A high-intensity bomb exploded at the German Bakery near Jewish Chabad House in the plush Koregaon Park area of Pune, killing 17 people and leaving 56 others injured, on the evening of February 13, 2010.
The Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) initiated a probe into the attack and arrested Mirza Himayat Baig (then aged 29 years) from the Pulgate bus stand in Pune Camp, on September 7, 2010. The ATS alleged that Baig was a member of the Lashkar E Taiba (LeT) terror group and claimed to have recovered about 1.2kg of RDX from his residence in Udgir in Latur district of Maharashtra.
Baig’s family, residing at Kamwada in Killa Maidan in Beed district, claimed he was innocent. His father at that time earned just about Rs 100 per day for making jalebis at a hotel. The family said no offence was registered against him in the past.
In December 2010, the ATS filed a chargesheet against Baig and six others, including top Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal, Yasin Bhatkal, all from Karnataka, Mohsin Choudhari of Pune and LeT commanders Fayyaz Kagzi and Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal of Beed, for their alleged role in the German bakery terror attack.
Police said Baig did his D.Ed in 2006 and later took a BA degree from Poona College in Pune. ATS officials alleged that Baig had good friendship with some of the accused persons like Abu Jundal and Fayaz Kagzi of Beed, who were also involved in the Aurangabad RDX haul of 2006.
According to the ATS chargesheet, Baig went to Colombo in March 2008, where he allegedly got terror training from Kagzi and Abu Jundal and there, “the diabolic design to cause further terrorist activities was finalized.”
The ATS claimed to have gathered evidence of his Colombo visit and alleged that after coming back to India from Colombo, Baig allegedly settled at a “remote” and “non descriptive place” like Udgir. The authority also alleged that Baig became a key link between LeT and the Indian Mujahideen.
According to ATS, he started the Global Internet cafe in Udgir and with the help of about 25 different email ids, he was in constant communication with the wanted accused.
The ATS pointed out that in Udgir, Baig allegedly concealed his identity as Yusuf and Hasan. He managed to acquire two bogus election cards in the name of Kayyum Ayub Shaikh and Immadoddin Ahmed Shaikh and also acquired a bogus handicapped person card.
As per the ATS, Yasin Bhatkal and Mohsin Choudhary, on the instructions of Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, met Baig in Udgir to finalise their plan to plant a bomb at German Bakery in January 2010. On their instructions, Baig allegedly carried out a recce of the German Bakery on January 31, 2010.
The ATS alleged that Yasin and Mohsin again held a meeting with Baig in Udgir in the first week of February to give finishing touches to the plan. The bomb was assembled by the duo with the help of Baig at the Global Internet cafe at Udgir, between 1am and 5pm on February 7.
On February 8, Baig allegedly went to Mumbai. He stayed at a lodge in Mumbai where he identified himself as Mohammed Yusuf Mohammed Isaque of Udgir. He then purchased two haver sacks and a second cell phone from Mumbai, which were used in the German Bakery blast on February 13, as stated by ATS.
“…On February 13, Baig and Yasin carried the explosive device in a private vehicle from Udgir to Latur and in a state transport bus from Latur to Pune. The duo then hailed an autorickshaw to travel from Pulgate bus stand to Pune railway station and from there, they went to Central Mall in another autorickshaw. Yasin planted the bomb in a haversack at the bakery around 5pm and triggered it with the help of a mobile triggering device at 6.50 pm,” stated the chargesheet.
On April 18, 2013, the trial court in Pune awarded death penalty to Baig under Sections 10 (b), 16 (1)(a) of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Sections 302 (murder), 120 (b) (for criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and Section 3 of the Explosives Substances Act.
Baig filed an appeal before the Bombay High Court (HC), where his death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment in May 2016. The court convicted Baig only under the Explosives Act. The state government then filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the HC verdict commuting his death penalty. The matter is still pending before the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, top Indian Mujahideen leader Yasin Bhatkal, wanted in multiple terror cases in the country, was arrested from the India – Nepal border in August 2013. The Maharashtra ATS arrested Yasin in the German Bakery blast case on March 14, 2014 and filed a chargesheet against him before a court in Pune in August of the same year.
The trial against Yasin is on before a Pune court. Investigators believe that Yasin is visible in the CCTV footage of the blast day obtained from the German bakery premises during the probe.
Abu Jundal, another wanted accused allegedly involved in multiple terror strikes including the 26/11 Mumbai attack, was deported from Saudi Arabia to India on June 25, 2012. Jundal has not been arrested in the German Bakery blast case yet.
Baig’s note claiming innocence
Before the judgment was passed, Baig made an emotional plea before the trial court alleging that he was framed by the ATS. He tried to read out a four page note he had written in Marathi.
“I am a person who believes in Allah and he knows that I would never be any part of a heinous crime such as a bomb blast. I have full faith in the judiciary of the country which believes in the principle that ‘100 criminals may be let free but one innocent person shouldn’t be punished’…In a German Bakery blast 17 innocent people were killed. Now one more innocent person is being victimised. I am the 18th victim of the Bakery blast. To render justice to the victims of the Blast it would be inappropriate to punish another innocent person. ….I haven’t seen explosives in my entire life. I haven’t touched RDX once. This is a conspiracy against me by ATS….,” Baig had told the court.
Baig filed an appeal before the Bombay High Court, where his death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment in May 2016. He continues to be in jail. Last year in September, he was released on a parole of 45 days.
Controversies and contradictions
-A controversy sparked as just a few days after Baig’s arrest, the then deputy Onspector General of Police (ATS) Ravindra Kadam told mediapersons at Udgir that Baig was not in Pune on the day of German Bakery blast. Kadam had said that Baig was involved in assembling the explosives with Mohsin Choudhary and Yasin Bhatkal at the Global Internet xafe in Udgir, but he did not come to Pune on the day of blast. But Kadam later gave clarification to the media that it was a misunderstanding on his part. “I am giving clarification that Baig was actually in Pune on the day of the blast,” Kadam had said.
-A controversy erupted after the arrest of alleged Indian Mujahideen member Mohammed Qateel Siddiui in November 2011 by Delhi police. Qateel was interrogated by Delhi police and later by Bangalore police. It revealed Siddiqui conducted a reccee of the German Bakery along with Yasin Bhatkal, but did not mention anything about Baig. The Maharashtra ATS later arrested Siddiqui for his alleged plan to bomb the Dagdusheth Ganpati temple in Pune on February 13, 2010, the same day when the German Bakery blast took place. However, Siddqui was murdered by Pune gangster Sharad Mohol at the Yerwada jail in June 2012.
-On September 6, 2014, the Delhi Police arrested a BPO staffer from Pune, Ajaz Shaikh alias Samar Armaan Tunde alias Sagar from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. He left home on the morning of February 15, 2014, saying he was going to Bangalore for a job interview, but later did not return. The Family lodged a missing report at the Khadak police station in Pune on February 19, 2014. A Delhi police press release claimed that Ajaz is an IM operative and the first task entrusted to him by the absconding IM leaders was to assist Yasin Bhatkal in the execution of the German Bakery bomb blast.
According to the Delhi Police, Ajaz was allegedly instrumental in the finalisation of the German Bakery site considered to be of maximum impact potential, in line with the objectives of the Indian Mujahideen.
A special NIA court later awarded death sentence to Ajaz for his role in the twin blasts at the Dilsukh Nagar market in Hyderabad on February 21, 2013. The court order stated that Ajaz had allegedly delivered the explosives for bombing the German Bakery to Yasin Bhatkal. But the Maharashtra ATS did not name Ajaz as accused in the German bakery blast case. Incidentally, wanted accused Mohsin Choudhary is the brother-in-law of Ajaz. According to the family, Mohsin got married to Ajaz’s sister in 2001, but he went missing in 2008.
Baig acquitted in Jehadi literature case
The Maharashtra ATS arrested five alleged members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in August 2008. About 40 books on jihad were seized from the suspects. The ATS arrested Baig separately in this case in 2011.
The ATS had then submitted before the court that while studying in Pune, Baig and other accused allegedly conducted the religious ‘darj’ meetings of Muslim youths in Pune at a masjid on Solapur Road and some other places. The authority alleged that the accused circulated jihadi literature among the Muslim youths and pressed jihadi ideology onto them. However, on December 2, 2016, the ATS filed an application seeking Baig’s discharge in this case. Subsequently, a court discharged Baig from this case in February 2017.
Mirza Himayat Baig 
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