Abu Jindal, the Lakshar-e-Toiba terrorist who was arrested by the Delhi police on June 21, has reportedly confessed his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008.
Jindal, who goes by other names including Abu Hamza, Abu Jundal, Sayed Zaibuddin Ansari and Jabi Ansari, has also admitted the presence of Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed at the Pakistani control room from where the handlers were giving instructions to the 26/11 attackers.
He was said to have used the name Jindal during the Mumbai attack and was believed to have given weapons training to the terrorists. He reportedly handled the attack on Nariman House from the Karachi control room.
Jindal was one of the six handlers said to have provided real-time instructions on telephone during the Mumbai attacks. His presence was also mentioned by Ajmal Kasab, who is the only attacker captured alive by the police and is currently in Indian custody. During a special court hearing, Kasab reportedly mentioned the name of Abu Jindal and said Jindal had tutored 10 terrorists on how to speak Hindi.
He is also believed to be a link between the Indian Mujahideen and the Laskar-e-Toiba, which is a militant Islamist group in South Asia.
Jindal reportedly fled to Pakistan after his involvement in the Aurangabad arms haul case in 2006. During the Mumbai attacks, Jindal was in Pakistan and was later sent to Saudi Arabia to gather funds to carry out another major operation that was being planned by the LeT, sources told NDTV.
Police officials would hold a voice test to further confirm whether Jindal was one of the six handlers linked to the 2008 attack.
Earlier on Monday, Jindal's arrest was confirmed by Home Minister Chidambaram. "The person who goes by the pseudonym of Abu Jindal has been apprehended and remanded to the custody of our law enforcement agencies," he said.
While some reports suggested Jindal was arrested at the Delhi Indira Gandhi Airport, other reports suggested that Jindal was deported from Saudi Arabia after he was detained there in the first week of June.
Jindal, who hails from the Beed district of Maharashtra, has been remanded to police custody till July 5 by a Delhi court. The police are going to seek an extension of his custody till July 20.
Apart from the 2008 attacks, Jindal is also believed to have been involved in other past attacks including the Mumbai train blast in 2006 that killed at least over 200 people and the Chinnaswamy Stadium attack in Bangalore in 2010.
Over 160 were killed in the Mumbai terror attacks that took place in several places including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital and a Jewish Centre.
