Ahmedabad: The Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Gujarat Police has nabbed a hardcore terrorist and close aide of the founder of Indian Mujahideen (IM) Yasin Bhatkal and Riyaz Bhatkal from an airport in Kerala in connection with the 2008 serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad city which killed 56 persons and injured more than 240.

The ATS nabbed around 50 years old Suhaib Pottanikkal, a native of Mallapuram in Kerala from Kozhikode airport yesterday and handed him over to the crime branch here today for further action. Notably crime branch is handling the 2008 serial blast case whose mastermind Yasin Bhatkal has already been nabbed.

IGP of crime branch J K Bhatt today said that Pottanikkal was among one of the 18 absconding accused of the sensational case. 79 others including Bhatakal and one E T Sainuddin, also a resident of Kerala, with whom Pottanikkal prepared the circuits used for planting of bombs in Ahmedabad, have already been jailed.

Bhatt said that after the blast Pottanikkal has fled abroad.

Yasin Bhatkal, who is mastermind behind several such blasts in the country including 2010 Bangalore and Varanasi blasts, 2012 Pune blast and 2013 triple blasts in Mumbai and the Hyderabad blast, was also the main conspirator of the 20 serial blasts of July 2008 in Ahmedabad. He was nabbed from near Nepal border in August 2013 and was awarded capital punishment by a special NIA court in Hyedrabad in December last year. He was brought to Gujarat on March 31 this year for investigation of the case.

The crime branch had lodged 20 different cases in connection with Ahmedabad serial blast of July 2008 which had killed innocent people in Civil Hospital, L G Hospital, Sarkhej, Kalol and other areas. of the 97 accused, 79 were already arrested, chargesheeted and jailed. With the arrest of Pottanikkal the number of arrested accused has reached 80. Still 17 are absconding.

DeshGujarat