File photo of terror mastermind Yasin Bhatkal, arrested last night
In a major catch for Indian agencies, Yasin Bhatkal, one of India's most wanted men and the head of the terror group Indian Mujahideen, was arrested last night near the border with Nepal.
Bhatkal, 30, was caught in north Bihar, after the Intelligence Bureau tracked his movements for a month. A court in Bihar has granted a three-day transit remand to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which will fly Bhatkal to Delhi in a special plane tomorrow.
(Who is Yasin Bhatkal?)Another Indian Mujahideen member, Asadullah Akhtar, was also arrested with him.
"Yasin Bhatkal was traced to the India-Nepal border by our intelligence agencies last night," Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told reporters.
It is the second breakthrough for Indian agencies after the arrest of Lashkar-e-Taiba bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda over a week ago.
On being caught, Bhatkal reportedly first claimed he was an engineer working on a project in Nepal, then insisted he was a Unani doctor (doctor of Islamic traditional remedies).
One of India's 12 most wanted men, Bhatkal is accused of terror strikes in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. He was allegedly the key conspirator and recruiter of the banned terror outfit and set up terror modules in at least eight cities.
(Yasin Bhatkal and Mujahideen linked to these deadly attacks)The Mumbai police had recently put out posters announcing a 10 lakh reward for information on Bhatkal.
The Indian Mujahideen is sponsored and patronized by Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Taiba, according to intelligence agencies.
Born Mohammed Ahmed Siddibappa in the coastal town of Bhatkal, Yasin co-founded the Indian Mujahideen in 2008 with Riyaz Bhatkal and Abdul Subhan Qureshi.
He is believed to be a master of disguise and a skilled escape artist.
Bhatkal was arrested once before in 2008 by Kolkata police on a fake currency case, but in a major goof-up, let off as no one knew who he really was.