IM had planned 3 Dilsukhnagar blasts

Hyderabad: Indian Mujahideen cofounder Yasin Bhatkal’s close associate Asadullah Akhtar has confessed that they had planned three blasts in Dilsukhnagar. However, they were able to plant only two bombs due to shortage of explosives.

"On February 18, 2013, we decided on Dilsukhnagar as the place to plant the bombs. Thereafter, I picked the spots. We wanted to have three explosions. But due to shortage of explosives, we decided on two places," he said in a confessional statement recorded by National Investigation Agency.

In his statement, recorded under Section 164 of the CRPC in October last year, Akhtar said that he executed the Dilsukhnagar twin blasts on the directions of another IM cofounder Riyaz Bhatkal.

Akhtar said Riyaz Bhatkal is now hiding in Pakistan. He further confessed that he had assembled the explosives and had "guided" the members of the terror outfit while planting bombs in Dilsukhnagar.

The NIA investigation officers filed the confession statements of Akhtar in a Delhi court. NIA has also filed the chargesheet against Yasin Bhatkal, Akhtar and two other terror suspects.

Akhtar told the magistrate that in December 2012, he had a chat with Riyaz Bhatkal and they planned "to do something in Hyderabad" and in that month itself, they received the money through hawala transactions in Bengaluru.

Akhtar also confessed that in January last year, they received the explosives, which were sent by Riyaz Bhatkal. The twin blasts took place on February 21, 2013, claiming 17 lives and leaving many injured.