CCTV footage shows terrorist planting bomb at Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar 2 years ago

Mangalore Today

New Delhi, Sept 9: More than two years after three successive blasts rocked Mumbai’s crowded Zaveri Bazaar area, the Indian investigators are yet to arrest the terrorists who planted bombs that caused several casualties. Headlines Today has now exclusively accessed CCTV footage which shows one of the terrorists planting a bomb on July 13, 2011.

 

The footage shows the Pakistani terrorist of -- identified as Waqas -- planting the first of the triple bombings, which left 17 people dead and 131 others injured.

The man in green shirt and black pants was captured in a camera installed at the spot at 6.03 pm, 51 minutes before the first blast at Zaveri Bazaar. In the video, he can be seen carrying the bomb in a white shopping bag. As he walks past the CCTV camera, he was careful to hide his face with his arm.

The Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist placed the bomb just outside the screenshot of the CCTV camera before hurrying away without his bag. According to police sources, he is believed to be in India currently and he has been planning his next operation. A massive manhunt has been on for him.

Apart from the Zaveri Bazaar blasts, Waqas is also wanted in Pune serial blasts that took place on August 1, 2012 and Hyderabad serial blasts on February 21, 2013.

 

Sources said Waqas joined the IM after being introduced to its founding members Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal, who are presently hiding in Pakistan, by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in 2004.

Waqas was trained by Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) as an expert bomb maker. He is considered close to Yasin Bhatkal, who was arrested recently from Indo-Nepal border in Bihar.

Police sources said Waqas always teamed up with Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, who is now in custody for planting bombs. He used different aliases for different operations, like Ahmed for the Pune blasts.

The 5 feet 11 inches tall Waqas is known to be a fitness freak. He had joined a gymnasium when he stayed in Pune’s Kasarwadi area before carrying out blasts in the city. He had rented an apartment in Habib Building in Byculla area to carry out the Mumbai blasts, sources said.