Abdul Subhan Qureshi, known as India's 'Bin Laden' and the mastermind of serial blasts that ripped Gujarat in 2008, killing 56 people and injuring over 200, was finally nabbed by the Delhi Police on Monday.
The 2008 Ahmedabad bombings were a series of as many as 21 bomb blasts that had hit the city on 26 July 2008 within a span of 70 minutes.
In September 2008, police had arrested Abu Basher, who was the key accused in the Ahmedabad blasts case. Basher had allegedly stayed in a house in New Delhi with Abdul Subhan Qureshi alias ‘Tauqeer’, the alleged mastermind of the dastardly attack.
On the run since then, Qureshi is believed to be the top bomb-maker of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), a banned terror outfit. Suspected to be a founder member of Indian Mujahideen, Qureshi had been mentioned in the most-wanted list of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
NIA had also announced a reward of Rs 4 lakh on information leading to Qureshi's arrest a few years ago.
Also a suspect in the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings, he is believed to be the signer in the Indian Mujahideen terror email as 'al-Arabi'.
There was a pan-India search for Qureshi, also known as Kasim, for the last few years for his involvement in several terror-related cases being probed by Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra police forces.
A highly radicalised SIMI operative, Qureshi is believed to have joined ranks with Indian Mujahideen after coming in contact with the dreaded Bhatkal brothers.
Tauqeer, who hails from Maharashtra, began his studies at the Bharatiya Vidyapeeth in Navi Mumbai.
In 1995, he obtained a Diploma in Industrial Electronics, and got a part-time job at String Computers in Mazgaon. In 1996, he earned a specialised software maintenance training from the CMS Institute in Marol.
For some time, he worked as a salesperson for a company that marketed Wipro computer products in Mumbai's western suburbs and then joined Datamatics.
In a 26 March 2001 letter, he resigned with a letter stating “I wish to inform you, that I have decided to devote one complete year to pursue religious and spiritual matters.”
Tauqeer participated in a SIMI press conference on August 21 in 2001. He was seen sitting beside Safdar Nagori, the then General-Secretary of SIMI. This could be seen as his entry as a dreaded criminal.
Arrested SIMI leader Safdar Nagori, had told police that he knew Qureshi and they had attended a religious function in Delhi in 2000.
Nagori had also told them that Qureshi attended a two-day SIMI meeting in Karnataka's Hubli and another SIMI meet at a Kerala forest in October 2007.
In 2006, Qureshi is said to have severed contact with his wife and three children.
A Red Corner Notice had also been issued against Qureshi by Interpol, besides an arrest warrant by a court in Gujarat for his alleged involvement in Ahmedabad blasts case of 2008
