Abu Jundal, a name that Amir Ajmal Kasab -- the lone terrorist caught alive during the November 26 terror attacks in Mumbai -- dropped during the course of his interrogation, is a mystery man.
Meet Abu Jundal, the Indian link in 26/11
While it is confirmed that there was a man by this name who imparted accent training to the 26/11 terrorists, police are finding it extremely difficult to identify him.
An Intelligence Bureau report suggests that this man was based in Hyderabad before fleeing to Pakistan where he became a close associate of top Lashkar-e-Tayiba leadership. However, files of the Hyderabad police do not find a mention of the name Abu Jundal.
A police official told rediff.com that following Kasab's confession they checked records and found that there are around 33 persons in the terror network, who are missing from Hyderabad. There is no person by the name Jundal in their record. However, they add that just because the name is missing does not mean that such a person does not exist. Jundal may be operating under a different name.
'Treating Kasab's confession as Bible won't help'
Intelligence Bureau officials say that a terrorist has at least 10 different aliases. When they interact with operatives who have to undertake missions, they never ever give out the right name. Kasab too would not have been told the right name when he was taught how to speak Urdu the Indian way by Jundal, IB says.
Apart from changing names, there are instances where terror operatives have changed their look too. Sabahuddin, one of the accused in the 26/11 case, too had confessed that he was asked to master the art of disguise so that his identity would never be known to the police.
In fact, Sabahuddin is not his real name. He is known as Irfan as per his original records, but using an alias he managed to keep his identity a secret. Men who are higher up in the hierarchy of terror groups deploy such tactics.
Abu Hamza, one of the handlers in the Mumbai attack, was originally named Abu Bari. He went on executing attacks, including the attack on the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, under the name Abu Hamza. It was much later -- with the help of IB inputs and interrogation of various suspects -- that they come to the conclusion that Hamza was Abu Bari.
'Why is police not probing Indian link in 26/11?'
While the Hyderabad police search high and low for records pertaining to this man, the task may not be easy. He is definitely one of the 31 absconding men in the police list, but it will take a while before they actually narrow it down to the exact man.
The IB also observed that the name Abu was an extremely common one used by terrorists. Abu Jundal, Abu Sufiyan, Abu Hamza -- just to name a few. The first name for several operatives is intentionally kept common so that it would confuse investigating officers. Terror groups too are sure that the lie will be exposed one day, but for them it is important that various angles crop up during an investigation.
The possibilities
The first name that came to the mind of the Hyderabad Police while trying to track Jundal was Shahid Bilal, the Harkat-ul-Jihadi commander. However, this theory was quickly dismissed as there is ample evidence that he was killed in an encounter in Pakistan.
The next name that cropped up was that of Abu Hamza, the key handler in the 26/11 terror attack. The police will dig deeper into the antecedents of this terrorist, who was first identified as Abu Bari and then as Abu Hamza.
The next name that comes to mind is that of Abu Aziz, who went missing from Hyderabad and later settled in Saudi Arabia. The other names, which the police are also checking Abu Rehman, Baba, Sajid and Nazeer -- all original residents of Hyderabad who are now in Pakistan.
The IB says it will take a coordinated effort by all police agencies in the country to track down who exactly Abu Jundal is. However, for now one can say that Jundal is not the real name of the accent trainer and handler of the Lashkar.