Bhatkal stayed low for a year after 2007 Hyderabad blasts

After supplying explosives to Riyaz Bhatkal for the 2007 Hyderabad serial bombings, Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal stayed low for a year, according to his confessional statement.

Kolkata Police arrested him for a petty crime and kept him in lockup for 45 days without realising how big a catch he was, according to his statement made to a magistrate.

"I supplied IEDs to Riyaz Bhatkal in Udupi, Karnataka, 8-10 days prior to the blasts at Gokul Chat and Lumbini Park.

I do not know the people who participated in the two blasts in Hyderabad," Yasin Bhatkal said in his statement before a magistrate in Miyapur, Andhra Pradesh.

The confession is part of the charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) before a Delhi court.

The Gokul Chat and Lumbini Park blasts in Bangalore killed 42 people and left 54 injured. "Police apprehended all active members who participated in the blasts in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, except me," he said.

"I was silent for one year by working at Mumbai. Thereafter, Kolkata Police arrested me in connection with arms dealing and filed a case under Section 381 IPC and I was sent to judicial custody for 45 days."

"After coming out of jail, I along with Ateel Siddiqui and others wanted to take revenge and accordingly we planned the blasts," Bhatkal said. Bhatkal took part in various bombings, including the one at the German Bakery in Pune in 2010.

He was caught on the CCTV camera placing an explosive-laden  knapsack in the popular Pune bakery, in which 17 people were killed.

-IANS