IM men held, attacks foiled, Pune blasts solved: Police

The Delhi Police on Thursday claimed to have foiled attacks on marketplaces in the Capital and at Bodhgaya and solved the recent Pune serial blasts with the arrest of three alleged Indian Mujahideen militants. Large quantities of explosives were reportedly recovered from them.

The police said that the blasts of August 1 in Pune were a revenge attack plotted by Bhatkal brothers for the killing of IM operative Qateel Siddique inside a Pune prison earlier this year.

Two of the men, Asad Khan and Imran Khan, were picked up during a Special Cell raid on a house in Pul Prahladpur, south-east Delhi, on September 26, reportedly following a specific tip-off. The two had come to the Capital around September 20-21 and were allegedly waiting for instructions to carry out terrorist strikes during the festival season.

Police claim to have recovered 4 kg of explosive materials, eight detonators with 9-volt batteries, circuits, ball bearings and nails from them.

The interrogation of Asad and Imran reportedly led to the arrest of their third "associate" Sayed Feroze, who was arrested from the Nizamuddin railway station on October 1 while on his way from Ahmednagar. The police claim to have recovered 1 kg of explosive material and two detonators from him.

The police said that the interrogation of the three had revealed that around five-six IM operatives planned the Pune blasts. The decision was reportedly made in July 2012, with the final clearance from Riyaz Bhatkal reportedly coming through at Asad's tour and travel office in Aurangabad.

"In July 2012, Sayed took a flat on rent at Kasarwadi in Pune. After a few days, two other militants whose names we are not disclosing joined them. They had brought explosives with them. For preparing the IED, they visited the electronic market of Budhwarpeth market in Pune where they purchased digital watches, circuits boards and other electronic items. On August 1, 2012, they went to Phadke Howd and purchased three bicycles. They rode the cycles to the Deccan bus stand and parked these at the cycle stand. In the evening, they left their flat with explosives in their rucksacks and planted the IEDs in the bicycles which they had parked on the Junglee Maharaj Road," said Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar at a press conference.

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