09 January,2009 08:38 AM IST | | Imran Gowhar
Attacked: A view of the destruction at the Taj hotel in Mumbai File pic
Mumbai crime branch may get vital info about Bangladesh links to 26/11 attacks
Imran Shehzad, the alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative, was taken into custody by the Mumbai crime branch from the Uttar Pradesh police on Thursday.
The Mumbai police hope to obtain vital information about Bangladeshi terroristu00a0 links to the 26/11 attack from him.
Imran was arrested last year for his alleged involvement in the attack on a CRPF camp at Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.u00a0
According to the Mumbai Crime Branch officials, Shehzad had helped both Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin, two other accused in the case, conduct a recce at Mumbai following which the deadly attack was carried out.
Imran Shehzad's name surfaced during the IISC investigations, when Sabahuddin revealed that Shehzad was a LeT-trained fidayeen sent to carry out attack on the CRPF camp in Rampur.
Attack plans
Shehzad was recruited by the LeT in Dubai where he was working. He was then sent to the fidayeen training camp in Pakistan. Shehzad reported to Imran Mian, the head of the LeT based in Bangladesh. While theu00a0 attack was planned in Pakistan, the Bangladesh LeT outfit in coordination with its sister concern, Harkat-ul-Jihadi, provided the logistic support for the attacks.
Once the LeT in Pakistan decided to send both Ansari and Sabahuddin to conduct a recce in Mumbai, Shehzad was chosen to take care of the logistics. Shehzad was given this additional job apart from forming the core team of the men, who were supposed to blow up the Bombay Stock Exchange in the month of March. Shehzad was however picked up before the plan could materialise.
Vital links
Shehzad, according to the investigators, could provide vital links to the Bangladesh angle in the Mumbai attack.
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The Bangladesh chapter has played a crucial role in the attacks. Sabahuddin had said during the investigations that Shehzad had travelled from Bhimbar in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, along with Mohammed Farooq Bhatti from Gunjanwala (Pakistan), to Nepal to meet him for further instructions.
According to the investigative sources, Imran Mian, the chief of Bangladesh LeT outfit, has successfully managed to set up a network of LeT agents in India. Imran along with Abu Qama, the LeT commander in Pakistan, had taken the help of the Indian Mujahideen to arrange for SIM cards for the Mumbai attackers.
