IM operative visited Saudi Arabia thrice using fake ID

AHMEDABAD: The interrogation of Abdul Subhan alias Taukeer — a co-founder of Indian Mujahideen and the mastermind of the 2008 blasts — has revealed that he was hiding in Nepal for seven years, having assumed the identity of Abdul Rehman. Subhan was taken to the jungles of Halol to reconstruct the terror training camp which was held there just before the July 2008 serial blasts.
Crime branch sources said Subhan had fled from Ahmedabad about 10 days before the blasts. “He hid in Bihar and Jharkhand before sneaking into Nepal in 2009 from the Raxual border,” a crime branch official said. While working as an English teacher at a school, Subhan had changed his identity to Abdul Rehman and also managed to get identity documents in that name.

“We are trying to determine whether Subhan was helped by some local radical groups, ” the official said. “We have information that Subhan delivered a few radical speeches in Nepal.”

Interrogation has also revealed that Subhan obtained a passport in the name of Abdul Rehman in Nepal.

“He had travelled twice to Saudi Arabia for Hajj and once to meet someone. He used the passport issued on the name of Abdul Rehman,” the official said. “We are probing whom Subhan met in Saudi Arabia.” Subhan was arrested by the special cell of the Delhi Police about one-and-a-half months ago on the outskirts of Delhi after brief exchange of fire.

“As Subhan was one of the key accused in the 2008 blasts which killed 56 and injured over 200, we brought him to the city and arrested him in the blasts case,” the official said. “He is at present in the custody of the city crime branch on police remand.”