Indian Mujahideen had scouted hard for suicide bombers, but failed

The Indian Mujahideen which was once the most dreaded outfits of the country today is the most splintered group.

Reading through the extensive case files filed by the various agencies including the National Investigating Agency, it becomes clear that the IM had decided to go as hi-tech as possible and model itself on the lines of the Al-Qaeda.

Yasin Bhatkal who headed the outfit before he was arrested from the Nepal border outlines the ambitious plans of the Indian Mujahideen.

Bhatkal said that he led a set of very ambitious youth who were ready to propel the group on to a very big stage. One such attempt that the IM was making was to rope in suicide bombers.

When none wanted to be suicide bombers:

Yasin and company had long yearned to become one of the most dreaded outfits in the country.

They were getting tired of the bomb blasts that they were carrying out. In a bomb blast there is an immediate impact and after that the issue is forgotten, Yasin Bhatkal had felt.

" We needed to do more and had planned on suicide attacks in the country," Yasin told the NIA.

Tehsin Akthar who led the IM after the arrest of Yasin too echoed the same point and said that they were in fact looking out for persons who could become suicide bombers.

We had devised a jacket and had drawn inspiration from the LTTE which was good at suicide bombings. We had intended designing a vest and jacket which would be fitted with explosives.

However for the ambitious Indian Mujahideen, the plan fell flat. They had the plan and the resources, but failed to get men.

The IM had a set of several youth who were ready to pick up a gun and fight. But when it came to Fidayeen styled attacks, none had come forward.

They even tried speaking with Riyaz Bhatkal housed in Karachi for help. They felt that Riyaz would use his connections in Afghanistan and could send some persons who would be ready to undertaken a fidayeen strike.

A hostage crisis:

The IM had another plan on mind and that was to undertake a hostage crisis. A terrorist attack should last at least two to three days and only then will the impact be felt, Yasin Bhatkal had thought.

He wanted to build a team of strong fighters and was even contemplating sending them across to Pakistan to train in the use of an AK-47.

His chat transcripts with Riyaz Bhatkal clearly indicate that he was planning on carrying out military styled strikes in India. He wanted to carry out 26/11 styled attack where 10 gunmen took people hostage.

However once again the attempt failed as they were running short of manpower. Yasin during his interrogation particularly vents his anger out against a lot of issues which includes the failure for these plans to materialize.

He speaks very badly about the ISI and always complained about the lack of support and funds they were getting. He felt that the ISI ought to have done more to support the Indian Mujahideen so that they could have become a force to reckon with.

Today the IM is more of less dead and operates under various different banners. There is one faction which has joined the SIMI while the other has formed the Ansar-ut-Tawhid.