National Investigation Agency files second chargesheet against Yasin Bhatkal

New Delhi:  The NIA today filed its second chargesheet against Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his close associate Asadullah Akhtar in connection with a case of alleged conspiracy to carry out terror acts in the country.

The supplementary chargesheet was filed before the court of district judge I S Mehta who posted the matter for February 24 for taking cognisance on the final report.

According to court sources, Bhatkal and Akhtar have been listed in the chargesheet under various sections of the IPC, including 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging war against the country), 121-A (conspiracy to wage war) and under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The sources also said National Investigation Agency (NIA) has defined the roles of Bhatkal and Akhtar in the entire conspiracy of the IM to carry out the terror activities.

Bhatkal and Asadullah were among the 12 top IM members listed as absconders in the 42-page chargesheet filed earlier against arrested accused Mohammad Danish Ansari, Mohammad Aftab Alam, Imran Khan, Syed Maqbool and Obaid-Ur-Rehman under various penal provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the IPC for conspiracy to commit offences against the state.

Regarding Bhatkal’s role, the NIA had said that he, along with other conspirators, developed different modules and sleeper cells in Delhi, Darbhanga in Bihar, Nanded, Mumbai, Pune, Bhatkal in Karnataka and Hyderabad.

It had also said that Bhatkal had contacted several students of Anjuman Engineering College in Bhatkal to motivate them in the name of ‘jihad’.

The NIA had also said in the chargesheet that IM was formed in the aftermath of “communal mobilisation caused due to factors like the Babri Masjid demolition incident (1992) and the riots in Gujarat after the Godhra incident (2002)”.