| Key handler of 26/11 terrorists held in Delhi |
NEW DELHI A 43-month international hunt for a key handler of terrorists who struck Mumbai has ended with the arrest of Abu Jundal alias Syed Zabiuddin who was detained in Saudi Arabia and sent here four days ago.
Jundal, 30, has admitted his active role in the 26/11 attack saying he had worked in close tandem with terror mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, police said. During his interrogation, Jundal confessed he was present in the Lashkare Toiba (LeT) control room in Karachi and was giving direction to the 10 terrorists who carried out the strike.
Jundal took a particular name and his specific task in executing the 26/11 attack. The interrogators suspect that this person was an ISI officer who was closely involved in executing the terror strike. After November 26, 2008, Jundal, a native of Beed district in Maharashtra, stayed in Pakistan for sometime before leaving to Saudi Arabia where he was working as a teacher.
He has at least 10 aliases and the first tip-off about his presence in Saudi Arabia was given by a terrorist who was arrested in connection with the Jama Masjid blast.
Sources said Jundal’s voice sample is being sent for matching with those which were intercepted by the security agencies during the attack.
The National Investigation Agency is also expected to take custody of Jundal for further interrogation.
Jundal, who was deported from Saudi Arabia on India’s request, was arrested on his arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport by Delhi Police on June 21, police said. He was remanded to police custody for 15 days by a Delhi court the same day.
Jundal had taught Hindi to the 10 LeT terrorists that carried out the Mumbai attacks. A resident of Georai area of Beed district in Maharashtra, he had given a slip to the Mumbai Police when an arms consignment in Aurungabad was seized in 2006 and left for Pakistan.
Along with five others, he was present in the control room and was heard instructing terrorists who were engaged in a fight with NSG commandos at Nariman house, officials associated with the probe said.
They said Jundal had told Lashkar terrorists to convey to the media that the “attack was a trailer and the entire movie was yet to come”.
In the intercepted tapes, Ansari was also heard using typical Hindi words like ‘prashasan’ (administration) and directing the terrorists to conceal their Pakistani identity and to identify themselves as Deccan Mujahideen hailing from Toli Chowk in Hyderabad.
During interrogation, Jundal gave a deep insight into the situation at ‘Karachi control room’ monitoring the Mumbai attack.
His presence was also stated by Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested during the Mumbai attack, in his deposition before a special court in Mumbai. He said one Abu Jundal had tutored 10 terrorists on how to speak Hindi.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said: “Syed Zabiuddin, we believe is a person who goes by the pseudonym Abu Jundal. He has been apprehended and has been remanded to the custody of law enforcing agencies.”
Separately, a Delhi court ordered for production of two alleged Indian Mujahideen operatives before it from a Bangalore jail on a plea by the Delhi city police for their interrogation about their suspected role in various terror cases.
Press Trust of India
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