2011 blasts: Charges filed against IM man Bhatkal, aide

Maharashtra Police on Monday filed a supplementary chargesheet in a special Court here against Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his aide Asadullah Akthar in the 2011 Mumbai bombings.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) submitted the 300-page document in which it has said Bhatkal was a key conspirator of the terror attack. Three powerful blasts had ripped through crowded areas in Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Kabutar Khana on 13 July, 2011, killing at least 21 people and injuring 141. ‘We have filed a chargesheet in the designated MCOCA Court on Monday,’ Special Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told PTI. The duo was arrested on 5 February by the ATS after a Delhi Court allowed its plea seeking their custody.

According to ATS, Bhatkal played a very important role in procuring explosives and making improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used in the attack.

Earlier, five accused - Naquee Ahmed, Nadeem Shaikh, Kanwar Pathrija, Haroon Naik and Mohammed Qafeel Ansari were held in the case and are facing trial under the stringent MCOCA and IPC laws.