File photo of Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal.
Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, arrested in connection with the 2011 Mumbai serial blasts case, has told the Maharashtra police's Anti-Terror Squad or ATS that he feels satisfied with the blasts, sources told NDTV. The revelation was made in Bhatkal's confessional statement which was recorded by a DCP rank officer.
Bhatkal also told the police that he does not consider the blasts carried out by him as a crime and he has no remorse whatsoever, sources said.
Bhatkal's aide Asadullah Akthar also reportedly told the police in the confessional statement, that he too does not regret the blast carried out by him.
In the confessional statement, both the accused stated the details of the blasts carried out by them in various places in the country since 2005 to avenge the 2002 Godhra riots, sources said.
Bhatkal was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Bihar last year and is currently in the custody of Maharashtra ATS.
The ATS had on June 16 filed a 300-page supplementary chargesheet against Bhatkal and Akthar in connection with the 2011 triple blasts case.
According to ATS, Bhatkal was the key conspirator of three powerful blasts which ripped through crowded areas in Mumbai - Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Kabutar Khana - on July 13, 2011, killing at least 21 people and injuring 141.
Bhatkal played an important role in procuring explosives and making Improvised Explosive Device (IED), police said.
Earlier, five accused - Naquee Ahmed, Nadeem Shaikh, Kanwar Pathrija, Haroon Naik and Mohammed Qafeel Ansari - were held in the case and are facing trial under the stringent MCOCA, Indian Penal Code and other laws.
Those wanted in the case are Riyaz Bhatkal, who is also a top operative of the alleged home-grown terror outfit, Waqas Ibrahim Sad, Dubai-based Muzaffar Kolah and Tehseen Akhtar Shaikh, the police said.
Bhatkal, who hails from Bhatkal village of Udupi district in North Karnataka, is wanted in a string of terror attacks in Ahmedabad, Surat, Bangalore, Pune, Delhi and Hyderabad, according to NIA.