IM operatives arrest: Maha ATS to quiz them in Pune blast

A team of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, probing the German Bakery blast, has left for Delhi to question the six suspected Indian Mujahideen operatives held recently for alleged involvement in blasts in Pune, Bangalore and Delhi's Jama Masjid.

"An ATS team has already left for Delhi. We would like to question the terror suspects as one of them was allegedly involved in Pune blast," a senior ATS officer said.

Besides questioning the terror suspects about their plans, the ATS contingent will also exchange information about them with their Delhi counterparts, he said.

A pan-India terror module was claimed to have been busted by the Delhi Police with the arrest of six suspected Indian Mujahideen operatives including a Pakistani. The Delhi

police had on Wednesday said they have got crucial leads in terror cases including blasts at German Bakery in Pune, Delhi's Jama Masjid and Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore.

Those arrested have been identified as Pakistani national Mohd. Adil, Mohd. Qateel Siddique, Mohd. Irshad Khan, Gauhar Aziz Khomani, Gayur Ahmad Jamali and Abdur Rehman.

Qateel Siddique was said to have conducted recce of the German Bakery in Pune along with absconding accused Yasin Bhatkal.

A bomb blast had ripped through Pune's popular German Bakery, close to the Osho Ashram and Jewish Chabad House, on February 13, 2010, killing 17 people and injuring 65. ATS sources said Qateel was consistently in touch with Yasin before the German Bakery explosion. Yasin had personally chosen Qateel for conducting recce of the target in Pune's posh Koregaon area.

Yasin, who is a relative of Indian Mujahideen founder Riyaz Bhatkal, is the alleged mastermind of the bakery bombing, they said.

However, the ATS chargesheet in the February 2010 blast case had blamed the attack on a different set of persons --seven in all--including Himayat Beig, who has already been arrested, but Qateel's name was not mentioned.

The names of six other accused, all co-conspirators and absconding, are: Mohsin Choudhary, Yasin Bhatkal, Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal, Faiyaz Kagzi and Zabihuddin Ansari.

With further developments in the Pune blast probe, the ATS is likely to file a supplementary charge sheet mentioning the role of Qateel in the Pune blast.