The police say seeking opportunity in a tragedy was the plan of Abdul Samad Bhatkal, the prime suspect in the Pune bakery blast arrested from Mangalore airport on Monday. Anti-Terrorism Squad officers said that Bhatkal decided to take a flight from Dubai, a day after the crash to hoodwink the airport police who were occupied
dealing with the crash and had thought that police would not check on flights coming in from Dubai as lots of relatives of the passengers who died in the crash were coming in large numbers. Bhatkal, an Indian Mujahideen operative and a cousin brother of terrorist Yaseen Bhatkal, believed to be the mastermind behind the blast took a flight from Dubai on Monday but was arrested at Bajpe airport as there was a lookout notice against him.
“Dubai authorities had denied extending his visa as was requested by their Indian counterparts. Bhatkal wanted to come back to his hometown and go under hiding but knew that he would be in the glare of Indian police. And so a day after the crash he decided to take the flight expecting the police to be busy handling the aftermath of the crash,” an officer said.
According to the officer, since many relatives of the deceased passengers were coming to perform the final rites of their kin, Bhatkal thought the police would not carry on checks in flights arriving especially from Dubai. The ATS that took his custody from Mangalore police presented him before court on Tuesday that remanded him to police custody till June 1.
Meanwhile, Union home minister P. Chidambaram complimented the efforts of Maharashtra ATS and the Pune police in making an important breakthrough in the case.
“ATS Maharashtra along with Pune police were able to identify the prime suspect in the German Bakery Blast. Central agencies traced the suspect. He was apprehended on Monday,” Mr Chidambaram said.