'Yasin masterminded 2010 Varanasi bombing'

September 19, 2013

Bhadrapad Pournima , Kaliyug Varsha 5115

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) : Mohammad Ahmed Siddibapa alias Yasin Bhatkal was the chief architect of the 2010 bombing of Sheetla Ghat in Varanasi, he has reportedly told his interrogators.

He was helped by fellow Indian Mujahideen operatives Asadulla Akhtar alias Haddi, Mohammad Tehseen Akhtar alias Monu, and Wakas alias Ahmed, a sources in the UP Anti-Terrorism Squad said.

The bomb was planted by Asadulla and Wakas. Yasin and Tehseen were also in Varanasi when the bomb went off on the evening of December 7, 2010 and killed two persons, the source said. The bomb, sources said, was assembled at a house in Darbhanga, Bihar, and transported by bus to Patna, and then to Varanasi. They planned to place the bomb where Ganga Aarti is performed to cause maximum damage, Yasin reportedly told his interrogators, but due to some confusion it was left on the stone staircase.

Yasin and Asadulla were arrested on August 28, and the NIA has announced rewards of Rs 10 lakh each on Tehseen, and Wakas, who is suspected to be a Pakistani.

The NIA has intensified its hunt for Tehseen after Yasin reportedly told them he could be hiding in Lucknow or Kanpur.

NIA to hold Yasin till Sept 21

New Delhi - A Delhi court Tuesday extended Yasin Bhatkal's NIA custody till September 21 after the agency contended that it needs more time to interrogate him as he had been involved in "subversive activities of causing blasts in different parts of India" since 2003. On the other hand, the NIA wanted Yasin's associate Asadulla Akhtar, who was arrested with him, to be remanded in judicial custody. But NIA's Hyderabad unit sought permission to arrest him in connection with the February 21, 2013 blasts in Hyderabad's Dilsukhnagar. The court granted the plea and sent Asadulla in two days transit remand of the unit.

Source : Indian Express