IM ultra Fasih deported from S Arabia, held at IGI Was Linked To B’lore, Jama Masjid Attacks

IM ultra Fasih deported from S Arabia, held at IGI

Was Linked To B’lore, Jama Masjid Attacks

Neeraj Chauhan & Vishwa Mohan TNN

New Delhi: India finally got Fasih Mohammad, a key fund-raiser for the Indian Mujahideen (IM), in its custody.
    The engineer, who hails from Bihar’s Darbhanga district and is believed to be one of the founding members of IM, was arrested by Delhi Police at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here on Monday morning, after he was deported by Saudi Arabia. Fasih is believed to be connected to the Chinnaswamy Stadium (April 2010) and Delhi’s Jama Masjid (September 19, 2010) terror attacks.
    Fasih is the third terrorist to be deported from Saudi Arabia in the past five months, while five others, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Fayyaz Kagzi, are still holed up in the country. The key 26\11 Mumbai terror attack handler, Abu Jundal, was deported in June, whereas another Lashkar terrorist A Rayees of Kerala was deported earlier this month.
    India has already written to Saudi Arabia, seeking help in tracing the five suspects, including Kagzi, who have been running sleeper cells from there to carry out terror attacks in India. The arrest brought to an end a long spell of uncertainty within the Indian establishment about whether New Delhi would be able to get access to Fasih.
BIG CATCH
Fasih Mohammad, an engineer from Bihar’s Darbhanga, is one of the
founding fathers of Indian Mujahideen
    Fasih is believed to be linked to the Chinnaswamy stadium blast in Bangalore and Delhi’s Jama Masjid attack in 2010 Since the formation of IM
in 2003, he had visited several places and collected funds for jihadi activities
Has allegedly revealed that 5 other IM members, including Lashkar operative Fayyaz Kagzi, are still in Saudi Arabia. Third terrorist deported from Saudi Arabia in 5 months Fasih a prize catch
New Delhi: The deportation is seen as a breakthrough for Indian investigators who have been trying to lay their hands on the senior IM `terrorist’. Agency sources said they believe this arrest would help them gather more information on this shadowy organization, which Indian agencies believe was set up by LeT and ISI to promote homegrown terrorism within India. This makes Fasih a prize catch, said sources. In his initial conversations with investigators, Fasih is believed to have revealed that five other IM members, including Kagzi, were still in Saudi Arabia.
    Hours after getting Fasih deported, Indian on Monday termed him a “very important catch”, saying Saudi Arabia fully cooperated in his deportation to India. In his first official reaction on Fasih’s arrest, home secretary R K Singh said, “He was a very important catch. He was deported after he had served a sentence there( for some crime committed there). Saudi Arabia fully cooperated with us.” He said India had submitted “material evidence” against Fasih to Saudi authorities to press its demand for deportation for his involvement in various terrorist acts in the country. “Our officers were in touch with Saudi Arabia. That is how it happened,” he said. The home secretary’s statement raised frowns in MEA, which has been trying to get the home ministry to keep operational details out of public view.
    Fasih has been in Saudi custody since May. India wanted him for his involvement in Chinnaswamy Stadium blast in Bangalore and IM’s Meer Vihar (Delhi) factory, which was unearthed by Delhi’s Special Cell last November.