THE TECHIE TERRORIST
On the run since 2008, Abdul Subhan Qureshi, aka Tauqeer, was arrested by Delhi police in Ghazipur on the Uttar Pradesh border on January 22, after an exchange of gunfire. He is suspected to be the mastermind of the Ahmedabad bombings of nearly a decade ago that left 56 dead and over 200 injured. There were a series of bombings in Indian cities around that time, coordinated low intensity blasts intended to sow maximum panic. In Ahmedabad, for instance, bombs were placed in over 20 locations.
Himanshu Shukla, SP, Gujarat anti-terrorist squad, who played a crucial role in the investigations of the Ahmedabad bombings, says Tauqeer’s arrest would help clear up many lingering mysteries. “He is a prize catch,” Shukla says, “and should help us learn more about the involvement of handlers in Pakistan and give intelligence about future plans.” Tauqeer, 46, is well educated, a fluent English-speaker and software engineer who worked in Mumbai. Investigators say he was turned by Riyaz Bhatkal, whom he met in Pune in 2006 and with whom he helped found the Indian Mujahideen (IM). Tauqeer’s technical skills enabled him to become an expert bomb-maker. Bhatkal, now in Pakistan, reportedly charged Tauqeer with transforming the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) into a terrorist outfit. Safdar Nagori, SIMI general secretary, and Tauqeer became close, with the latter even editing the group’s English magazine. Nagori got a life sentence in February 2017 for illegal arms possession and plotting terrorist activities. Investigators say Tauqeer was present at a meeting of IM leaders a few days before the Ahmedabad blasts. His arrest is the most significant capture of an IM militant since Yasin Bhatkal, another IM founder, who was found in Pokhara, Nepal. Tauqeer too spent time hiding out in Nepal before leaving for Saudi Arabia where he lived till June.
Days before the Ahmedabad blasts, Tauqeer attended an IM leaders’ meeting