Jama Masjid strike: Pak terrorist who opened fire held

NEW DELHI: The arrest of six Indian Mujahideen men is a major breakthrough for Delhi Police which till now had appeared to be clueless about the attack at Jama Masjid on September 19, 2010, and later an aborted attempt at the Delhi High Court parking lot. Sources in Delhi Police confirmed that at least four men were involved in the Jama Masjid attack. Mohd Adil from Karachi in Pakistan shot at the Taiwanese tourists with a 9mm pistol while Mohd Qateel Siddiqui stole the getaway bike from the area sometime before the incident . Mohd Irshad Khan, along with IM’s number three, Ahmad Siddi Bappa alias Shahrukh – the expert bomber who himself planted the bomb – were also involved. “The accused had carried out several recces from their trans-Yamuna hideout and Shahrukh had hatched the plan in Nepal three months ago in June. They decided on September 19 as it was the first anniversary of the Batla encounter and just a month before the Commonwealth Games,’’ said a source. The explosive material – including a sizeable quantity of ammonium nitrate – was procured locally while a few items were sourced from Madhubani and Karnataka.A day before carrying out the attack, sources said, these men had a mock run in the area on a bike. They were being given financial support for their stay in the capital by Gauhar Aziz Khomani, who has been arrested in the city. Officials said arrested Pakistani terrorist Mohammad Adil alias Ajmal had been specially sent to India for this purpose by his Pakistanbased IM bosses Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal. Adil, who trained with top Laskhar operative Masood Azhar’s brother, was expected to do the shooting. Adil had fired on the Taiwanese tourists while riding pillion on the bike while Mohammad Qateel Siddiqui was driving it, said a source. Officials said Shahrukh had trained all of them in making bombs, using pottasium nitrate, ammonium nitrate and RDX, and the Nangloi factory that was busted on Wednesday was their hub. On September 19, 2010, two gunmen on a motorcycle had fired at a tourist bus near Gate 3 of the Jama Masjid and injured two Taiwanese tourists . About three hours later a car parked about 150 metres from the spot had caught fire, apparently because of a minor blast.