5.6.10

The Indian Mujahideen


The Indian Mujahideen, which is said to be responsible for a series of bombings in Delhi, Ahmedabad and Jaipur in 2008, among other strikes became the 35th terror group to be banned by the Centre under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Known for their signature style of claiming responsibility of terror attacks by sending emails, the Indian Mujahideen (IM), is said to have metamorphosed from a radical offshoot of Simi to a full-fledged terror group supported by Pakistan’s ISI. The outfit is said to have been founded after a rift in the ranks of Simi, with one group led by Safdar Nagori sticking to radical militant ideology while the other, led by Mohammed Islam, former chief coordinator of Simi, preferred a moderate approach. In the aftermath of the Godhra incident in 2002, the two factions broke away and the hardline wing of the Simi decided to launch a militant outfit, which immediately got support from the ISI. The militant wing co-founded by Amir Reza Khan, Riyaz Shahbandri and Abdul Subhan Qureshi consisted of students, most of them Kashmiris, studying in Deobandi madrasas in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The faction was christened as Indian Mujahideen. According to intelligence agencies, the Indian Mujahideen, currently headed by the elusive Iqbal Bhatkal, is now believed to have turned into a shadow outfit of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. The group showed its presence for the fist time in 2005 by claiming responsibility for the Varanasi blasts. It was followed by serial explosions outside courts in UP in November 2007. The IM is said to have been behind at least 10 serial blasts across the country. Experts say the Indian Mujahideen was a fit case for banning.

No comments: