By IANS,
New Delhi : Sadiq Sheikh, an alleged operative of the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen, has unravelled on camera the plotting of the October 2005 Delhi blasts as well as the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, a television news channel claimed Friday.
According to the channel CNN-IBN, Sheikh, who is in the custody of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), revealed on camera the modus operandi of the pre-Diwali Delhi blasts Oct 25, 2005, and the July 11, 2006 explosions in Mumbai that together claimed nearly 250 lives.
“All five of us arranged local train passes for the first class compartments beforehand. We also had local train timetables with us so that we could find out the train as per our convenience,” the channel showed Sadiq as saying about the Mumbai explosions in a statement broadcast Friday.
“We purchased bags and pressure cookers in Mumbai. On the day of the blast, that is on July 11, 2006, all five of us assembled and we filled seven cookers with explosives. We kept the bombs ready. We had planned the bombs to blast at 6.30 p.m.,” he told the channel.
Giving details of how the serial blasts were executed on Mumbai trains, Sadiq’s chilling confession continues.
“Atif (another IM operative) gave me a bag which I kept in one of the local trains,” reads the confession.
“Abu Rashid and Sajid then joined me in keeping their bags in the other trains. Abu Rashid travelled till Dadar in the same train and then left for Sewree.”
“After a while, through the general public we were informed of the bomb blasts in the local trains,” adds Sadiq.
Sadiq, one of the key members who planted bombs on the Mumbai trains that day, was also assigned the “responsibility” of recruiting others into the IM fold.
According to the channel, Sadiq’s cold-blooded confessions do not end with the Mumbai blasts.
He has also confessed to masterminding the pre-Diwali blasts in Delhi Oct 29, 2005. But the channel did not say when the interview was conducted.
“Sarojini Nagar, Paharganj, Govindpuri were the targets for the blast,” Sadiq has confessed.
“We used to stay in a flat at Jasola. Atif, Shadab, Aarif, Shakeel and Sakib were involved in the group. I used to accompany them in making bombs. I and Atif were now trained in making bombs.”
“I left for my native place before the Delhi blast and on the day itself I got the news of the blasts in the capital city,” Sadiq adds.
He was one of the first IM members to be arrested by Mumbai police in October 2008. His interrogation led to the arrests of 20 other IM operatives.