Charge sheet filed against 26/11 handler Jundal

New Delhi: The Delhi Police has filed a charge sheet against the key handler of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Abu Jundal, accusing him of being involved in terror activities across India to avenge atrocities against Muslims, particulary those committed during 2002 Gujarat riots. The charge sheet filed by the Special Cell in the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vidya Prakash, also said that Jundal disclosed that he along with LeT chief Zaki-ur-Rehman alias Lakhvi, monitored the 26/11 attacks from a control room set up in Malir in Karachi, Pakistan. The charge sheet said after being apprehended from the IGI airport on June 21, Jundal during questioning admitted to his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. Delhi Police said this is in a supplementary charge sheet in the Jama Masjid blast case in which 11 alleged members of militant outfit Indian Mujahideen were charge sheeted earlier. The investigators said during the probe it became evident that 30-year-old Jundal was also involved in the Jama Masjid blast case. In the charge sheet, police said that Jundal has also stated that he entered into terror activities to avenge the atrocities suffered by Muslims in India particularly during the 2002 riots that followed after the Godhra train carnage. Jundal said 10 persons had left for Mumbai in September 2008 as well but the boat in which they were travelling broke down and they returned to Karachi and stayed at Kaiyadabad area. The charge sheet also names as suspect Fasih Mohammad, accused of involvement in conspiracy of bomb blasts in Bangalore and Delhi. Fasih, who hails from Darbhanga district in Bihar, is presently in detention in Saudi Arabia. Besides him, the charge sheet names Iqbal and Riyaz Bhatkal and 17 others as suspects. The charge sheet said Jundal stated that one of the LeT operatives, Asim alias Abu Kahajo, the main handler of 10 terrorists involved in Mumbai terror attack, blamed failure of intended operation in September 2008 on selection of wrong time and the bad situation of Moon. On November 23, 2008, the ten terrorists again left for Mumbai in a boat named "Al Hussainy" driven by one Dara, who returned to Karachi after dropping them at Mumbai. "All ten persons involved in the 26/11 attack were taught Hindi and Mumbai`s local language for ten days at terrorist camp at Baitul, Muzafaraad by Jundal, who is himself a native of beed in Maharashtra. The ten terrorists who had executed the attack are Abu Akasha, Abu Umar, Ismail, Ajmal Kasab (lone surviving 26/11 terrorist), Abdul Rahman Big, Abdul Rahman Small, Abu Fahadulla, Musab, Umer and Ali. In his disclosure statement annexed with the charge sheet, Jundal alias Zabi has said that a control room was set up by Zaki-ur-Rehman at one Yaqoob`s office in Karachi for monitoring of the terror attack and that Jundal himself was speaking to Abu Akasha and Fahadulla from the control room. Besides Jundal and Lakhvi, those who were present in the control room were Abu Alkama, Abu Kahaja, Khalida alias Wasi, Zarar and Shahid alias Nadeem. The charge sheet also says that Jundal had in his disclosure statement revealed that a total of 12 persons had received training for the 26/11 attack but two of them -- Abdulla and Qasim left the operation. The police has booked Jundal under section 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 489 B (using as genuine, forged or counterfeit currency), 489 C (possessing counterfeit currency) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code. Jundal has also been booked under various provisions of the Explosive Substances Act, and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, besides the Passport Act and Arms Act. The charge sheet said besides the Mumbai mayhem, Jundal also confessed to his involvement in various terror attacks across India including Aurangabad arms haul case, Chinnaswamy stadium blast case, the 2010 German bakery blast and the Nasik Academy attack case. The 26/11 handler has said he came in contact with Fayaz Kagzi, his senior in college while pursuing BSc from Beed, Maharashtra in 2003 and became friends with him. Kagzi`s friend introduced them to one Aslam, an LeT operative and on his saying, he went to Aurangabad to buy electrical goods and met Amir who motivated them to avenge atrocities on Muslims in India. Aslam Asked Fayaz and Jundal to go to Kashmir and in 2005 they met one Junaid in Nepal, who asked them to carry out blasts in India to protect Muslims and imparted them training in bomb-making. In February 2006, Jundal made bombs and fixed in it train in Aurangabad, which exploded and in May 2006 he was tasked to take delivery of automatic weapons hidden in computers from a tempo parked at Duliya highway in Nasik. Jundal said while his associate Amir was arrested in the task, he managed to escape with some computers. After this, Jundal went to Kolkata, Bangladesh and then Pakistan where he came in contact with Masood Ajhar, chief of Jaish-e-Mohammad, who in turn introduced him to Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, the masterminds of Indian Mujahideen. Jundal said the "Bhatkal brothers" invited him to a "dawat program" to deliver religious speeches and when he reached there, "a group of youngsters suspected to be terrorists" were present. He was then introduced to one Adil, who was supposedly being sent to help IM operatives to carry out attacks in Delhi before CWG, Jundal said. He also said that when he escaped from India and reached Baitul, Pakistan, he was introduced to Muzammil, who is next to Lakhvi in LeT hierarchy and on his asking, he opened two websites to recruit youth for jehad and uploaded videos of LeT operations at India-Pak border. Jundal is presently in custody of probe agencies in Mumbai for his interrogation in connection with a series of terror attacks in Maharashtra. "The present supplementary charge sheet has been filed separately qua accused Syed Zaibuddin. It is submitted before the court that the accused is presently in police custody remand in other cases pending against him in other states and his production warrant has already been issued in this case for September 28. "Hence put up on September 28 for further proceedings," the court said in its order today. A total of 15 IM men -- Mohd Irshad Khan, Asadullah Rehman, Mohd Adil, Bashir Hasan, Abdul Rehman, Mohd Kafil, Mohd Quateel Siddiqui, Gauhar Aziz, Gayur Ahmed, Mohd Aftab Alam and Tariq Anjum Ahsan, Mohd Shakeel, Kamal Hasan and Kafil have been arrested by the Delhi Police for their alleged role in various terror strikes across country. Of the 15, Quateel Siddiqui died in Pune jail when he was in custody of Pune ATS. PTI