 "Who is Yasin Bhatkal?: Top 10 facts")
Indian Mujahideen (IM) mastermind Yasin Bhatkal has been arrested by Indian agencies near the border in Nepal.
As per initial reports, Bhatkal was detained by the Intelligence Bureau on inputs Delhi Police and Karnataka Police.
Bhatkal is one of the most wanted terrorists and is responsible for several terror attacks in the country. The IM chief has allegedly played an important role in the 2010 German Bakery bomb plast, in Pune, according to the NIA. He is also accused of masterminding several terror strikes and killing of hundreds of people.
Also Read: Fears about my son's elimination put to rest: Bhatkal's father
Also Read: Fears about my son's elimination put to rest: Bhatkal's father
Also Read
Here are 10 things that you need to know about Yasin Bhatkal, as per various news reports:
1. Yasin Bhatkal, aged 30 is also notoriously known as Mohd Ahmed Mohd Siddibappa, Imran and Shahrukh. It is believed that Ahmed Siddibappa is his real name, while Yasin Bhatkal is just one of the many alias used by him.
2. Yasin comes from the Bhatkal district of Karnataka and speaks English, Hindi, Urdu and Kannada. He is believed to be an engineering graduate.
3. Bhatkal is believed to have played an important role in the 2011 bombings at Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and Dadar, killing 26 people and injuring 130. It has been claimed that Yasin very cleverly escaped an arrest during this time.
4. Yasin Bhatkal was the one seeen carrying the backpack with the bomb at German Bakery in 2010, as per police reports of CCTV footage in the area.
5. Yasin Bhatkal was allegedly indoctrinated by the Shahbandari brothers — Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, who were activists of the Students Islamic Movement of India before launching the IM.
6. Chargesheets filed by anti-terror agencies of 12 different states claim that Bhatkal planted bombs in at least 10 of the blasts that rocked the country since 2008 — Ahmedabad (2008), Surat (2008), Jaipur (2008), New Delhi (2008), Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi (2010), Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru (2010), German Bakery in Pune (2011), Mumbai (2011), Hyderabad (2013) and Bengaluru (2013).
7. Intelligence officials claim that Bhatkal is a master of disguises. This has one been one of the cited reasons for his continued success at eluding arrests.
8. As per reports on Tehelka, in 2008, the Kolkata Police had arrested him in a counterfeit currency case. Bhatkal was let off on bail after serving a month-long sentence.
9. It has been claimed that various security agencies did not possess a recent picture of Yasin Bhatkal. This has been another reason due to which his arrest had been delayed for so long, as arrested IM operatives claim that he looks very different from pictures that they are shown.
10. Bhatkal has always been very careful about his style of communication, so as to avoid getting caught. According to the ATS, he is one of the few criminals who uses does not use email. He keeps changing his address on a regular basis and settles down mostly in Rural areas. Yasin ensures that he discards both his SIM and phone, seconds after making a call.