By Mohd. Ismail Khan, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad : Terror attacks in our nation bring despair for many but bliss for some; it is the time when those expected few can indulge in their business of bullying our gullible Indian audience.
After Dilsukanagar terror strike the investigation went into the newsrooms of our newsmakers and newsmen’s, even before NIA reached the blast site. What then, to eclipse the terror our media was full of theories on how exactly blasts were carried out with every minute detail even naming the bomb planters. Every news channel became a private security agency putting their neck in the blast site, trying to get clues to solve it before their competition does. After few days they become courts and pronounced their competitive judgments and conclusions on who the attackers were.
Maharashtra ATS Chief Rakesh Maria showing mugshot image of Yaseen Bhatkal
A week after those horrible deadly terror strikes, NIA and Hyderabad Police SIT was flexing muscles as to who will be the best agency to solve the case. CID, OCTOPUS, Counter Intelligence, Task Force, ATS of Karnataka and Maharashtra were busy in their ambiguous investigations. Even as CCTV video footage were still lying in forensic laboratory, here comes another bombshell from media especially from Headlines Today for public to digest. They claimed that CCTV camera footage showed that Ahmed Zarar Siddibappa alias Yaseen Bhatkal alleged top Inidan Mujahideen commander personally planted bombs at Dilsukhnagar, (remember it was the same news channels which a day back was running a story that terrorists cut the wires of CCTV cameras before planting bombs). They also claimed that he may still possibly be hiding in old Hyderabad (which after the blast became synonymous for terror hide outs for news channels).
Some reputed news outlets even PTI quoted their sources saying the same; this comes a day after Sushil Kumar Shinde’s statement that this terror strike was a avenged attack on the hanging of Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab. For sure this premature statement of HM, mainstream media doesn’t found anything prejudicial to the ongoing investigation.
But it was not the first time Yaseen Bhatkal was reportedly spotted planting bombs in CCTV camera. In 2010 German bakery blast investigation, Maharashtra ATS chief Rakesh Maria give a ‘breakthrough’ to journalists during a press conference by stating that CCTV camera footage shows Yaseen Bhatkal personally planting bomb at the Bakery. Mr. Maria for the first time produced the mughot images of Yaseen Bhatkal but that CCTV camera footage was never been showed.
When I spoke about Yaseen Bhatkal to one senior journalist from Bangalore who works for a reputed national news magazine, said in a spate ‘Man he is Indian James Bond. Every security agency thinks he is the master mind, the man behind everything supposed to be wanted in terror context. But no one knows exactly where he is and how he unerringly functions. Or even if he really exists in India at all.’
Yaseen Bhatkal our Indian James Bond, since 2007 has his name print in every major blast (other than which targeted Muslims specifically), in some cases he was the bomb maker and planter. But still he is at large. Media says he is roaming across India bullying our massive security agencies and counter terrorism cells.
Media quoting their highly placed sources in IB or MHA came to conclusion that Indian Mujahideen was formed in Bhatkal a picturesque coastal town at Karnataka. The main leaders were Syed Riyaz Shabandri alias Riyaz Bhatkal, his elder brother Syed Iqbal Shabandri alias Iqbal Bhatkal and some alleged their distant relative Ahmed Zarar Siddibappa alias Yaseen Bhatkal.
Iqbal Ahmed father of youngest victim of Dilsukhnagar blasts Aijaz Ahmed
Same “highly placed sources” told media that Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal after July 2006 Mumbai train bombings ran away and now hiding in Pakistan. And now from Karachi they carry out their operations through their loyal second in command “James Bond IM6 agent” Yaseen Bhatkal, who since 2007 is planting bombs in every nook and corner of Indian Territory.
Just three days after the blasts India Today media group carried an ‘investigative’ report claiming that this James Bond have headquarter not in London but in Dubai. Report gave Yaseen Bhatkal’s mobile number 9990985606 which according to them was known to Maharashtra ATS from 2011, and till 2012 he made 1000 calls to Dubai for money or his remuneration transactions from IM6. They also stated that this spy agent spoke 369 times to his other covert colleagues in India.
But then the question is what was Maharashtra ATS doing since 2011, tracing 1000 calls to Dubai and 369 calls in India of the man who is wanted in 10 terror cases.
But that’s not the end of it many leading news dallies and channels claimed that Yaseen Bhatkal was caught by Kolkata police in December 2009 for fake currency racketing. This startling revelations was first made public, by none other than former resident editor of The Hindu and ‘terror expert’ Parveen Swami. In his insensitive piece ‘Prison murder could hold clues to Pune attack’ on Yarewada jail murder of Qateel Siddqui. Mr. Swami wrote that Siddiqui bailed out Yaseen Bhatkal from Kolkata’s presidency jail naming Yaseen Bhatkal Mohammed Ashraf a resident of Darbhanga and a Unani doctor.
Nurse treating a blast victim at Osmania General Hospital
After taking lead from their teacher Swami, some journo’s beg to pardon on his piece. T.A. Johnson of Indian express wrote that Yaseen Bhatkal was arrested in Kolkata in a theft case, and Qateel Siddiqui was also imprisoned along with Yaseen. But he somehow ‘convinced’ Kolkata police that he is Bulla Mallik, 26, son of Karthik Mallik, a resident of “No. 9, North Range, Kolkata-17 and walked out of prison with two of his accomplices. Precely Thomas of Hindustan Times try to make her report little filmy and state that Yaseen was arrested in 2010 and walked out of Kolkata prison suggesting his name as ‘Shahrukh’. Whereas NDTV reported that yaseen was arrested by Kolkata’s special task force on the tip off from Intelligence Bureau. But conceding with others, NDTV said he was released after spending ‘few months’ in Alipore jail where he assumed a fake identity.
It is difficult to grasp above reports, especially of NDTV, because some newspapers reported that in 2010 Yaseen along with Qateel applied for a passport in Ranchi on fake identity of Anjar Hussain. But IB got alerted and passports were never issued. So how IB which has sustained identification of Yaseen can does let him run away at Kolkata at fake identity even when he was in Alipore jail for ‘some months’.
But according to news reports it’s not the only time agent 007 gave slip to our high class intelligence bureau and counter terrorism cells. In October 2008, reportedly Yaseen bullied Karnataka Police as they delayed a raid on an alleged hideout near Kopa in Mangalore. In November 2011 apparently Yaseen evade an arrest when his father in law Irshad Khan’s house was raided in Chennai. Media reports said that Agent Yaseen was on shopping tour to buy some vegetables at market when raid proceeded thus he eventually evaded it.
But the most thrilling story of Yaseen Bhatkal giving glitches to counter terrorism cells is provided by Praveen Swami again. But in this story Stephen Fleming (Swami) changed the occupation of Yaseen from Unani medical practitioner to Ayurveda and fake name in Darbhanga from Mohammed Ashraf to Dr. Imran. In this story Agent 007 gave a slip to both Maharashtra ATS and Delhi Police Special Cell after July 2011 bomb blasts in Mumbai. Apparently due to the feud between both the agencies, ATS caught special cell’s mole with Yaseen thus helped him in escaping arrest by Delhi Police. Rediff.com reported that Yaseen after allegedly orchestrating various bombings was staying in a flat just 500 meters away from ATS headquarters in Byculla. Really a close shave for ATS and Delhi police.
Many questions arise after reading above incidents, the key are, who is this James Bond? and who trained him? Some journalists claim that he was a civil engineer with good job in Dubai; some say he got engineering diploma in mechanics thus really good in assembling bombs. Some like Praveen Swami stick his carrier to traditional medical professions.
Ahmed Siddibappa alias Yaseen Bhatkal did work for a brief period in Dubai, but after some time he disappeared. His father Zarar Siddibappa a wealthy business man from Dubai claimed one day he and his son had verbal fight, after that Ahmed left his house in Dubai and never seen again.
Father believes his son is innocent and his name is dragged down in every blast by the media. Zarar Siddibappa even claimed that he never used the name Yaseen to call his son, and said this alias is a media creation.
Yaseen father went a step ahead and sued on behalf of his son, The Hindu and Praveen Swami for writing alleged defamatory articles declaring his son mastermind in every major blast.
We gullible Indians or the mango people (as how political class wants to call us) might never get to know the facts or real truth about this Indian James Bond or his organization IM6. But one thing clearly emerged from it which no one can deny that investigations on the wave of terrorist attacks is being frequently attributed to IM and throuwn away in the dust bin of Indian legal system. With different states and media, different theories emerge, claiming IM a lose network of Individuals. In every major blast we havealways heard the names of Riyaz, Iqbal and Yaseen Bhatkal but arrested will be some other youths..
Till now nearly 150 Muslim youths have been arrested in 7 different states, accusing them to be part of IM. In our country with ongoing legal proceedings, trials can go on for years in a sorry state of affairs. Till then they will keep grinding in Indian legal classification.
In Hyderabad Dilsukhanagar blasts, same story is getting repeated where Syed Maqbool an alleged IM operative is now brought here by NIA. And now Hyderabad police started illegal detention of Muslim youths, even of those who were acquitted in Mecca Masjid blast conspiracy case.
One only hopes and prays that this reported visit of Indian James Bond to Hyderabad doesn’t turn the directions or influence our already shady investigative process.