Qureshi’s targets were politicos: Intel sources

Mumbai: Mumbai-bred terror suspect Abdul Subhan Qureshi had allegedly approached the Indian Mujahideen (IM)’s absconding chief Riyaz Bhatkal for help, including weapons, to organise targeted attacks on members of a political party in Gujarat after the arrest of 13 senior Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) leaders in March 2008. A then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and a party office-bearer were on the terror hit list, according to counter-terror sources associated with the probe against Qureshi, who was arrested in Delhi recently. However, Bhatkal allegedly convinced him instead to help in terms of manpower for his conspiracy to conduct blasts, on the ground that target attacks were ‘small work.’

Qureshi is being questioned for his alleged role in terror activities, including the July 2008 Gujarat blasts conspiracy. After the arrest of the SIMI leaders, including the then chief Safdar Nagori in Indore, Qureshi, alias ‘Touqeer’, took over the mantle of the banned outfit and allegedly began re-organising, exhorting trusted operatives for ‘action’ as a retaliation against the arrests and the loss of Muslim lives in the Gujarat riots of 2002, said a source.  He allegedly arrived in Ahmedabad in April and met SIMI members, including Qayamuddin Kapadia and Younus Mansuri.

The SIMI group subsequently rented a flat at Vatva at the rate of `900 per month, for which a deposit of `5,000 was given. “During a meeting of the SIMI members, it was decided that one way of retaliation could be by targeting a then BJP MLA and a party office-bearer. Since they needed a weapon, Touqeer left for Karnataka saying that he will procure the weapons and come back,” said the source.

“When Qureshi returned early in July, he had carried back a mobile phone that Bhatkal had given him. Qureshi told the SIMI members that he had met Bhatkal, who said that ‘target killing is a small work and that we will do some big work”, he said.

Bhatkal had Qureshi’s help to keep his team ready in Ahmedabad, for the big work, which turned out to be the blasts in Ahmedabad,” said the source. The phone was to be used for receiving calls from Bhatkal. Bhatkal later reached Ahmedabad and met some of Qureshi’s SIMI colleagues, separately, to seek their help in the terror conspiracy. Bhatkal had initially stayed at the Vatva flat, before asking for its vacation then moving to a rented flat at Narol, where the blasts’ preparations were allegedly done, according to the source.