New Delhi: Yasin Bhatkal, the alleged chief of the Indian Mujahideen, has been arrested in Bihar and will be brought to Delhi today on a special plane.
Bhatkal, 30, was taken to a court in Motihari in North Bihar Thursday evening; his face was covered with a black cloth. He was escorted by nearly 50 policemen and members of the National Investigating Agency in a bulletproof car.
The man who has figured among India's 12 most-wanted terrorists first said he has wrongly been identified, then accepted that he is Yasin Bhatkal. During questioning by the cops, he appeared largely unfazed about the attacks he is accused of, and said, "Such things (bomb blasts) happen all the time...there's nothing new about this."
As alleged head and co-founder of the Mujahideen, Bhaktal is accused of planning and executing some of the deadliest terror attacks in India in recent years, the most recent being February's twin blasts in a crowded market in Hyderabad in which 16 people were killed and 80 injured.
He belongs to Karnataka; a statement issued by his family on Thursday said it is relieved that he has been arrested because "now the truth can come out" and said "He should be punished if he is guilty of any offence after the due process of law is followed." (
Relieved he's been arrested: Yasin Bhatkal's family)
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said on Thursday morning, "Yasin Bhatkal was traced to the India-Nepal border by our intelligence agencies last night... interrogation is going on."
Sources say that the Intelligence Bureau picked up Bhatkal's movements a month ago. He had reportedly been traveling to Nepal frequently. When he was caught last night, he allegedly claimed that he was an engineer working on a hydel project. Known for using a string of aliases and disguises, he also claimed that he was a Yunani doctor - a physician practicing a form of traditional medicine widely practiced among Muslims. (
Read: Yasin Bhatkal arrest came after top-secret operation in Bihar)
In 2010, intelligence officials said that he was captured on security cameras leaving behind a bag with a bomb that exploded minutes later at the German bakery in Pune, killing 17 people. (
The attacks Yasin Bhatkal is linked to)
The Mujahideen was banned after that attack.