JOIN USRiaz and Iqbal are leading operatives of the IM believed to be operating from Karachi and the two top the list of 10 fugitive IM leaders from Karnataka. The Bhatkals and eight others figure in the dossier of 31 most wanted IM men circulated by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to police and intelligence agencies of several states, including of course, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
The dossier also contains the names of 21 other IM operatives from UP, Gujarat, Kerala and Maharashtra. Though Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad chief Rakesh Maria on Thursday refused to divulge any detail about early leads received by the investigating agencies, sources said that the possibility of the IM being involved had not been ruled out yet.
The IM is suspected to be an offshoot of the Student Islamic Movement of India and is understood to be linked with Lashkar-e-Toiba. The two groups in turn are closely linked with Pakistani spy agency Inter Services Intelligence.
This has been revealed of late by incarcerated terror plotter David Headley during the trial of his accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana in a court in Chicago.