Interrogation of IM terrorist does not reveal any possible target

PTI
NEW DELHI, MARCH 24

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]nterrogations of top Indian Mujahideen terrorist Zia Ur Rehman alias Waqas and three of his associates by police have so far not revealed any possible target, neither a personality nor a place, police sources said on Monday.
“We have not come to know about any target so far, not any personality nor any place,” said a senior police official close to the investigation of the case.
All four worked under the direction of IM’s current chief Tehseen Akhtar alias Monu who had told them to be ready for strike but did not disclose the target, the official said.Earlier, it was Yasin Bhatkal who was heading the terror outfit, but after his arrest Akhtar has taken over and he is at large.
Waqas was arrested outside Ajmer Railway Station early Saturday morning when he alighted from a train which came from Bandra, Mumbai.
His other three associates identified as Mohammad Mahruf (21), Mohammad Waqar Azhar alias Haneef (21), both residents of Jaipur, and Shaquib Ansari alias Khalid (25) of Jodhpur were arrested at his instance in the wee hours yesterday from their residences with the help of Rajasthan police.
The official also informed that these three have also been brought to Delhi and produced before a magistrate who has sent them to police remand till April 2. Waqas had already been sent on police custody for ten days.
Large quantity of explosives, timer devices, detonators and other material which hinted that they were preparing for a “spectacular” strike was recovered from the three men who were part of IM’s Rajasthan module.
Mahruf and Waqar are engineering students in Jaipur while Ansari is running a computer DTP and design printing business, said Shrivastava.
Trained in terror camps in Pakistan, Waqas was allegedly involved in the Jama Masjid attacks on September 19, 2010, the Sheetla Ghat, Varanasi blasts carried out on December 7, 2010, the blasts carried out at Opera House and Zaveri Bazar in Mumbai on July 12, 2011.
The next terrorist strike allegedly carried out by Waqas was the Pune serial blasts of August 1, 2012. He was also involved in the Hyderabad serial blasts carried out on February 21, 2013.