Is Riyaz Bhatkal, Blasts Mastermind?

The hand of hardened terrorist Bhatkal Riyaz is suspected behind the Dilsukhnagar blasts. Intelligence agencies had warned several times in the past he was the mastermind of all the terrorist activities in Hyderabad. Riyaz, marked as the most wanted terrorist by the National Investigation Agency, worked for some time in the banned SIMI and later escaped to Dubai and reportedly reached Pakistan from there. He has been operating from there. 

Bhatkal was born in Bhatkal of Mangaluru district in Karnataka in 1976. He joined the Indian Mujahideen terror outfit and grew into a top leader. He is suspected to be the mastermind of blasts of several Indian cities including Bangaluru. He is suspected of personally taking part in the 2010 German Bakery blast in Pune and in the 2011 Mumbai blasts. Intelligence sources say that he is an expert in handling dangerous explosives like RDX-20 and fixing them tiffin boxes or radios for triggering the blasts.

The hand of Bhatkal is suspected in the series of blasts that rocked the country between 2005 and 2009. He was reportedly trained in making bombs by mixing ammonium nitrate and iron balls in engine oil. He is suspected to be behind the 2010 blast triggered in the Chinnaswamy cricket stadium just before the IPL match. More than 15 persons were injured in the blast. It is yet to be verified if Bhatkal directly participated in the Dilsukhnagar blasts or had got it done by his followers. Though Chota Rajan’s gang had claimed to have shot dead Riyaz Bhatkal in Karachi earlier, there was no confirmation of this from either Pakistan or Indian intelligence sources.