Indian Mujahideen planned fidayeen attack on gathering of Bollywood stars

The outfit under the leadership of Yasin Bhatkal had planned suicide mission to 

target  Bollywood stars as they believed that the film industry was corrupting the youth.

NEW DELHI: Indian Mujahideen leader Tehsin Akhtar alias Monu, who was allegedly handling its affairs since Yasin Bhatkal's arrest last year, has made a startling revelation during interrogation that the terror outfit had planned to launch a fidayeen attack on a gathering of Bollywood stars.


The outfit under the leadership of Yasin Bhatkal had planned suicide mission to target a huge gathering of Bollywood stars as they believed that the film industry was corrupting the youth by showing nudity and other things, sources said. The idea was to cause maximum damage to the entertainment industry by attacking a host of stars in one strike.

While Bollywood stars have in the past received individual threats from the underworld mafia and gangsters, it is for the first time that a terror outfit is said to have been planning a full-fledged attack. The revelation has shocked the investigators as IM's targets so far have been foreigners, tourist places, religious places, government establishments and crowded places like markets.

Without giving the exact dates, Tehsin told his interrogators, "One day, Yasin, Haddi (Assadullah Akhtar), Waqas (Zia-Ur-Rehman) and I discussed about the possibility of conducting fidayeen attacks. Yasin was interested in carrying out fidayeen attacks on film stars."

Tehsin said, "The logic given by Yasin was that the film industry was misguiding people by showing nudity and other things which was corrupting the youth. The idea was to target a possible gathering of stars so that maximum casualty could be inflicted."

"While Yasin very much wanted this kind of attack, he was also aware that it was premature for the outfit to carry out a fidayeen strike since it was yet equipped to do so. Yasin felt that idea of fidayeen attack was premature as IM's membership was too meagre (sic) to create any meaningful impact," Tehsin told his interrogators, as quoted by an intelligence officer.

Sources said Tehsin didn't remember the date of planning, but told the sleuths that it was sometime in 2011 around the time a crackdown was launched on IM members in Delhi and Bihar.

Tehsin, who was arrested near Indo-Nepal border last month, is presently in the custody of Delhi Police's Special Cell alongwith Waqas and other members of Rajasthan module. Cops plan to confront him with Yasin and Assadullah Akhtar alias Haddi in a few days. Both Haddi and Yasin, arrested on August 27 last year from Nepal, are lodged in Tihar jail.

A security expert said although all the important IM members have been arrested in the last few months including, including Haddi, Tehsin and Waqas, there are chances that Yasin may have discussed his plans with Riyaz Bhatkal and other absconding members. "Yasin was very secretive about his plans and actions with every module. During interrogation, Tehsin said he didn't know if anybody else also knew about these deadly plans," said the officer.

Tehsin is suspected to have revived IM's relations with SIMI and also helped the suspects in Patna serial blasts and Bodh Gaya blasts last year. He was said to be in regular touch with Riyaz Bhatkal through chats and planned a major strike in Delhi, Jodhpur, Agra and other places along with Waqas and Rajasthan module. He was arrested on March 24 from Indo-Nepal border.