NEW DELHI: Mohammad Zubair, one of the key architects of the Varanasi terror bombings, was shot dead near the frontier town of Handwara, northwest of Srinagar, on Tuesday.

Acting on information provided by the Uttar Pradesh police, Army and Jammu and Kashmir police personnel raided the safe house used by Zubair early in the morning. Handwara Superintendent of Police Nitish Kumar told The Hindu that two Harkat ul-Jihad Islami (HuJI) operatives, who had been tasked with protecting Zubair, escaped into an adjoining forest.

A cleric from Bhagpat town in Uttar Pradesh, Zubair is thought to have had overall operational command of the Varanasi terror bombings, which claimed 20 lives. Investigators believe that he arranged for transport and shelter to three Bangladeshi HuJI operatives, who actually fabricated the bombs, and was also responsible for procuring the explosive material used in the March 7 attacks.

Refused instructions

Zubair had been hiding out in Handwara for the past several days, hoping to cross the Line of Control into Pakistan. Sources told The Hindu that HuJI's Dhaka-based leadership earlier instructed him to escape through the West Bengal border into Bangladesh. However, the cleric refused to do so, fearful that the networks assigned to secure his escape had been compromised by Indian intelligence.

Little is known so far about Zubair's specific role in HuJI's Uttar Pradesh operations other than that he was a close associate of Mohammad Waliullah, another cleric who was held in April for his alleged role in the bombings. Investigators say Zubair, like many top HuJI operatives, was trained in bomb-making and urban terrorism at a camp thought to be a six-hour drive from Karachi.

Bomb makers still at large

Investigators have so far been unable to establish the whereabouts of the three Bangladeshi nationals who actually fabricated the bombs, but believe that they returned to Dhaka within days of the bombings. Identified only as "Bashiruddin," "Mustafiz" and "Zakaria," they met Waliullah several years ago, when they studied theology together at the Dar ul-Uloom seminary at Deoband.

Waliullah, who briefly flirted with the Jaish-e-Mohammad after completing his religious studies, was arrested in 2001 on terrorism-related charges. In June 2004, "Bashiruddin" resumed contact with Waliullah. Waliullah was then taken to Bangladesh for a meeting with a mid-level HuJI commander Maulana Mohammad Assadullah. After the meeting, Waliullah was appointed HuJI commander for operations in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Waliullah and Zubair recruited at least five Uttar Pradesh men to HuJI. Syed Shoaib, Farhan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan Siddiq, Saad Ali and Mohammad Shahid were also held last month on charges of participating in the bombings. According to the Uttar Pradesh police, the five men were told to observe the work of the Bangladeshi bomb-makers, so they would be able to operate independently in future.

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