Iqbal Shahbandri (born 1970), known as Iqbal Bhatkal, is a Pakistani Islamist militant who is the co-founder, ideologue, leader and wanted terrorist of the

Indian Mujahideen Indian Mujahideen (IM) is an Islamist Jihadist group which has been particularly active in India. The jihadist group was founded as an offshoot of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) by several radicalized members including Iqbal Bh ...

, an Islamist terrorist group based in India. He is the brother of another IM co-founder Riyaz Bhatkal, and is one of the

's three top commanders. Both him and his brother are allegedly currently based in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, Pakistan.

Early life

Iqbal Bhatkal was born as Iqbal Shahbandri in the South Indian fishing town of the

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 ...

in the

Uttara Kannada Uttara Kannada is a fifth largest district in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is bordered by the state of Goa and Belagavi districts to the north, Dharwad District and Haveri District to the east, Shivamogga District, and Udupi District to ...

district of the state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. His brother, Riyaz, was a bright student, but Iqbal was not. He attempted to get his diploma in Construction Technology eighteen times, but failed every time. Then Iqbal changed his field of study to

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 term '' Yūnānī'' means 'Greek', ref ...

medicine, although his real interests were in religion. He took part in activities of the Islamic movement

Tablighi Jamaat Tablighi Jamaat ( , also translated as "propagation party" or "preaching party") is an international Islamic schools and branches, Islamic religious movement. It focuses on exhorting Muslims to be more religiously observant and encourages f ...

and listened to many lectures by

Zakir Naik Zakir Abdul Karim Naik (born 18 October 1965) is an Indian Islamic da'i and orator who focuses on comparative religion. He is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and Peace TV. He is a well-known figure in the Isl ...

, a Muslim who founded the Islamic Research Foundation. These lectures seemed to have a deep impact of Iqbal and are said to have led him to violence.Jamal, A. (28 September 2012)
A Profile of Iqbal Bhatkal: The First Indian Mujahideen Leader Added to India’s Most Wanted List

Jamestown Foundation The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.–based non-partisan defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, which ...

. Refworld.

Terrorism

He was involved in the Germany bakery blast, which resulted in the death of seventeen and injury of sixty-four people. According to

Pune Police Pune City Police Department (PCPD) is the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over 790 km2 in the city of Pune, India. The city police is division of Maharashtra Police, i.e state police department of Maharashtra. The current Pune C ...

, Mohsin Chaudhari, an accused for the German Bakery blast was recruited by Iqbal Shabandari, while Iqbal was living in Mumbai. Iqbal made friends with him during a religious function while he was in Pune. Iqbal kept in touch with him constantly for the next three years. With the help of Mohsin and Iqbal's other associates, they were able to set up an Indian Mujahideen base in Pune.Deshmukh, C., & Keskar, P. (n.d.). Bhatkal brothers spent 8 years to set up IM base. Daily News & Analysis, India. Retrieved from http://www.dnaindia.com/ india/report_bhatkal-brothers-spent-8-years-to-set-up-im-base_1751670 Iqbal Shabandari had started his career as a fervent proselytizer for the largely apolitical

and later on became an Islamist ideologue who recruited several Pune men into the Indian Mujahideen. While the two Bhatkal brothers were living in a rented apartment in Khondwa, Pune they presided over terrorist networks that later carried out multiple bombings across the country. In 2007, it is believed that he wrote the manifesto that was sent to the media before they carried out

terrorist attacks The following is a list of terrorist incidents that were not carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are presented in List of assassinations and unsuccessful attempts at List o ...

in the Indian cities of Lucknow, Varanasi, and Faizabad. In 2008 Iqbal had composed the three e-mails were sent to media by hacking the Wi-Fi network in Mumbai. In all the cases above Iqbal is an absconding accused. The way the email was written reflects the influence of Pakistan's Army with references to

Muhammad bin Qasim Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Thaqafī (; –) was an Arabs, Arab military commander in service of the Umayyad Caliphate who led the Muslim conquest of Sindh (and Punjab, part of ancient Sindh), inaugurating the Umayyad campaigns in India. His m ...

, Ghauri, and

Ghazni Ghazni (, ), historically known as Ghaznayn () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana (), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan with a population of around 190,000 people. The city is strategica ...

. Iqbal is currently based in Karachi, Pakistan along with his brother Riyaz Bhatkal, where they are said to have fled in the aftermath of the Batla House encounter in 2008, and operated in India with the help of

Yasin Bhatkal Syed Mohammed Ahmed Zarar Siddibappa (born 15 January 1983), known as Yasin Bhatkal, is an Indian Islamist terrorist, who was the co-founder and leader of the proscribed terrorist organisation Indian Mujahideen (IM). Yasin along with Riyaz Bhat ...

. Yasin Bhatkal (unrelated) was caught in India and has been sentenced to death. Yasin Bhatkal was another main leader of the Indian Mujahideen. Iqbal and Riyaz are currently working on the "Karachi project" along with the

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

and the

Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is a Pakistani Islamism, Islamist militant organization driven by a Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist ideology. The organisation's primary stated objective is to merge the whole of Kashmir with Pakistan. It was founded in 19 ...

. Iqbal Bhatkal's name was listed in the list of "50 most wanted criminals" sheltered in Pakistan. He was also the first leader of the Indian Mujahideen to have his name added to the list of the most wanted by the Indian government by the

Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the domestic crime investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and gover ...

. He is currently not believed to be actively involved in IM's operations and his brother is said to lead the group.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatkal, Iqbal Living people 1970 births Indian Islamists Indian Mujahideen members People from Uttara Kannada Indian expatriates in Pakistan Tablighi Jamaat people Fugitives wanted by India Fugitives wanted on terrorism charges People charged with terrorism Leaders of jihadist groups Anti-Hindu sentiment