Indian Mujahideen’s chief of operations Yasin Bhatkal, who was arrested Wednesday, has no regrets, save one. He wishes he had killed more number of people, which he could not, by his own admission, due to “last-minute blunders.”
Top sources associated with his interrogation told Express the co-founder of IM had revealed how he felt “miserable” when he learnt of the less number of casualties in bomb blasts triggered by him across the country, including at Dilsukhnagar in Hyderabad.
“I committed some last-minute blunders due to which the impact of the blasts was reduced. This is one thing I regret,” he was quoted as saying. Describing Bhatkal’s behaviour as “remorseless and full of pride,” the sources said, “He has a good memory. He gave us the exact time, names of shops and localities from where he procured materials for IEDs. He also gave us minute details relating to his travels.”
Bhatkal, it seems, preferred making boat-shaped containers for his explosives and has become an expert in doing so. “These ensure maximum damage as they give a direction to the explosive material. One of the blunders I had committed at some places, including Dilsukhnagar, Surat and Bangalore, was that I could not plant the IEDs the way they should be. It resulted in fewer deaths,” he was quoted as saying.
The containers were used in Ahmedabad in 2008, Pune in 2012, Hyderabad this year, Surat and Bangalore, the sources said.
It appears Bhatkal told his interrogators bomb blasts would continue as there was no “Muslim empowerment” in India.
“India should get a strong message that there is no Muslim empowerment and all the operations carried out by me were meant only to send this message to the Indian establishment,” sources quoting Bhatkal said.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma said they will send a team to bring Bhatkal to Hyderabad soon.
“We will also launch a parallel probe along with the NIA,” he said. Pictures of the suspects in the Dilsukhnagar blasts match those of Yasin Bhatkal and Asadullah Akhtar, another IM operative who was arrested along with Bhatkal.