Indian Mujahideen (IM) is an Islamic terrorist group which has been particularly active in India. The jihadist group was founded as an offshoot of the

Students' Islamic Movement of India The Students' Islamic Movement of India (abbreviated SIMI) is a banned terrorist organisation that was formed in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh in April 1977. The stated mission of SIMI is the ‘liberation of India’ by converting it to an Islamic la ...

(SIMI) by several radicalized members including

Iqbal Bhatkal Iqbal Shahbandri, known as Iqbal Bhatkal, is the co-founder, ideologue, leader and wanted terrorist of the Indian Mujahideen, an Islamist terrorist group based in India. He is the brother of another IM co-founder Riyaz Bhatkal, and is one of th ...

, Riyaz Bhatkal, Yasin Bhatkal, Abdul Subhan Qureshi, Amir Reza Khan and Sadiq Israr Sheikh, among others. It has been active since at least 2005 when it bombed the

Dashashwamedh Ghat Dashashwamedh Ghat is a main ghat in Varanasi on the Ganga River in Uttar Pradesh. It is located close to Vishwanath Temple and is probably the most spectacular ghat. Two Hindu legends are associated with it: according to one, Brahma created ...

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

(where eight people were injured). It carried out several serial-bombings in Indian cities in the following years notably the

2007 Uttar Pradesh bombings Six consecutive serial blasts rocked Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad courts in Uttar Pradesh on 23 November 2007 afternoon in a span of 25 minutes, in which reportedly many people were killed and several others injured. Bombs were explicitly t ...

2008 Jaipur bombings The Jaipur bombings were a series of nine synchronized bomb blasts that took place on 13 May 2008 within a span of fifteen minutes at locations in Jaipur, the capital city of the Indian state of Rajasthan, and a tourist destination.2008 Ahmedabad bombings The 2008 Ahmedabad bombings were a series of 21 bomb blasts that hit Ahmedabad, India, on 26 July 2008, within a span of 70 minutes. Fifty-six people were killed and over 200 people were injured. Ahmedabad is the cultural and com ...

2008 Delhi bombings The 13 September 2008 Delhi bombings were a series of five synchronised bomb blasts that took place within a span of few minutes on Saturday, 13 September 2008 at various locations in Delhi, India. The first bomb exploded at 18:07 IST, and fou ...

2010 Pune bombing The 2010 Pune bombing, also known as 13/7 and the German bakery blast, occurred on 13 February 2010 at approximately 19:15 Indian Standard Time, when a bomb exploded at a German bakery in the Indian city of Pune, Maharashtra. The blast killed ...

, 2011 Mumbai bombings, 2011 Delhi bombing,

2013 Patna bombings On 27 October 2013, a series of bomb blasts rocked the Indian city of Patna, Bihar at a massive election rally for BJP Prime Ministerial candidate and current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Of the estimated 300,000 participants at the "Hunkar" ...

, 2013 Hyderabad blasts and the 2013 Bodh Gaya bombings. Investigators believe that Indian Mujahideen is one of many groups composed of lower-tier SIMI members. According to the Indian Intelligence Bureau, SIMI took new titles because the top leadership of SIMI have been detained and would be available for interrogation. The change in names is believed to signal a change in tactics as SIMI-affiliated militants attempt to garner more support from India's Muslim community rather than be seen as a group consisting of foreigners. Two days after the 13 May 2008 Jaipur bombings, the extremist group sent an e-mail to Indian media in which they claimed responsibility for the attacksMujahideen sends pre⁻blast video footage", IndiaToday, 14 May 2008.
/ref> and said they would "demolish the faiths (all religions apart from Islam) of the infidels of India."Outraged India set to expel migrants
", ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'', 19 May 2008. The biggest and boldest attack to date by the group was the

2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts The 2008 Ahmedabad bombings were a series of 21 bomb blasts that hit Ahmedabad, India, on 26 July 2008, within a span of 70 minutes. Fifty-six people were killed and over 200 people were injured. Ahmedabad is the cultural and com ...

, where it gained national notoriety with a casualty of more than 50 people. The group has been linked with the jihadist

Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...

and its backer Pakistan's

Inter-Services Intelligence The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...

Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh, [] is the Bangladeshi branch of the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI). It is banned in Bangladesh and is a Proscribed Organisation in the United Kingdom under the Terrorism Act 2000. HuJI also ...

is also closely linked with the group and was instrumental in its founding. Two of the founding leaders, Iqbal Bhatkal and Riyaz Bhatkal, shifted to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

in the aftermath of the Batla House encounter in 2008 and remain active from there, operating a faction of the group. Amir Reza Khan also fled to Karachi and is reported to run his own IM module from there. Yasin Bhatkal was apprehended in 2013 and was sentenced to death in 2016 for the 2013 Hyderabad blasts; Abdul Subhan Qureshi was similarly apprehended in 2018. After multiple Indian Mujahideen bomb blasts in different cities of India over the years, many of which were claimed by the group itself, it was declared a terrorist organisation on 4 June 2010 and banned by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

. On 22 October 2010,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

declared it a terrorist organisation. In September 2011, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

officially placed the Indian Mujahideen on its list of foreign terrorist organisations, with the State Department acknowledging that the group had engaged in several terrorist attacks in India and had regional aspirations with the ultimate aim of creating an "Islamic

caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

" across

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

. The group was banned by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

as it aimed at creating an

Islamic state An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

and implementing sharia law in India, by use of indiscriminate violence.

Background

The group was founded as the merger of

's Usaba based in

Bhatkal Bhatkal, is a coastal town in the Uttara Kannada District of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bhatkal lies on National Highway 66, which runs between Mumbai and Kanyakumari, and has Bhatkal railway station which is one of the major railway s ...

(where

, Riyaz Bhatkal and Yasin Bhatkal come from) and Asif Reza Commando Force which had been founded by Amir Reza Khan (in the name of his brother who had died in a shootout with the police) and had carried out the 2002 attack on American cultural centre in Kolkata. Most of its recruits are from SIMI of which the IM is largely an offshoot of. It was founded in 2003 and first became active in 2005, it adopted the name "Indian Mujahideen" in emails after the

. The

also played an instrumental role in the founding of the group and had earlier been involved with the Asif Reza Commando Force. The

also provided crucial support in IM's founding. The Batla House encounter in 2008, when several IM members were arrested, first brought to light the leadership of the jihadist group. Its signature weapons are timed

improvised explosive devices An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...

(IEDs) made from

ammonium nitrate Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, although it does not form hydrates. It is ...

, which it has used in most of its major attacks.

Factionalism

Riyaz Bhatkal and Amir Reza Khan both run their own factions of the group from Karachi, while Iqbal is not currently active in the group's operations. Indian Mujahideen members are also known to have joined the

Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

, as shown in one of their propaganda videos titled "The Bilad al-Hind and of India- Between Pain and Hope". Shafi Armar and Sultan Armar, brothers and former IM members from Bhatkal, founded

affiliates Ansar-ut Tawhid fi Bilad al-Hind () and Janood-ul-Khalifa-e-Hind () encouraging Indian Muslim recruitment for jihad in Syria and Afghanistan. The Armar brothers had split from Indian Mujahideen and formed these affiliates after a rift developed between them and Iqbal and Riyaz Bhatkal.

Members

It is suspected that these are the major leaders of the Indian Mujahideen group.

Leaders

* Riyaz Bhatkal, co-founder, from

; absconding in

, co-founder, from Bhatkal; absconding in Karachi * Amir Reza Khan, co-founder; absconding in Karachi * Yasin Bhatkal, co-founder; from Bhatkal, under arrest * Abdul Subhan Qureshi alias Tauqeer, under arrest: co-founder, a software engineer from

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

; expert in bomb-making * Sadiq Israr Sheikh, co-founder; engineering graduate from Azamgarh, under arrest, suspect in the

2006 Mumbai train bombings The 2006 Mumbai train bombings were a series of seven bomb blasts on 11 July. They took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the nation's financial capit ...

* Mohsin Ismail Chaudhary, IED expert from Pune; absconding in Karachi * Mirza Shadab Beg, IM operational planner; absconding in Pakistan * Dr Shahnawaz,

unani Unani or Yunani medicine (Urdu: ''tibb yūnānī'') is Perso-Arabic traditional medicine as practiced in Muslim culture in South Asia and modern day Central Asia. Unani medicine is pseudoscientific. The Indian Medical Association describes U ...

doctor; absconding in Afghanistan

Others

* Safdar Nagori, under arrest: architect of the transformation from SIMI to Indian Mujahideen * Fayaz Kagzi, IED expert, joined the

from SIMI, suicide-bomber in the 2016 Saudi Arabia bombings * Zabiuddin Ansari, under arrest, joined the Lashkar-e-Taiba from IM, accused in the 2008 Mumbai attacks * Shafi Armar, former IM member from Bhatkal, later

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

operative, killed in Syria in 2015 * Sultan Armar, former IM member from Bhatkal, later ISIS operative, killed in Syria in 2015 * Muhammad "Bada" Sajid, IM member, joined ISIS, killed in Syria in 2015 * Abu Rashid Ahmed, IM member, joined ISIS * Mufti Abu Bashir, under arrest: a preacher from Azamgarh in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

* Qayamuddin Kapadia, under arrest: a trader from

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capita ...

, started the first-ever mosque of the Ahle Hadis Tanzeem in Vadodara * Sajid Mansuri, under arrest: a graduate in psychology and formerly a marketing executive * Usman Agarbattiwala, wanted: a

postgraduate diploma A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) is a postgraduate qualification awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. Countries that award pos ...

holder from Vadodara in human rights * Alamzeb Afridi, wanted: a jobless youth from Ahmedabad; purchased bicycles and then planted them in Ahmedabad after tying bombs * Abdul Razik Mansuri, wanted: an embroidery unit owner * Mujib Shaikh, wanted: a stone polishing artisan * Zahid Shaikh, wanted: a mobile phone repair shop owner from Ahmedabad * Amil Parwaz, wanted: a native of

Ujjain Ujjain (, Hindustani pronunciation: �d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative centre of Ujjain district and Ujjain ...

, believed to be involved in the court bomb blasts in Uttar Pradesh in November 2007

Delhi group

The local group at

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

is thought to include the following, most of them from Azamgarh: * Mohammad Atif Amin aka Bashir: Planner and recruiter, killed in the Batla House, Jamia Nagar encounter on 19 September. Planted a bomb at M-block market in

Greater Kailash Greater Kailash (often referred to as GK) is a residential area in South Delhi consisting of prime and luxurious real estate in several neighborhoods and multiple markets. It is divided into two zones, namely Parts 1 and 2, located around a se ...

-I, Delhi in the

and

bombs in the

2006 Varanasi bombings In March 2006, the Indian city of Varanasi witnessed a series of bombings in which at least 28 people were reportedly killed and 101 injured. Varanasi is considered holy by Hindus and is one of the oldest living city in the world. In June 20 ...

. * Mohammed "Chota" Sajid aka Pankaj: killed during the Batla House encounter. Planted a bomb at Barakhamba Road in Connaught Place. * Mohammad Saif: arrested from Batla House in Jamia Nagar after the 19 September encounter. Planted a bomb at

Regal Theatre, New Delhi The Regal Theatre also known as the Regal Cinema was a single screen cinema hall and theatre situated in Connaught Place in New Delhi, India. History The theatre, which was the biggest in New Delhi, was built in 1932. It served as a venue for ...

in Connaught Place. * Zeeshan: arrested after the Jamia Nagar encounter. Planted a bomb at Barakhamba Road in Connaught Place. * Junaid: Escaped during the Batla House encounter. Planted a bomb at M-block market in Greater Kailash-I, and Varanasi bombs. * Mohammad Shakeel: arrested on 21 September, 2008 from Jamia Nagar. Planted a bomb at

Nehru Place Nehru Place is a large commercial center in Delhi, India. Although its importance as a financial center has declined in recent years, Nehru Place is still a prominent commercial area in South Delhi and houses the headquarters of several India ...

in south Delhi. * Zia-ur-Rehman: arrested on 21 September, 2008 from Jamia Nagar. Planted a bomb at Connaught Place and on a cycle in Ahmedabad in the

2008 Ahmedabad bombings The 2008 Ahmedabad bombings were a series of 21 bomb blasts that hit Ahmedabad, India, on 26 July 2008, within a span of 70 minutes. Fifty-six people were killed and over 200 people were injured. Ahmedabad is the cultural and com ...

. * Saqib Nisar: arrested on 21 September, 2008 from Jamia Nagar. * Shahzad alias Pappu: arrested, from Azamgarh by UP STF. He escaped during the Jamia Nagar encounter. Planted a bomb in Central Park, Connaught Place. * Alihas Malik: wanted. Planted a bomb at Central Park, Connaught Place. * Mohammad Khalif: wanted. * Salman: arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police.

Attacks

The group has carried out several serial bombings in Indian cities. There were emails sent by the Indian Mujahideen that claimed that they were responsible for some of the following terror incidents. One warning email was received 5 minutes before the first blast in Ahmedabad. Another was received soon after the first blast of Delhi bombings. The timing makes it impossible for any other groups to have sent the two emails. The following are attacks where it has claimed responsibility or is suspected of involvement: * 2005 Delhi bombings *

August 2007 Hyderabad bombings The Hyderabad bombings refers to the incident in which two bombs exploded almost simultaneously on 25 August 2007 in Hyderabad, capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana). The first bomb exploded in Lumbini Amusement Park () a ...

2008 Jaipur bombings The Jaipur bombings were a series of nine synchronized bomb blasts that took place on 13 May 2008 within a span of fifteen minutes at locations in Jaipur, the capital city of the Indian state of Rajasthan, and a tourist destination.2008 Delhi bombings The 13 September 2008 Delhi bombings were a series of five synchronised bomb blasts that took place within a span of few minutes on Saturday, 13 September 2008 at various locations in Delhi, India. The first bomb exploded at 18:07 IST, and fou ...

* 2008 Bangalore serial blasts *

2010 Bangalore stadium bombing 2010 Bangalore stadium bombing occurred on 17 April 2010 in M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than ...

* 2010 Jama Masjid attack *

2010 Varanasi bombing The 2010 Varanasi bombing was a bombing, blast that occurred on 7 December 2010, in one of the holiest Hindu cities, Varanasi. The explosion occurred at Sheetla Ghat, adjacent to the main Dashashwamedh Ghat, where the sunset ''aarti'', the eve ...

* 2011 Delhi bombing * 2012 Pune bombings * 2011 Mumbai serial blasts * 2013 Bodh Gaya blasts *

2013 Bangalore bombing A bomb explosion known as the 2013 Bangalore bombing occurred on 17 April 2013 in Bangalore, India, at 10:30 (IST) near the Bharatiya Janata Party Karnataka New State Office ''Jagannath Bhawan'', on Temple Street 11th Cross, Malleswaram. Sixteen ...

* 2013 Hyderabad blasts * 2014 Burdwan blast *

2014 Bangalore bombing The 2014 Bangalore bombing occurred on 28 December 2014 on Church Street in the central business district of Bangalore, India. A low-intensity improvised explosive device (IED) placed inside a flower pot on the pavement outside the Coconut Grove ...

* 2014 Chennai train bombing * 2018 Bodh Gaya blasts

Suspects and arrests

Mufti Abu Bashir Ishlahi alias Abdul Wasir was arrested with the help of

Uttar Pradesh police The Uttar Pradesh Police (UP Police), (IAST: ), is the primary law enforcement agency within the Uttar Pradesh state of India. Established in 1863 as the Office of the Inspector General of Police, United Provinces under the ''Police Act, 1861'' ...

at his father's home at

Sarai Mir Sarai Mir is a town and a nagar panchayat in Azamgarh district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Demographics As per the 2011 Indian Census, Sarai Mir had a total population of 19,055, of which 9,760 were males and 9,295 were females. Popul ...

in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh on 14 August 2008. Bashir studied in the local Madarsatul Islah and later in Deoband. According to the reports, Bashir claimed that the

cost Rs 75,000. A SIMI activist sold his house in Kutch to get the amount. Bashir, who had stayed in Ahmedabad along with Abdul Subhan Qureshi alias Tauqeer, a co-conspirator, had bought five SIM cards using local names and addresses. He had used these cell phone numbers to remain in touch with the other members of the module at the planning stage of the conspiracy. Bashir had given the SIM cards to the bomb planters on 26 July, who had used them carefully. Each member had contacted the others through STD- PCO booths after successfully planting the bombs. These numbers were used only for receiving calls. Many of the calls were from Juhapura, where Zahid Shaikh, one of the key members of the group, lived at Sandhi Avenue near the Sarkhej highway. These numbers had become inactive immediately after the blasts. In March 2014, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police arrested four members of IM, out of which one was Waqas alias Javed, a bomb-making expert in the group. They were arrested in

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...

and

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

. On 28 August 2013, in a major breakthrough, Yasin Bhatkal, co-founder of IM, and another IM terrorist were arrested by Indian Police and NIA near the India–Nepal border. According to

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

police, the breakthrough in the

case came from five 'switched-off'

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...

numbers.

Joint Commissioner of Police An Inspector General of Police is a senior police officer in the police force or police service of several nations. The rank usually refers to the head of a large regional command within a police service, and in many countries refers to the most se ...

(crime) Ashish Bhatia said that the terrorists had procured five

SIM card A typical SIM card (mini-SIM with micro-SIM cutout) A GSM mobile phone file:Simkarte NFC SecureElement.jpg, T-Mobile nano-SIM card with NFC capabilities in the SIM tray of an iPhone 6s file:Tf sim both sides.png, A TracFone Wireless SIM card ha ...

s of phones that were switched off on the day of the blasts – 26 July. The analysis of the phone calls made to those SIM cards from

PCOs Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. The syndrome is named after the characteristic cysts which may form on the ovaries, though it is important to note that this is a sign and no ...

provided them the key leads. Ejaz Sheikh, wanted in several cases including the 2010 Jama Masjid attack, was arrested on 6 September 2014 from the

Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti. Saharanpur is declared as on ...

area of western Uttar Pradesh by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police. He is considered a "technical expert" and considered a key member of IM.

Batla House encounter

On 19 September 2008, the police raided an apartment in Jamia Nagar, near Jamia Millia Islamia In

. There is speculation that the prime suspect in the 2008 Ahmedabad bombings, Mufti, a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

teacher from Azamgarh, may have pointed out the apartment. The raid resulted in the death of terrorists Bashir alias Mohammed Atif Amin (son of Mohammed Amin, cloth merchant in Bhiwandi, Mumbai) and Mohammad Sajid, and a decorated police officer, Mohan Chand Sharma, in the gunfight. Mohammad Saif (the son of Samajwadi Party leader Shadab Ahmed) was arrested while two hostiles managed to flee by possibly jumping the rooftops. All of the suspects were from the town of

Azamgarh district Azamgarh district is one of the three districts of Azamgarh division in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Etymology The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh. Azam, a son of Vikramajit, founded the town in 1665. Vikramajit ...

. They claimed to be students of Jamia Milia Islamia, but that was denied by the university. The five were responsible for manufacturing bombs used in the Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Delhi blasts. Atif claimed to have been studying for a diploma in human resources development from Jamia Milia Islamia University. However, Jamia Milia denied having him as a student. Some residents of Sarai Mir thought he was pursuing his bachelor's degree in technology from

Jamia Hamdard Jamia Hamdard ( ur, ) is an institute of higher education deemed to be university located in New Delhi, India. It is a government-funded university. Established in 1989, it was formally inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of India Shri R ...

. Atif was said to have been the leader of a group of 14 young men from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, all claiming to have been studying in Delhi: Atif, Sajid alias Pankaj (both now dead), Shehzad alias Pappu, Junaid, Shahdab Bhai alias Mallick, Sajid, Mohammad Khalid, Arif, Shakil, Zia Khan and Salman, Zeeshan and Mohammad Saif. Zeeshan Jawed was arrested from the offices of a private TV station. He worked for a private company, Monarch International on Vikas Marg, and is also said to be studying management. Both he and Saif claim to have been recruited by Atif. It is reported that Mohammad Saif has said that the plans to carry out several blasts across the country were mooted about three years ago when the Indian Mujahideen was formed. Although the blasts spanned a period of 10 months (the first blasts took place in August 2007 in Hyderabad), the planning was made far back in 2005. After that a series of explosions occurred in Uttar Pradesh, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Delhi. There is considerable resentment in Sarai Mir over the death of the local boys. Villagers have blamed the media for giving a bad name to Azamgarh by calling it a "nursery of terror". Mafia don Abu Salem hails from here. Azamgarh used to export its famous country-made pistols, known as "kattas", whose factories dot the region. The district was also known for young sharpshooters who joined Mumbai gangs. Individuals from the area have been accused of the murders of Bollywood producer

Gulshan Kumar Gulshan Kumar Dua (5 May 1951 12 August 1997), was an Indian businessman, film and music producer who was the founder of the Super Cassettes Industries Limited (T-Series) music label in the Bollywood industry. He founded T-Series in the 1980s ...

in Mumbai and Left leader

Shankar Guha Niyogi Shankar Guha Niyogi (14 February 1943 – 28 September 1991) was an Indian labor leader who was the founder of the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha, a labor union run in the town of Dalli Rajhara Mines in Chhattisgarh, India. Niyogi was founder of ...

in Chhattisgarh.

Notes

References

External links