Post 9/11, Bhatkal wanted to fight NATO forces in Afghanistan

Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal wanted to fight North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces in Afghanistan as an 18-year-old when the US launched its campaign against Taliban following the 9/11 attacks, investigators have said.

"Following the United States attack on Afghanistan, he wanted to go and fight the allied forces there," said a senior Delhi police official.

Known as the ghost bomber, Bhatkal was arrested on Thursday from Indo-Nepal border after being on the run for over five years in several countries. The official, who has spent a significant time of his career investigating various terror cases across the country, said Bhatkal is "highly motivated" and "very ambitious" as he had set up a weapons manufacturing unit in Nangloi area of outer Delhi way back in 2011.

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"He wanted to manufacture rocket launchers and light machine guns in Delhi. This is evidence enough of how ambitious he is," the official said.

The special cell of Delhi police had busted an illegal arms factory located in Meer Vihar area of Nangloi in Outer Delhi in November, 2011. "This ordnance unit was first of its kind as it was equipped with machinery and the capacity to manufacture not only conventional arms but the ammunition required for  them as well as fabrication of LMG and rocket launchers," the official said.

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A first information report was filed against Bhatkal in the case on November 22, 2011 and later a non-bailable warrant was also issued against him for setting up the factory.

The unit had elaborate equipment like moulding machine, lathe machine, cutting machine, assembly drilling machine and buffing/grinding machine besides explosives and iron pieces to be parts of pistols, carbines, rocket launchers among others, he said.

The official also rubbished theories that Abdul Karim Tunda's arrest and his subsequent interrogation led to the arrest of Bhatkal, who is suspected to be involved in several terror attacks across the country.

"Both of them are different and cannot be interconnected," he said.

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