Amitabh Srivastava
Fear of losing Muslim votes to political opponents in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls appears to have prompted the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar to stay away from Yasin Bhatkal, when the need of the hour was to investigate his latent links in the state.
Ahmed Sidiappa alias Yasin Bhatkal, the Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder arrested on Wednesday from his Pokhra hideout in Nepal, was the biggest catch for the country; but Bihar police, which was directly involved in the arrest of the top terrorist just washed its hands off and handed him over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The Bihar police are believed to have developed cold feet at the last moment, following a discussion at very senior levels on Thursday. A top IPS officer of Bihar is said to have aborted his journey to Nepal border midway after instructions reached him that Bihar police will have nothing to do with Bhatkal in the aftermath of his arrest.
Incidentally, Bihar had many reasons to interrogate Bhatkal. Bhatkal, a Karnataka resident, had spent a few months in the Darbhanga and Madhubani districts of Bihar between 2008 and 2009. There, posing as one homeopathy doctor Imran, Bhatkal had set up a Madhubani module that involved over a dozen Muslim youth recruited as IM soldiers. At least six persons from villages in Madhubani and Darbhanga were later arrested for their alleged involvement in the Jama Masjid, German Bakery and Chinnaswamy Stadium attacks. Bhatkal may still have many friends in Bihar; but the state police's hands-off approach appears to have given them a safe passage.
The joint team of the Intelligence Bureau, Bihar police and Nepalese authorities that arrested Bhatkal and his accomplice Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi from their Pokhra (Nepal) hideout on Wednesday, was led by Motihari SP Vinay Kumar, an IPS officer of Bihar cadre. Ironically, Bihar police did not even take credit for the prized catch.
Questioning the terrorist on remand should have been the natural corollary; but Bihar police is believed to have stayed away from Bhatkal in line with the growing concern that any open chest-thumping on his arrest may have an adverse electoral impact for the ruling government in Bihar.
"Bihar DGP Abhayanand's argument that Bihar police did not take the duo in remand because Bhatkal had no FIR pending against him in Bihar is ridiculous as the terrorist had spent time in the state when he stayed in his hideouts in Darbhanga and Madhubani districts from where he picked dozen foot-soldiers of IMs," says a senior IPS officer.
Nitish Kumar's apparent fear about losing out on the Muslim votes in the north Bihar districts appears to have prompted Bihar police to keep off from cases where Muslim terrorists are involved. "If you are fine with terrorists attacking rest of the country and sparing Bihar; then you are no better than an ostrich. The ISI that rules the terror agents does not love Bihar. It can ask them to strike in Bihar and the terrorists will do it," says a senior home department officer.
Source : India Today