Shahzad exchanged e-mails with IM men

Both Ariz and Asadullah are wanted in the Delhi serial blasts and the Batla House encounter cases. While Ariz carries a reward of Rs 5 lakh,Asadullah carries a reward of Rs 1 lakh — both announced in December,2008.

The e-mails and chats contain references to other IM men,including Mohammad Saif of Sanjarpur,who was caught at Batla House,Arif Badr and Sadiq Sheikh,both of whom were among the six persons arrested in Mumbai on September 26 last year.

The interrogation reports of Mohammad Saif and Sadiq Sheikh state that Arif Badr had assembled timer devices for the blasts triggered by the outfit in Mumbai local trains,Varanasi and the Uttar Pradesh courts. Sadiq Sheikh was the head of the IM in India and he recruited youths from Azamgarh in the outfit,the report states further.

Sources said while Ariz was hiding in Azamgarh at the time,Asadullah was in Saudi Arabia where he had fled after the Batla House shootout.

While Shahzad sent eight e-mails to Ariz,he did not send any e-mail to Asadullah but chatted with him. In the first three e-mails to Ariz,which were sent in the first week of October,Shahzad reportedly expressed fear that their names had been revealed by Mohammad Saif,Arif Badr or Sadiq Sheikh during interrogation. In their chats,Asadullah advised Shahzad to arrange for his escape from India before the Anti-Terrorism Squad nabs him.

Before the Batla House encounter,Shahzad exchanged e-mails with Atif Ameen,who died in the encounter,but nothing significant was found in the mails,sources said.

The Delhi Special Cell is also examining the call details of Shahzad’s mobile phone recovered from his house in Azamgarh after his arrest. He reportedly used the phone during his stay in Delhi before the September 2008 blasts.