Author: Timesofindia.com
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 17, 2009
All 21 alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorists
have been chargesheeted for hatching the conspiracy to set off blasts in various
cities including Delhi, Bangalore and Surat.
The chargesheet has been filed in the special
Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court against all 21 accused.
According to Times Now, one of the accused
and Pune-based software engineer Mohd Mansoor Peerbhoy who had filed a plea
in the court seeking to turn approver in the case has withdrawn his application.
He is the alleged head of the media wing of the Indian Mujhadeen.
PTI reports says that the terror group is
said to have carried out blasts across the country since 2006 including the
2008 serial blasts in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bangalore and Surat.
Apart from the stringent provisions of MCOCA,
the 21 accused will also be charged under Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Explosives
Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Information Technology Act.
The Mumbai Crime Branch had last year arrested
five main accused who hailed from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh and settled in
Mumbai, PTI reported.
Investigations revealed that the 'media cell'
of the group, headed by a software engineer, had sent out e-mails to media
houses minutes before Ahmedabad and Delhi blasts by hacking into unsecured
wireless internet accounts.
The IP addresses from which the e-mails were
sent were traced back to a college in suburban Matunga and an office in suburban
Chembur. The vehicles used in the serial blasts in Ahmedabad were traced back
to Navi Mumbai.
The Mumbai police had also seized explosives
from the residence of arrested accused Mohammad Sadiq Shaikh who reportedly
founded the terror outfit along with Atif who was killed in an encounter in
Delhi last year.
The explosives include 10 kg of gelatin/ammonium
nitrate, 15 detonators, eight kg of ball bearings, four live electric circuits,
one sub-machine carbine, two .38 revolvers, 30 live cartridges of 9 mm carbine
and eight live cartridges for.38 revolvers.
Riyaz Bhatkal, the mastermind and founder
member of IM, and his brother Iqbal Bhatkal are still wanted by Mumbai police.
The 21 arrested accused are Azal Mutalib Usmani,
Mohd Sadik Shaikh, Mohd Arif Shaikh, Mohd Zakir Shaikh, Ansar Ahmed Shaikh,
Asif Bashir Shaikh, Mohd Mansoor Peerbhoy, Mubin Kadar Shaikh, Mohd Atique
Iqbal, Dastagir Phiroz Mujawar, Mohd Akbar Chaudhary, Anique Shafique Sayed,
Majid Akthar Shaikh, Yasir Anis Syed, Farooq Sharfuddin Tarkash, Fazal-e-Rehman
Durani, Ahmed Bawa Abubakar, Moh Ali Ahmed, Javed Ali and Syed Noushad, Asgar
Ali.