Muslim India

Chilling Confession

'WE WERE TOLD THAT BOYS HAD COME FROM OUTSIDE. THEY WERE NOT LIKE US. THEY WORE JEANS AND T-SHIRTS. I KNEW ABOUT THE BOMBS... I BACKED OUT BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT KEEPING THEIR PROMISE. INSTEAD OF TARGETTING THE VHP, THEY WERE PLANTING BOMBS IN CROWDED PLACES TO KILL INNOCENTS'

The Gujarat Police took quick credit for arresting the masterminds behind the July 2008 blasts in Ahmedabad. RANA AYYUB tracks the police's star witness to find he has been tortured into falsely implicating the 'masterminds'. An exclusive report

HE HAS a name, but lets just call him 'Witness'. He had a life too — like yours and mine — till 26 July 2008, when serial blasts shook Ahmedabad. Between 6.45 and 7.55 that evening, 16 bombs exploded in various parts of the city, including in a hospital where the injured were being rushed to. As the death toll reached 56, Witness had only one thought – he could have been responsible for the bloodletting, the mayhem, the death of innocents.

He almost was. Witness was in on the plot. He knew bicycles were being bought. He knew low-intensity explosive devices were being assembled. He knew they would be concealed in tiffin boxes and the boxes placed in the bicycles. But Witness withdrew at the last minute — barely 24 hours before 6.45 in the evening — when he learnt that the target areas had changed. As the plot was being hatched in meetings Witness attended before July 26, he was given to believe that RSS and Bajrang Dal offices would be targeted. But the script changed. Witness withdrew when he realised that innocent people in crowded places would be slaughtered.

The Gujarat Police was quick to blame the blasts on the Indian Mujahideen (IM), the same group held responsible for the blasts in Jaipur on 13 May 2008. But when different states paraded different faces, all proclaiming their catches as the IM's mastermind, TEHELKA started an investigation that led it to Witness.

Implicated A forensic team investigates the site of one of the serial bomb blasts that took place in Ahmedabad on 27 July 2008

Photo: SHAILENDRA PANDEY

The testimony of Witness is important — and credible — for several reasons. First and foremost, because he indicts himself, openly admitting he was part of the plot till the last moment. This gives his words credence. His words gain even more credence because he has given more or less the same narrative to the Gujarat Police. The narrative changes at one crucial place – when he reels off the names of the men behind the Gujarat blasts. But wait. Witness has told TEHELKA that he was physically tortured by the police into naming innocents, that he could not bear the physical and mental torture he was subjected to. They were not responsible for the serial bombings, he swears.

I, TEHELKA's special correspondent, landed up at his house in Juhapura, accompanied by the wife and daughter of an accused in the case. Witness' sister opens the door. Her brother is not home, she says. As I speak to her, a male voice asks from inside, "Who's there?" When she does not answer, a man comes to the door. He is around 22, dressed in kurta and jeans, just like any college student. The lady with me says, "He is the one." Yes, this is the Gujarat police's star witness. The police arrested people on the basis of Witness' statements. The police said its claim that the Gujarat blasts was the work of the Indian Mujahideen, a reincarnation of the Student's Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was proven by Witness' statements. It is on the basis of Witness' statement that the police have named the masterminds in the case – Mufti Abu Bashar and Sajid Mansuri.

At first, Witness is unwilling to talk. He is preparing for exams, he says. He sees the lady accompanying me and asks her what she is doing with me. I have smuggled myself in, wearing a head scarf, trying to pass off as one of them. He lifts up the lady's child in his arms and allows us in, looking around to see if we have been spotted. After keeping in him detention for twelve days and beating the confession out of him, the police now keep an eye on their 'approver'.

Casualties of the Ahmedabad bomb blasts wait for treatment at a hospital

Photo: SHAILENDRA PANDEY

Witness bursts into tears when I ask him questions. "Don't make me narrate everything again. My family and I have gone through hell all because of me. It was all a big mistake," he says between sobs.

His mother, an ailing lady in her late 50s enters. She wants to know if we too are from the police. "How many questions do you want to ask him? He has told you everything he knows. Now leave him alone!" she says. Witness ushers her out and bolts the door.

"I wouldn't be talking had it not been for this girl," he says, gesturing at the girl now sleeping snugly in her mother's arms. "Her father is innocent, ma'am. They are all innocent. If what I say to you can do anything, then please get them freed. They are in jail for no fault of theirs."

Witness was detained days after the blasts in Ahmedabad took place in July last year. He was part of the plot until he learnt the targets included hospitals and not those responsible for the 2002 Gujarat riots. Until he learnt that they were not going to kill the 'Bajrangis' or those who had admitted to having slit open the stomachs of pregnant women during the riots.

alleged SIMI operatives being paraded before the media by the police

Photo: INDIAN EXPRESS

THEY (THE conspirators) had told us that they wanted to avenge the atrocities committed against Muslims but what they were doing would also kill Muslims," says Witness. Although he was never told who the top bosses were, he carried out the orders of his fellow plotters.

Witness also reveals troubling truths – he denies ever being a part of SIMI. He denies the involvement of SIMI in the plot and says he knows the Indian Mujahideen only as a phrase seen in newspapers. Witness says he was tortured into implicating the men he met during Friday prayers. "The police forced me to name those they had arrested." Our long conversation was occasionally interrupted by his mother's knocks on the door. She was both scared and curious but Witness wanted to talk. He wanted to unburden himself and reveal everything; all in the hope that it would help free those innocent people languishing in jail.

The words came in a torrent and he spoke, initially without much prodding. "My friend Alamzeb Afridi [absconding, involved along with Witness in the blasts] introduced me to Yakub bhai [earlier detained, now a witness], Arif Kagzi, Yunus Mansuri and Sajid Mansuri [all accused in the July 2008 Ahmedabad blasts and all ex-SIMI members who spoke to TEHELKA in Sabarmati jail]. They told me that they used to be SIMI members. I knew Alamzeb from college. We used to meet in the evenings for religious discourses. We would discuss the Quran and often attended various programs at Yaqub bhai's place. These guys would only teach us about the hadees[the Prophet's statements and actions] and would tell us about the life of the Prophet. I was told that after SIMI was banned, they would hold educational programmes to explain the true meaning of Islam to youngsters who were disillusioned. People like Abdul Subhan Qureishi [one of the masterminds of the plot, now absconding] and Safdar Nagori [General Secretary, SIMI] used to come there. I was told that Subhan worked with Wipro and that he had been absconding ever since his name came up connection with the July 2006 Mumbai train blasts. He said that he was not involved in the blasts. He said that the group hated the hardliners and wanted to work against the propaganda put out by the VHP and the RSS. This was in 2007.

In the meetings we were told how Muslims were being tortured in Afghanistan, America and Palestine. Subhan Qureishi used to tell us that these were the real people who were against Islam. Of all the people who attended, Abu Bashar Siddiqui was perhaps the most reserved of all. He had tremendous knowledge about the Quran and the hadees and used to speak about the true essence of Islam. Those meetings were not conspiracy sessions. In them, no one ever spoke about the plot. Subhan used to bring Abu Bashar Siddiqui for the religious gatherings and it was very clear that he did not discuss anything else with him.

There was an annual meeting of SIMI every year. In 2007, it took place in Indore. They just wanted the ban on SIMI to be lifted. It was there that Safdar Nagori and others were arrested. Subhan and Qayamuddin Kapadia [recently arrested, named by Witness as being involved in the blasts] were also to reach there but they said they had missed their train. They returned to Ahmedabad two weeks later. Alamzeb, Mujeeb [another ex-SIMI member, now in jail], Tauseef [a localite accused in the case, now in jail] and I had continued to meet after namaz.

Chain of Evidence SIMI leader Safdar Nagori after being arrested from a house in Indore's Manikbag locality

Photo: P NAVEEN

After the Indore arrests of SIMI cadres, Subhan Qureishi met Mujeeb, Alamzeb, and me and told us that we had to do something to avenge the Gujarat riots. Subhan first approached the SIMI guys. They told him outright that they did not wish to be a part of anything and that they were struggling to lead a normal life as had been tortured enough by the Gujarat police for being SIMI members. These people could not even carry on their normal jobs. Qayamuddin was also absconding then as the police was after him. The first time Subhan and Qayamuddin met us was at a shop at the Dani Limda area in Ahmedabad. We were told not to involve the SIMI people and also to take in new people with no records. Arif and the others told Subhan not to do anything destructive.

SUBHAN THEN gave us Rs 3,000 to enrol in some physical fitness courses like swimming. We did that for a month. Only the three of us — Mujeeb, Alamzeb and me — knew about it. Qayamuddin was our leader. We were asked to stay away from SIMI members, as they would have stopped us. We did not meet any SIMI member. Subhan and Qayamuddin had tried to gauge who could do the task and had told just the three of us.

Qayamuddin got a CD just a month before the blasts. The CD was shown to Mufti Abu Bashar as he was the only one who could understand Arabic. A few days afterwards, Qayamuddin came to us and told us that some boys had come from outside who were well trained and who wanted to do something. None of us knew them. Nobody knew them. We were only given orders. When Qayamuddin mentioned bombs, I said that the original plan was to attack the VHP headquarters and not kill common people. He retorted that even if we didn't help them, the boys from outside would set off the bombs. He said they wouldn't wait for us and told us that if we helped them, they would be able to place the explosives at the right places and would be able to take revenge against the right people.

We then agreed to the plan. Qayamuddin then gave us Rs 5,000 and asked us to buy 10 cycles. At that time my exams were on. Alamzeb bought six bicycles and gave me three. I parked them at places where no one would touch them and Alamzeb parked his cycles too. Later, Qayamuddin called us. We asked him about the bombs and how many casualties they would cause. Initially, they said the bombs would be kept in buses and we were asked to identify the right buses. We then confronted them, saying that people in buses were not our targets. We said we should set off the bombs in places were Hindus dominate and where it is difficult for Muslims even to enter. The places they had chosen were areas like Paldi, which also had a large number of Muslims.

The targets were then changed to areas like Maninagar and Satellite. Qayamuddin later took me with him and showed me places like Naroda [one of the worst hit during the Gujarat 2002 riots] and told me that these were the places were we needed to plant the bombs. I was told to just look at the areas. After we came back from Naroda, we met Mujeeb who was waiting for us near the Vadodara express highway. Qayamuddin then told me that I did not appreciate what we were doing and that I was too busy with college. I retorted that that was because they were not keeping their promise to attack the VHP. I told them I did not want to be a part of the plan.

Abdul Subhan Qureishi, named by the police and by Witness as one of the masterminds of the Ahmedabad blasts

Did you know Sadiq Israr Ahmed? [in custody with the Mumbai police, named as one of the IM masterminds and accused in the Ahmedabad blasts. Recently cleared by a Mumbai court of involvement in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts] Was he ever a part of the plan? 
No. I've never heard of him. If the SIMI members found out about our plan, they would never have let us go ahead with it.

Did any of you go to Pakistan or any other country?
No, never. The names I have read in the chargesheet are just names to us. We only heard about them on TV. SIMI was just a small organisation. Poor Abu Bashar had no idea what was going on. Whenever he was around, we never spoke about the plot. In fact we were told never to discuss anything with SIMI. The only reason Abu Bashar has been implicated in the case is because he used to attend tableeghi jamaats [religious conferences] across the country and was also very keen that the ban on SIMI be lifted. He was perhaps the only one who would speak to us about the true meaning of Islam.

After I said I wouldn't be a part of the plot, I was removed from the group. It was only on the morning of the blasts when Alamzeb came in to get the cycles that I felt something was about to happen. I told him where the bicycles were parked and then went to college. It was only after I returned that I realised that the blasts had taken place. After the blasts, the group avoided me. Even when they met me they asked me not to discuss the plot.

The only fault of Zahid Sheikh [a friend of Witness arrested by the police and accused in the case. Also accused of attending terror camps in Ahmedabad] and others who have been arrested is that someone told him that the blasts were done by this group. I met Alamzeb five days after the blasts and asked him about the boys from outside. Were they like us – kurta-pyjama clad and bearded? Alamzeb replied that on the contrary, they didn't look like us. They were welleducated, wore jeans and T-shirts and smoked a lot.

Did you know their identity? 
No ma'am. They never divulged these things. Alamzeb only told me that they had rented a room and that they were extremely well-trained in making bombs. They were not like one of us. There was another person who kept the bombs. There is a stark difference between us and those people. They were like none of our group or any SIMI members we had seen.

You have been named a witness in the case. Your statement says that those named in the chargesheet including Arif, Tauseef, Zahid and the others played an active part in the blasts. Why did you say that? Did they torture you mentally or physically?
They first took me to Ashish Bhatia's office [Joint Commissioner of Police heading the investigations]. They strip you completely. One person sits on one leg and another on the other. They kept me twisted over in a 180 degree position. Like they did to poor Zahid. They trick you. They told him that everyone had named him and that he should take responsibility for the blasts. They did the same to me. I could not stand the pain, so I did what they told me to.

Are those named in the chargesheet involved? 
How could they be? We knew exactly what was happening from Day One. The people named had no inkling. Naved Kadri, one of them, is from Juhapura, like me. He would get frightened at the thought of blood. His only fault was that he was a friend from Juhapura. He has been chargesheeted as a conspirator. I have seen him being tortured in custody. He is still inside.

Mufti Abu Bashar, accused by the police of involvement in the blasts but cleared of any involvement in them by Witness

Do you see the role of a SIMI insider?
The third party with the bombs only came into the picture after the SIMI guys were all inside. How could they do it?

Did you know about the Indian Mujahideen?
No. SIMI was banned in 2001. All of them — Safdar Nagori and the rest — were still free. If they had actually received training they would have done the blasts way back. Why would they wait? The blasts happened only after they were arrested. In my lie detector test, they asked me about the IM but I've seen this term only in the newspapers.

But you were still a part of the plot. Why did you join it?
You know what happened in Gujarat. What happened in Godhra was wrong. The guilty should have been punished. But you know what they did to us. We saw the videos of Babu Bajrangi on TV and the VHP guys talking about slitting the stomachs of pregnant women. Politicians knew that what happened was wrong. The Hindus here knew exactly that it was wrong but they still support Narendra Modi. We just wanted to show them how it feels when your own people are killed.

You were a part of the plot till almost a day before the blasts and you have been let off. But others who don't even know about the blasts are in jail. Why did this happen?
Ma'am, I only know how the plan was hatched and that the cycles were bought. The policemen told me that Yunus Mansuri said I had planted the bomb. I said that in that case, call him; I will face him because I know I have not done so. They told me this before they had even arrested him. Two days later, they arrested him, saying that I had named him. I told them whatever I knew. I know that uninvolved people were suffering, and I told the crime branch that those people were innocent. But they implicated them. There is no such thing as justice. Sub Inspector Bharvad took me out in a vehicle and said, as he took out his revolver, "You bastard, run! We don't want to investigate you people. Run!" He later took me to the police station and I was tortured. They abused Muslims and kept on torturing me. I knew that I could not take it anymore and I gave in. I said whatever they told me to. They made me say that I had planted the bombs. When I met Police Inspector Tarun Barot, I told him I couldn't take the pain. I said I would kill myself. Barot told me, "Don't worry, I have spoken to Ashish Bhatia. We will make you a witness in the case." I told them the truth so they would free the innocents, but they made a false statement from what I said. They warned me against speakingout and told me that they could implicate me and that there was scope for supplementary chargesheets. I am speaking out now because I am disgusted, because innocent God-fearing men are in jail.

How can you be so sure that the others were not involved? 
It was all done secretly. We were told strictly to keep away from SIMI men like Arif, Sajid and the rest. If Mufti Abu Bashar and the others knew about it wouldn't they have spoken to us about it? Only Subhan, Qayamuddin, Alamzeb and I knew about the plot.

What about Abu Bashar?
Subhan brought Abu Basher into the group in Ahmedabad only for his knowledge of Arabic and the hadees. They said Abu Bashar had asked us to wage jihad, which is absolutely false. Subhan categorically asked us to keep our mouths shut in front of Abu Bashar because he was quite educated and was a God-fearing man. Subhan and Qayamuddin were always on the run. They kept saying that they need people to help carry out attacks.

Did the Gujarat Police ever lure you? 
They keep telling me, "Listen to us. You are a state witness. We will take care of you. Just don't talk about this outside."

When was the last time you met Subhan Qureishi? 
Around 30 days before the blasts.

Unknown to the police, Witness has given us a full account in which he also damns himself. We also spoke to police officers without letting them know that we had had a long meeting with their star witness. The police maintain that they have a strong case. Says Joint Commissioner of Police Abhay Chudasama who is in charge of the case, "Even a child would know how important a witness would be in this case. And we do believe that whatever statements we have got from them and from the accused corroborate the evidence and will be enough to strengthen our case and nail the accused".

When asked specifically why the alleged mastermind in the case would keep changing and asked about Abu Bashar Siddiqui, Sajid Mansuri and Yunus Mansuri [whose involvement in the case Witness has denied], Chudasama maintained that they were the key conspirators. While Chudasama was not as forthcoming when it came to the status of the witnesses, Ashish Bhatia, IG, Law and Order, who was the Joint Commissioner of Police in charge of the investigations maintained that some people who had backed out of committing the blasts were made witnesses and that their confessions would be crucial. When asked if the statements were voluntary, Bhatia said that all the statements were voluntary and in case the witnesses retracted their statements — even though they were recorded before a magistrate and therefore couldn't be retracted —the Police would have the right to file a case against them. When asked if the witnesses had been tortured, both Chudasama and Bhatia replied that the matter was sub judice.

One year into the blasts, the trial is still to begin. Perhaps in the case of the Ahmedabad blasts there may not be no such thing called justice.

WRITER'S EMAIL
rana.ayyub@gmail.com