The inside story of how an Eid gift, phone calls and letters helped intelligence agencies track down Indian Mujahideen chief Yasin Bhatkal

Catching Mohammed Ahmed Zarar Siddibappa, better known as Yasin Bhatkal, was no walk in the park.
One of India's most wanted terrorists, Bhatkal kept a hop, skip and jump ahead of India's intelligence agencies for five years.
Intelligence sources have revealed that Bhatkal used several phones, frequently changing numbers as well as devices, to ensure he could not be tracked.
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It wasn't just cellphones he relied on, often resorting to using booths for local calls and writing letters to relatives and associates in India and abroad.
 
"We managed to track him down through the phone calls and his correspondence through letters. We also used a strong network of human intelligence to trace him to his hideout in the interiors of Nepal near Pokhra," said a home ministry official.
Day two in custody
Sources said Bhatkal's call details reveal that he was constantly in touch with Indian Mujahideen (IM) leaders in Pakistan as well as some people in Dubai.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has meanwhile, got Bhatkal to Delhi from Patna. The agency has been given Bhatkal's custody for 12 days so as to interrogate him and his close aide Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi.
Both were arrested at Raxaul in Bihar near the Indo-Nepal border early on Thursday morning. NIA sources said Bhatkal has not revealed much so far.
"He seems to be a hard nut to crack and is not speaking much. He has given information about IM's top leadership in Pakistan but is silent about the group's strategy and plans," said an official.
Bhatkal will be grilled about his possible role in the Dilsukhnagar attack in Hyderbad in February and the recent bomb explosions in the Mahabodhi temple complex at Gaya, Bihar.
Sources said while he mentioned atrocities of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar he denied any involvement in the Bodh Gaya explosions.
Indian intelligence agencies also had information about Bhatkal planning a visit to Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.
Sources said the reason for his visit is not known.
Mothihari
"We will interrogate him about his plans to visit Dharamshala," said a source. Sources said Bhatkal has confirmed that top IM operatives Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal are in Pakistan, Riyaz in Karachi while Iqbal shuttles between Karachi and Dubai.
The third top IM commander Amir Reza Khan, according to Bhatkal, is running terror camps in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Bhatkal and Akhtar are brought to Delhi by NIA officials in a special plane
Bhatkal and Akhtar are brought to Delhi by NIA officials in a special plane
Top IM operative Yasin Bhatkal, seen removing his face mask while in custody, has reportedly confessed to the ISI giving patronage to the terror outfit
Top IM operative Yasin Bhatkal, seen removing his face mask while in custody, has reportedly confessed to the ISI giving patronage to the terror outfit
Information about IM's Pakistan network would be useful but Indian agencies are more interested in information about the Bhatkal's network across the country.
"He is said to be the head of IM operations within India. We believe he will have explosive information that can dismantle the entire group," said an intelligence official.
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THE EIDI CLUE

The Rs 1 lakh eidi (Eid gift) Yasin Bhatkal sent to his Delhi-based wife before Eid, celebrated earlier this month, perhaps proved to be his undoing and gave away his Nepal hideout.
This transfer of money, which was done through normal banking channels, alerted sleuths of the IB, who suspected Bhatkal may have been planning to enter India to carry out a terror attack or flee from his hideout at Pokhra.

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