Pune: Suspected Indian Mujahiddeen operative Qateel Mohammed Jaffer Siddiqui, named in the German Bakery blast here and the Bangalore terror attacks, was Friday found murdered inside his cell in Pune’s Yerawada Central Jail, police said.
Siddiqui was found strangled with a thin rope inside his cell in the high-security jail, a police official told IANS.
Preliminary investigations point to a gang war among members of rival mafia gangs in the prison which could have led to Siddiqui’s killing.
Siddiqui had been caught by Delhi Police in November 2011.
He was arrested for involvement in the Chinnaswamy Stadium blast in Bangalore besides an aborted bid to blow up the Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganesh Temple in Pune last year.
Following the incident, security has been beefed up in several jails including Mumbai’s Arthur Road Central Jail where Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab is lodged and Raigad’s Taloja Jail where extradited don Abu Salem is lodged after he was attacked by rival gangsters in a Mumbai jail last year.
The Maharashtra government has ordered a CID probe into the incident, a home ministry official said in Mumbai Friday.
Home Minister R.R. Patil also ordered the suspension of jail superintendent S.V. Khatavkar for alleged negligence which led to the killing of Siddiqui who was under judicial custody.
A team of the Mumbai Police’s Anti-Terrorist Squad has also been rushed to Pune to assist the local police who are investigating the case. (IANS)
