New Delhi:
The interrogation of five alleged Indian Mujahideen operatives arrested since Saturday has revealed a plan to recruit for terror educated young men with technical knowledge.
Sources say three of the suspects, who were part of the group's Rajasthan module, were engineering students.
Sources have told NDTV that the terror group wanted people with technical expertise to assemble bombs, especially IEDs or Improvised Explosive Devices, which is the Indian Mujahideen's hallmark.
Mohd Waqar Ahmed, who was arrested on Sunday from Ajmer, reportedly wanted to study at the elite Indian Institute of Technology or IIT, and attended classes in Kota.
Sources say Waqar had scored 80 per cent in Class 10 and 75 per cent in his Class 12 exams, but he could not clear tests for top engineering colleges, so settled for a local college in Jaipur, the Global Engineering College.
The 21-year-old was allegedly persuaded to join a radical group during one of his visits to a mosque in Pratapnagar. This was when Waqar started doing poorly in college, and reportedly failed in 16 papers.
A man he met in the group, Mahrooq, allegedly got him in touch with Indian Mujahideen co-founders Riaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, who are believed to be in Pakistan. They reportedly told the young man to avenge riots in Gopalgarh in 2011.
Mahrooq, who was also arrested with Waqar, is reportedly the son of an executive engineer in the Rajasthan Electricity Nigam. Sources say he scored 94 per cent in Class 10 and 81 per cent in Class 12, but could not get into the college of his choice.