Police yet to recover terrorists’ bike

The Delhi Police may have nabbed most of the key players of the September 2010 Jama Masjid attack, but they are yet to recover the motorcycle used by the Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives on that fateful day.

The Delhi Police may have nabbed most of the key players of the September 2010 Jama Masjid attack, but they are yet to recover the motorcycle used by the Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives on that fateful day.

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Suspected to have been procured from a local gang of auto lifters, sources say that the Pulsar bike was also used for a recce of the crowded bylanes of the ancient mosque.

“The vehicle had been purchased by Mohammad Qateel Siddiqui, who had networked extensively with some local crime syndicates including organised gangs of motor vehicle thieves, just a week before the attack,” said a senior police officer.

Around 10:30am on September 19, 2010, a five-member Taiwanese film crew, which had landed in the Capital at 7:10am, was attacked by two men bearing a small, rapid-firing weapon. The crew had been coming down the steps of the historical monument.

The crew was from Taiwan’s ‘Super Taste TV’ — a local channel — and was in the Capital for a 10-day trip to film a documentary titled ‘A Lady’s Wondering Trip in India’.

According to sources, once the two-wheeler had been purchased, Siddiqui, Mohammad Ajmal, Shahrukh alias Ahmad Siddi Bappa and their fourth accomplice took turns at riding the vehicle to procure raw material for their sinister plan.

In groups of two, the gang had made several trips on the stolen vehicle to local hardware shops and some wholesale chemical dealers operating in Chandni Chowk.

They bought small quantities of chemical explosives and shrapnel in the form of ball bearings between September 12-19, 2010.

“After spraying bullets on the (Taiwanese) tourists, Siddiqui handed the bike over to Shahrukh who then abandoned it at a remote location somewhere along the Delhi-Haryana border in outer Delhi,” the officer said.

Sources in the Special Cell claimed that efforts were afoot to trace the said two-wheeler which is a crucial piece of evidence in the terror attack.

“Not only did the bike serve as a getaway vehicle but it had also been been used to procure components to assemble the IED placed below the Maruti 800 car that had exploded minutes after the shoot-out ,” the officer added.