The conviction of three Indian Mujahideen members for hatching a conspiracy to carry out blasts ahead of then-US President Barack Obama’s visit to India in 2015 has brought back memories of this dreaded organisation.
The Indian Mujahideen was probably one of the most lethal terror groups, which went on to carry out a series of attacks across the length and breadth of the country. When it was born out of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) it was a very structured group with modules across the country. However, a major crackdown in 2010 literally finished off the outfit with the arrests of major members such as Abdus Subhan Qureshi and others.
It was at this time that the founding members of the group, Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, fled to Pakistan and, to date, continue to live there. While many thought that this group would die, it bounced back and became more lethal than before.
The group was then headed by Yasin Bhatkal, an expert planner and bomb maker. At that time, only four members of the group had planned and executed all the attacks. The group was lethal since they could not be tracked as they moved in a group of four and did not use the mobile to communicate. This gave them the advantage of getting away undetected. Further, they made Darbhanga in Bihar their hiding place, and thanks to the large Muslim population there, they remained undetected.
The Riyaz Bhatkal mystery
While the agencies have been successful in shutting down the outfit with scores of arrests and subsequent convictions. However, for the agencies, the closure would take place only once Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal are nabbed. That is unlikely since Pakistan is not known to extradite terrorists especially to Bharat.
Riyaz Bhatkal is currently in Karachi and lives under the patronage of the ISI. When he founded the Indian Mujahideen, he was promised both money and protection by the ISI. The ISI did keep its word and paid him huge sums of money. His movements are hard to track for the agencies since he has a Pakistan passport. However, even the intelligence agencies have not picked up any interceptions against Riyaz and Iqbal, thus suggesting that they have not stepped out of Pakistan.
While in Pakistan, he remained in touch with Yasin Bhatkal, who had even sent him money twice. In the first instance, he used a hawala channel to send Rs 1.24 lakh. In the second, he wired Rs 70,000.
The last bit of information relating to the Bhatkal brothers was gathered around three years back. It was found that he lives in a huge house in Karachi. The residence is usually flanked by security personnel, and he enjoys the patronage of the ISI. However, there is no indication that the ISI plans on using him for any terror-related activity.
The rift
At first, all was hunky dory within the Indian Mujahideen despite the initial crackdown. Riyaz stayed in touch with Yasin and guided him through the attacks that he had undertaken.
While Yasin was very successful in the attacks that he carried out, a rift began to emerge. Yasin and another important operative felt that Riyaz and Iqbal were diverting from the real ideology of being a protector of the Indian Muslims. When Riyaz had roped in Shafi Armar and Yasin Bhatkal, he had told them that the Muslims needed to be protected and that the blasts were meant to avenge the alleged atrocities against their community.
Yasin and Armar then realise that Riyaz Bhatkal left them to carry out the dirty work while he lived a life of luxury. Riyaz no longer spoke about ideology; his thought process revolved around pretty women, money, and luxury.
It was at this time that Yasin and Shafi Armar decided that they would undertake operations on their own. Armar had, however, left the country by then. He then went on to join the Islamic State in Syria and operated under the handle Al-Hind, giving instructions to radicalised Muslim youth in India.
Yasin, along with four accomplices- Tahaseen Akhtar, Wasim Akhtar Shaikh, Asadullah Akhtar, Javed Akhtar and Waqar Ahmed carried out a series of attacks. They were never separate and always travelled together, thus avoiding any conversation on mobile phones.
Gradually, they stopped responding to Riyaz, and this angered the founder. Riyaz even suggested to the ISI to have Yasin Bhatkal killed off. However, the ISI decided that a compromise should be reached in the larger interest and hence invited Yasin to Pakistan.
Yasin set out to Pakistan and, while trying to cross over from Nepal, was tracked down by the agencies and then arrested in 2013. Yasin, who had not made a single call during all the operations that he carried out, decided that day to call his wife and tell her about the money he had left aside for her. The call was intercepted, and Yasin was tracked. Eventually, in a span of one year, all the other accomplices of Bhatkal were arrested, and this marked the end of the Indian Mujahideen.
Riyaz Bhatkal and luxury
An Intelligence Bureau official tells the Organiser that for Riyaz, it was never about the cause. The Muslim cause was just used as a stepping stone, but the real intention was money and a life of luxury.
In Bhatkal, he was actively involved in smuggling foreign goods into Bhatkal and selling them. He caught the ISI’s attention as he was found to be a good arranger. He was picked up by the ISI following the riots in Bhatkal and asked to form the Indian Mujahideen as a replacement for SIMI.
Prior to returning to Bhatkal, he was working as a contractor in Mumbai. He, however, was not happy with the money he was making. With an intention of making it big he returned to Bhatkal. At first, he undertook his smuggling activities in Ullal, but he later on moved to Bhatkal.
Riyaz was, however, known to buckle under pressure. Bhatkal town has always been communally sensitive and has seen riots in 1991 and 1996. The first riot was during the Ram Navami procession and later on following the murder of Dr D U Chittaranjan, a popular doctor and RSS activist. Following the murder, Riyaz Bhatkal had been arrested. He was quick to provide the police with leads as he wanted to avoid any sort of custodial interrogation. Once he was out of jail, he went on to set up the Indian Mujahideen, and the rest is history.
