Bhatkal in Goa, shows NIA officials places he had surveyed

Escorted by NIA officials, key Indian Mujahideen terror suspect Yasin Bhatkal Monday showed investigators around the places and areas in Goa which he had surveyed as potential terror targets and those used as safe houses.

Top police sources told IANS Monday that the Bhatkal visit had been kept top secret and among the places which the NIA officials were taken to by Bhatkal were the German bakery in Anjuna and Chapora, both coastal areas in north Goa, popular for its presence of foreign tourists.

"Bhatkal landed on Sunday with NIA officials who are probing the German Bakery blasts in Pune. The NIA officials were taken to Anjuna, Chapora and other coastal areas in the north," a senior police official said requesting anonymity.

The official further said that only two police officials of superintendent of police and deputy superintendent of police rank were involved in escorting Bhatkal during the visit.

"He is being interrogated about which places he had chosen as potential places for terror strikes and other safe houses he had used during his recce in Goa as well as other states in India," the officer said.

Bhatkal, a key Indian Mujahideen terrorist is one of the most wanted criminals in India responsible for over 140 deaths in terror-strikes and was one of the architects of the 2010 German bakery blasts in Pune.

He was arrested recently on the India-Nepal border.