Five faces of terror

The police suspect he could be the person who assembled and set the digital timers in Surat too. While Arif, who was reportedly trained in a 8220;hostile country8221;, is reported to be an expert at electric circuits, he is said to be honing his skills in 8220;digital timers8221;.

Among the recent blasts for which the Indian Mujahideen has claimed credit, it was only in Surat bombs and Bangalore where digital timers, in the form of Thailand-manufactured Motorola microchips, were used. All the nine bombs in Bangalore exploded.

The Mumbai crime branch believe that the five alleged Indian Mujahideen operatives, all natives of Azamgarh, were involved in assisting in assembling and executing major terror blasts across the country since 2005. Officials said Arif8217;s interrogation could help them understand the kind of timers that were used in the train serial blasts in Mumbai on July 11, 2006, which claimed 187 lives.

Experts believe that the July 11 blasts were actually triggered by digital timers, and not through quartz timers as recorded in the chargesheet. 8220;There were very crucial microchips recovered from the blast spots. The Mumbai Police recorded it as quartz timers though no pieces of watch were ever recovered. Arif should throw light now, if he was indeed a part of that group,8221; said a bomb expert who inspected the blast sites on July 11.

8220;The concept of digital timers exists among Jammu and Kashmir militants,8221; said an expert with the NSG.

Joint Commissioner of Police Crime Branch Rakesh Maria said that the group was also behind the Varanasi blasts in 2006, Shramjeevi Express blast in 2005 as well as the Hyderabad blasts. Quartz timers were used in all these cases.

8230;THE OTHER FOUR
Mohammed Sadiq Israr Sheikh, 32
Identified as the co-founder of the Indian Mujahideen, he is from Sanjarpur in Azamgarh. Sadiq is reported to be the man who 8220;controlled8221; New Delhi8217;s serial blasts, through key executor Atif who was killed in the Jamia Nagar encounter. Sadiq had settled in Mumbai8217;s Cheetah Camp area, a predominantly Muslim slum colony. 8220;He worked in Mumbai as a programme engineer in an electronic company,8221; said Joint Commissioner of Police Rakesh Maria, describing him as the 8220;brains behind footsoldiers like Atif8221;. Sadiq received 8220;training in terror activities from a hostile country8221; on two occasions. He was wanted by the Delhi Police too.
Mohammed Ansar Sheikh, 31
A native of Sanjarpur in Azamgarh, Ansar is a software engineer. He was living in Cheetah Camp near Trombay for several months now. Initial investigations point to his involvement in the Indian Mujahideen as the man who provided software knowledge to the terror module. He was arrested from Chembur.
Afzal Mutalib Usmani, 32
Also hailed from Azamgarh. Was reportedly responsible for the theft of four cars from Navi Mumbai, which were used in the Ahmedabad and Surat attacks. Arrested from Mhow in UP, Afzal is also reported to have placed the explosive-laden vehicles at Ahmedabad8217;s Civil Hospital and Bazar Peth. He has a crime record 8212; the first case against him was an attempt to murder in 1996, at Shivaji Nagar police station, Mumbai. He is also wanted in a MCOCA case where he is charged with being an associate of the Fazl-ul-Rehman gang. Of the five arrested, he is the only one to have a crime record.
Mohammed Zakir Sheikh, 28
Originally from Azamgarh, Zakir, a scrap deal, had settled down in Bhiwandi. He is reported to have received training outside the country in 2004, before he returned to Azamgarh. He later moved to Bhiwandi, on the outskirts of Mumbai, in Thane district, where he set up a scrap dealing business that took him to Surat often. He is alleged to have been in the team which conducted a recce in Gujarat, and helped the module in planting bombs at various locations. He was picked up from Bhiwandi on Tuesday night.

Also wanted
Roshan Khan
Hailing from Karnataka, Roshan Khan is believed to be 8220;one of the founding members8221; of the Indian Mujhaideen. Roshan Khan is high up in the Indian Mujaideen hierarchy along with Sadiq.
Ameer Razaq
Additional Commissioner of Police Crime Branch Deven Bharti said Sadiq was in constant touch with a man in Pakistan named Ameer Razaq, who appears to be controlling the group. 8220;We have sufficient proof including telephone details to prove that he is handling the operation from Pakistan.