Yasin Bhatkal arrested from Indo-Nepal border in Bihar

Yasin Bhatkal, Indian Mujahideen co-founder and one of India's most wanted terrorists, was arrested from the Indo-Nepal border in north Bihar, in the second prized catch for security agencies in a fortnight.
On the run for over five years in several countries including Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan, 30-year-old Yasin was nabbed in a joint operation by intelligence agencies and Bihar police. He was arrested along with another IM leader Asadulla Akhtar.
"Yasin Bhatkal was traced along the Bihar-Nepal border last night by our intelligence agencies. He is under the custody of Bihar police and his interrogation is going on," Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters outside Parliament House today.

National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the arrest.
Yasin was taken to Motihari in Bihar for being produced in a court for transit remand before being flown to Delhi. He will be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Yasin, who hails from Bhatkar village in Karnataka, is wanted in a string of terror attacks in Ahmedabad, Surat, Bangalore, Pune, Delhi and Hyderabad.

It is the second major breakthrough for Indian agencies after the arrest of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda on August 16.
Yasin, who co-founded IM in 2008 along with brother Riaz Bhatkal and Abdul Subhan Qureshi, is also wanted in the German Bakery bomb blast in Pune on February 13, 2010, that left 17 dead.

The IM, patronised by Pakistan-based LeT, was designated a terrorist group by the government under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in June, 2010. The banned outfit was declared by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation in 2011.
Yasin, also known as Mohd Zarar Ahmed Siddhibappa, along with three aides Tahaseen Akhtar Wasim Aktar Shaikh (23), Asadulla Akhtar Javed Akhtar (26) and Waqas alias Ahmed (26), was allegedly behind three coordinated bomb explosions at Opera House, Zaveri Bazaar and Dadar West in Mumbai on July 13, 2011, that left 27 dead and 130 injured.