Yasin Bhatkal seen in the CCTV footage of the German Bakery where a blast killed 17 people
A team of cops each from Maharashtra and Karnataka are already on their way to Delhi to seek custody of
Yasin Bhatkal, the chief of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen, who was arrested last night in Bihar close to the Nepal border. (
Another Indian Mujahideen operative arrested)
Maharashtra's home minster RR Patil said today that Bhatkal is wanted in eight cases by the state and its Anti Terrorist Squad or ATS has left for Delhi. (
Bhatkal's terror footprints) Chief among those attacks is the German Bakery blast in Pune in 2010, which killed 17 and injured 60. A CCTV camera allegedly caught Yasin Bhatkal, wearing a cap in an attempt to hide his face.
Also in the race to get Bhatkal's custody is the Karnataka police. "We will seek Yasin's custody for interrogating him on his role in several terror attacks in Bangalore," Karnataka DGP Lalrokhuma Pachau told the Press Trust of India.
The top cop, however, admitted that it would take them time to get Bhatkal back to Karnataka.
Yasin Bhatkal, whose real name is Mohammed Ahmed Siddibappa, belongs to Bhatkal in coastal Karnataka. He is wanted in connection with a string of terror attacks in Ahmedabad, Surat, Bangalore, Pune, Delhi and Hyderabad. He has given cops the slip before and his arrest is being seen as a huge success for India's Intelligence agencies.
The Karnataka police chief said they had been on the lookout for the Indian Mujahideen leader and were sharing information with Intelligence agencies.