Bhatkal had bomb-making lab in Goa? NIA carries out searches

The National Investigation Agency has recovered bomb-making equipment last week from a house at Anjuna village in the state, where Yasin Bhatkal, the alleged co-founder of banned terror group Indian Mujahideen, had lived in 2011-12, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said today.

"NIA, during the search of the house, found bomb-making equipment," Parrikar told reporters.

Earlier in the day, the owner of the house which Bhatkal and his associates had rented told PTI that some acid bottles and other things were recovered by the NIA there.
Bhatkal -- arrested on August 28 from India-Nepal border --and two others stayed in this house from November 2011 to December 2012. Later they left, without informing the landlord Dynaneshwar Chari. "We had kept aside the acid bottles during the cleaning of the house after Bhatkal left," Chari told PTI.

Parrikar conceded that Goa was being used by criminals as a hide-out during the "cool-off" period after the crime, and added that locals should be careful when renting out houses.

"Identity proof should be taken and sent to police for verification," Parrikar said. "We have noticed that many wanted people from other parts of the country are staying in Goa during the cool-off period. If anyone is found giving shelter to such criminals, he will be considered as being involved," he said.

The NIA sleuths on Saturday night brought Bhatkal to Goa by a chartered flight from Delhi and left on the same night after visiting the house in Anjuna, and also Chimbel, a slum area near Panaji, police sources said.

NIA picked up one person from Indiranagar Chimbel slum for interrogation. A second-hand motorcycle which Bhatkal used during his stay was also recovered, they said.

The information submitted by Chari at the time of renting his house does not mention Bhatkal. According to him, another man, who provided a Pune address, rented it, and Bhatkal joined him later.

Chari also said that he did not remember the name of the person who had rented the house.