PUNE/MUMBAI: Abdul Samad Bhatkal, younger brother of Pune’s German Bakery blast prime suspect and Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Yaseen Bhatkal, was picked up by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Monday morning, ostensibly for his alleged involvement in a little-known case of preparing for a supari killing.
Despite the official reason for his arrest,senior police officials told TOI that the 25-yearold native of Karnataka was suspected of having planted the bomb at Pune’s German Bakery on February 13.
Bhatkal’s arrest came 102 days after the devastating blast, which killed 17 persons. He was held soon after he landed on Monday at Mangalore’s Bajpe airport, the same airport that saw the devastating mishap on Saturday morning; he was returning from Dubai.
No senior official would come on record linking Bhatkal with the German Bakery blast but ATS insiders said the arrest followed a look-out notice — issued following the blast — at airports across the country. This is the first high-profile arrest that the ATS has made in connection with the blast.
Bhatkal was on board Air India flight XI 812 and was first noticed by immigration officials, who alerted the ATS. ATS officers then whisked Bhatkal away to an undisclosed location. Link
