NIA files first chargesheet against IM

Nailing Indian Mujahideen (IM) and its operatives for continuously plotting terror operations in the country, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday filed its first IM chargesheet in the court laying bare its modest origins in 2003 to the current pan-India penetration.

Out of the five terror operatives charged by the National Investigation Agency, two - Mohammad Danish Ansari alias Waheb (Darbhanga) and Mohammad Aftab Alam alias Farooq (Purnea) are from Bihar, two others - Imran Khan alias Zakaria (Nanded) and Syed Maqbool alias Zubair (Nanded) are from Maharashtra and the fifth is Obaid ur Rehman who is from Hyderabad.

Though, the Indian Mujahideen top leaders – Iqbal Bhatkal, Riyaz Bhatkal, Yasin Bhatkal, Asadullah Akhtar Haddi, Ariz Khan and Tehseen Akhtar have not been named in the chargesheet but their roles in the growth of the Indian Mujahideen have been mentioned in the chargesheet, said sources.

"We are chasing the Indian Mujahideen and its top leaders all over the country. Some of them like Iqbal and Riyaz have taken shelter in Pakistan but others like Yasin and Tehseen are still in India and probably planning more terror acts," said an investigator.

"The Indian Mujahideen and its operatives are the prime suspects in the two recent operations (the Dilsukhnagar blasts of Hyderbad and the Bodh Gaya serial blasts). It is suspected that Yasin Bhatkal was one of the planters in Dilsukhnagar," said a source.

Investigators say it looks like a group of three to four persons planted the improvised explosive devices in Bodh Gaya as the CCTV footage shows one suspect dressed like a monk had a rucksack which was quite heavy.

He had at least planted four IEDs. In total 13 IEDs were planted in Bodh Gaya.

"The suspect was moving anti-clockwise in the Buddhist temple, but all monks go clockwise. Many eyewitnesses noticed this peculiar aspect which helped the National Investigation Agency to get his sketch made," said the source.