26/11 handler ‘Abu Jundal’ arrested

Ansari,who is believed to be the man who coordinated the 26/11 Mumbai attack sitting in a Karachi control room,came to India from Saudi Arabia on June 21,officials said. He was travelling on a Pakistani passport issued in the name of Riyasat Ali.

Ansari came under the radar of central law enforcement agencies in March after they intercepted his calls while he was allegedly trying to recruit youths from Thane in Maharashtra. They traced him to Saudi Arabia.

In order to bring Ansari back to India,the Special Cell approached a chief metropolitan magistrate at Tis Hazari on June 2,and obtained a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Maharashtra ATS will now put Ansari through a voice test. The samples will be matched with those collected by the security agencies during the Mumbai attack.

“We suspect Ansari was among those who were present in the control room and gave instructions to the 10 terrorists who carried out the attack in Mumbai,” said an NIA official.

Ansari,now lodged at the Lodhi Colony headquarters of the Special Cell,has allegedly confessed to his involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks,said police.

He said that he along with five others were inside a Karachi control room and were coordinating the attack through a satellite phone. He also told police that he accompanied the terrorists till the Karachi port on their way to Mumbai.

His interrogation so far has revealed that Ansari not only taught Hindi to the terrorists but was also responsible for coordinating the planning with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander and Mumbai attack suspect Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi. “Before leaving,he also gave them a few thousand rupees in Indian currency. He also trained them about the geography of Mumbai and how they should approach the people. During the next few days,he will be taken to Maharashtra,Ahmedabad and other places where he is involved in terror activities,” said a police officer.

A resident of Beed district in Maharashtra,Ansari fled to Pakistan in 2006 after the Aurangabad arms haul case. The case is being investigated by the CBI. The agency had issued a red-corner notice (RCN) against him.

During his stay in Pakistan,Ansari worked for Lashkar and was also in touch with Pakistan’s ISI. “He left Pakistan after the Mumbai attack and was staying in Saudi Arabia. He has also named a few persons suspected to be from the ISI and were involved in the Mumbai attack,” added the officer.

In Saudi Arabia,Ansari acted as a travel agent. He told police that he had been assigned the job of recruiting Indian youth and seeking funds.

His police custody ends on July 5 but the Special Cell is likely to approach the court and seek for more time to question him.