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Synopsis

The Patiala House Court in Delhi, on Thursday, permitted Yashin Bhatkal, a convicted terrorist and operative of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), to hold a virtual meeting with his ailing mother via video conferencing. Bhatkal had sought one-day parole to meet his mother in person, but the court allowed only a video conference interaction.

Presiding over the case, Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur instructed the Jail Superintendent to facilitate the video conference as a one-time allowance. The court also mandated that the conversation be conducted exclusively in Hindi. For security purposes, the Jail Superintendent was also granted discretion to record the conversation if necessary.

Advocates MS Khan, Qausar Khan, Prashant Prakash, and Rahul Sahani, representing Bhatkal, cited provisions of Para 1203 from the Delhi Prison Rules, 2018, which allow custody parole in cases such as a family member’s death, marriage, serious illness, or other emergencies subject to approval by the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of prisons.

Yashin Bhatkal, born Syed Mohammed Ahmed Zarar Siddibappa on January 15, 1983, is a convicted terrorist responsible for multiple deadly attacks across India. Alongside Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, he co-founded the Indian Mujahideen around 2005. Under his leadership, the group carried out numerous fatal terrorist activities. 

Bhatkal, captured in 2013, was sentenced to death by a Hyderabad court in 2016 for his involvement in these attacks. His notoriety as a leader of the Indian Mujahideen made him one of India's most wanted criminals before his eventual apprehension. 

Background: 

Recently, in April 2024, the bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Shalinder Kaur refused bail to an individual identified as an active member of the media cell of the Indian Mujahideen. The case stemmed from emails dispatched by this terrorist group to various media outlets in Pakistan and India, titled ‘Message of Death’.

In April 2023, the Patiala House Court framed charges against Yashin Bhatkal and ten others in a terrorism case, observing that they had repeatedly engaged in terrorist activities aimed at waging war against the Government of India. 

Additional Sessions Judge Shailender Malik noted that Bhatkal was not only involved in past terrorist acts but was also part of a conspiracy to carry out future activities with the aid of Maoists in Nepal, intending to procure arms and ammunition.

In July 2023, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court sentenced four Indian Mujahideen operatives—Danish Ansari, Aftab Alam, Imran Khan, and Obaid-Ur-Rehman—to ten years' imprisonment for conspiring to wage war against the government through terrorist attacks across India in 2012. Special Judge Shailender Malik handed down the sentence under various sections of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

"The case pertains to the conspiracy hatched by the members of the Indian Mujahideen, which is responsible for carrying out various blasts in the country, including Varanasi blasts of March2006, Mumbai serial blasts of July 2006, UP courts serial blasts at Varanasi, Faizabad and Lucknow in November 2007, Hyderabad twin blasts of August 2007, besides the Jaipur serial blasts, Delhi serial blasts and the Ahmedabad serial blasts in 2008. IM was also behind the Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru Stadium blast of 2010 and the Hyderabad twin blasts of 2013", the agency's press release stated.

[Inputs: PTI]