Mangaluru: Seventeen years after a terror conspiracy was uncovered in coastal Karnataka, the long-stalled trial against Yasin Bhatkal — the Indian Mujahideen co-founder — has resumed. On Wednesday, Bhatkal was produced before the Mangaluru JMFC court via video conference from Delhi's Tihar Jail, where he is serving time for his involvement in other terror attacks.

The 2008 Ullal police case had named 13 individuals, including Bhatkal, for allegedly conspiring to carry out bombings and stockpiling explosives in the Mukkacheri and Chembugudde areas of Mangaluru. The Karnataka police had booked them under multiple sections of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

While seven of the accused were arrested and tried — with three sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017 — six remained untraced. Bhatkal had been on the run and was later arrested in a different case.

Police say that due to his incarceration in another state, he hadn’t been produced in the Ullal case until now. Coordination between Ullal police and Tihar authorities facilitated his video appearance on July 24. The court has set the next hearing for August 20.

Authorities hope that Bhatkal’s inclusion in the trial will help bring closure to one of the earliest known Indian Mujahideen plots in Karnataka. This marks a key step forward in ongoing anti-terror prosecutions involving pan-India networks. (eom)