Ahmedabad, August 19
Mufti Abu Bashir, the alleged mastermind of Ahmedabad blasts, has “confessed” to his involvement, Gujarat Police claimed today, adding top SIMI leader Safdar Nagori was allegedly a key conspirator and may be also involved in Jaipur and Hyderabad terror attacks.
Bashir, whose arrest from Uttar Pradesh was announced on August 16, is currently in 14-day police custody and is being grilled by the city Crime Branch officials. “So far in his interrogation, he has confessed to his involvement in the Ahmedabad blasts,” the officials claimed.
The July 26 explosions left 55 persons dead.
“Though Bashir is cooperating in interrogation, he is not revealing much details. He is just giving short replies to the questions asked by the officials. Most of his replies are in yes and nos,” they said.
Bashir, it seems, is trained in how to handle police interrogations, sources said. Bashir was a madrasa teacher in Hyderabad, where he came in contact with the hardline SIMI faction led by Nagori. After Nagori's arrest in March, Bashir took up the task of carrying out the Ahmedabad blasts, police claimed.
Throwing fresh light on the probe, the police alleged that Nagori and his brother Karimuddin were the main trainers during SIMI’s training camps in Kerala (December 2007) and Halol in Gujarat (January 2008).
“They are also key conspirators who designed and planned the terror attacks in Ahmedabad. They may also be involved in Jaipur and Hyderabad blasts,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ashish Bhatia, who is leading the investigation into Ahmedabad blasts.
Nagori and some of his close associates were arrested from Indore in Madhya Pradesh in March. Gujarat Police have also decided to seek custody of Nagori from the MP Police and is likely to bring him to Ahmedabad for questioning, Bhatia said.
— PTI
