Blow to IM network; arrests likely to help unravel terror modules

Indian security agencies took a while to identify and confirm the existence of IM and by the time its first module was cracked in 2008,its top leaders had fled to Pakistan.

The arrest of Yasin,the IM’s chief coordinator for operations in India,and Asadulla will,therefore,help them identify other IM operatives and could even provide a temporary respite from bomb blasts,security sources said.

The significance of Yasin’s arrest can be gauged from the fact that he has been blamed for all bomb blasts linked to IM after 2006.

In late 2012,when the special cell of Delhi police arrested Asad Khan,Syed Maqbool and others for the 2012 Pune bombings,it gave investigators insight into how IM’s operations were changing.

“Their questioning revealed that while one module was responsible for conducting surveys,the other led by Yasin planted explosives,” said an officer. This was a major obstacle for investigators as they could not easily join the dots to connect modules.

Sources said Yasin’s organisational abilities were underlined when he built new hideouts with the help of hawala money even as security agencies were hot on his trail and hideouts were being busted frequently.

With the arrest of Yasin,who is believed to enjoy the support of the Lashkar-e-Toiba,besides IM co-founders Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal,security agencies believe such co-ordinated attacks will stop. This could also prompt Riyaz or Iqbal to take control of operations in India,sources said.

Yasin was also the one-point contact for IM cadres and its handlers in Pakistan and he funded the routine expenses of other members of the group.

His arrest,as a result,would hurt the group as it was Yasin who knew where the money was invested and the targets modules were working on. It is also expected to compromise IM hideouts and codes being used by Pakistan-based groups.