Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal has been arrested from the Indo-Nepal border. It is a major breakthrough for the intelligence agencies as the man, who had been on the run for over five years, was wanted for his role in a number of terror attacks in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Surat.
Confirming the arrest, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said Bhatkal was arrested last night and is in the custody of the Bihar police. He said, the interrogation is still going on.
Yasin Bhatkal also known as Mohammed Ahmed Siddhibappa co-founded IM in 2008 along with his brother Riaz Bhatkal. He hails from Bhatkal in Karnataka. Our correspondent reports that Yasin Bhatkal's arrest is the second major breakthrough for Indian agencies after the arrest of Lashkar-e-Taiba bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda on 16th of this month. The 30 year old, Bhatkal was wanted in the German Bakery bomb blast of 13th February 2010 in Pune that left 17 people dead. He along with his three aides is alleged to be behind three coordinated bomb explosions at Opera House, Zaveri Bazaar and Dadar West in Mumbai on 13th July 2011, leaving 27 dead and 130 injured.