretty idiotic to make this news public so now yasim bhatkal knows his calls are being tapped and so is his wife's.

 

[Robinhood Pandey]

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/587387/hyderabad-blasts-5-im-operatives.html
Hyderabad, Dec 19, 2016, PTI

Five senior operatives of banned terror outfit Indian Mujahideen were today awarded death penalty by a special NIA court here in the February 2013 Hyderabad blasts case.

This is the first case that any operative of the IM has been convicted.

On December 13, the court convicted the five members, including IM co-founder Mohd Ahmed Sidibapa alias Yasin Bhatkal, Pakistani national Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Tahaseen Akhtar alias Monu and Ajaz Shaikh, who are at present in judicial custody and lodged in the Cherlapally Central Prison here.

Eighteen people were killed and 131 injured in two deadly explosions in Dilsukhnagar, a crowded shopping area in the city, on February 21, 2013.

On November 7, the final arguments had concluded in the case before the NIA special court.

Since IM founder Riyaz Bhatkal, the prime accused in the case, is absconding, the trial was split up against him.

The court convicted Yasin Bhatkal and others under various sections of Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The NIA special court, after hearing the defence and prosecution's arguments, pronounced the quantum of sentence.

According to NIA, Riyaz Bhatkal arranged for explosive substances and directed Asadullah Akhtar and Zia-ur-Rahman at Mangalore to receive the same.

After receiving the explosive materials and the money sent by Riyaz through hawala and money transfer channels, Asadullah Akhtar and Waqas reached Hyderabad and joined Tahseen Akhtar, who was already hiding there, it had said.

Together they prepared two IEDs after procuring the other required materials as well as two cycles for mounting the IEDs from Hyderabad, the agency had said.

After preparation of the IEDs on February 21, 2013, the accused mounted two bombs on two bicycles. They had planted them in two separate places in Dilsukhnagar which resulted in powerful explosions, it had said.

Waiting for the mercy petitioners to start howling and beating their chests

 

[Hindustani78]

Waiting for the mercy petitioners to start howling and beating their chests

This is what is most important part. proxy war cant you see in there ?

On December 13, the court convicted the five members, including IM co-founder Mohd Ahmed Sidibapa alias Yasin Bhatkal, Pakistani national Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Tahaseen Akhtar alias Monu and Ajaz Shaikh, who are at present in judicial custody and lodged in the Cherlapally Central Prison here.

 

[Hindustani78]

HORRIFIC ACT: A file photo of the bomb blast site at Dilsukhnagar in Hyderabad.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities...-tell-judge/article16907322.ece?homepage=true

Prosecutor had sought death penalty for them citing 18 deaths.
NIA prosecutor K. Surender on Monday told the NIA Special Court here that the five Indian Mujahideen operatives, convicted for the 2013 Dilsukhnagar blasts case, should be awarded the highest punishment. He maintained that the Constitution had guaranteed the right to life to people but the convicts had decimated 18 lives by detonating two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)

On December 13, the court had convicted the five operatives — IM co-founder Mohd Ahmed Sidibapa alias Yasin Bhatkal, Pakistani national Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Tahaseen Akhtar alias Monu and Ajaz Shaikh — all presently held in judicial custody and lodged in the Cherlapalli Central Prison here.

The Telangana police had made made elaborate security arrangements in the vicinity of the prison ahead of the sentencing.

Defence counsel absent

Since counsel for the convicts had not turned up, the judge asked them if they had anything to say. “The convicts said ‘let us be hanged’ when the judge sought their reaction to the prosecutor’s argument,” a police officer, who was present at the court, told The Hindu, requesting anonymity. “Phaansi do (Hang us)” were the words allegedly used by them.

Along with the death sentence, the judge imposed varied fines under different sections of the law. “The convicts asked the judge if they could pay the fine amounts in banned currency notes or use the new ones,” the police officer said.

Mr. Surender, speaking to media persons outside the prison, said the court was convinced of the reliability of witnesses presented by the prosecution. “The convicts have liberty to go for an appeal but as prosecutors we did our job,” he said.