UP cops nab IM terrorist planning aerial strike

Excerpt:

Earlier, the government had announced a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh on Shehzad and another absconding co-accused Haris Khan alias Junaid. However, after Shehzad's latest movements were traced and his name appeared during intelligence exchange with international agencies, the security agencies increased the reward to Rs 5 lakh. Intelligence agencies had specifics about Shehzad's pilot training schedule which he completed weeks before the Delhi serial blasts.

Shehzad's pilot training qualification was discovered while intelligence agencies were scanning his internet accounts and found a series of photographs showing Shehzad in the cockpit, displaying flying skills, sending radio signals and posing with other trainee pilots from his social networking account and emails.

Police said his emails show that he was in regular touch with Mirza Shadab Baig, a top Indian Mujahideen cadre believed to have had a hand in every major IM strike in the country since 2005. Shehzad, in some of his coded mails, had explained to Baig about his plans of undergoing advanced pilot training abroad as well. He was also found to have been in touch with a host of flying institutes in California and Australia and communicating with them over the nature, tenure and fee for the advance flying courses for different categories of aeroplanes.