The banned terror outfit which we know as ‘Indian Mujahideen’ today had initially started as a small group called “Usaba” in Bhatkal, the port town of Karnataka, and got its present name from media reports after its 2007 terror strike in Uttar Pradesh.
Meaning a group of congregation of men more than 11 but less than 40, Usaba sent out an e-mail claiming responsibility for the 2007 court blasts in Uttar Pradesh while still looking for a suitable name for the group.
The term ‘Indian Mujahideen’ mentioned in the e-mail was picked up instantly by the media which so named the outfit in its reports.
“The nomenclature of ‘Indian Mujahideen’ was liked by the operatives and was thus used in the subsequent e-mails along with a designed logo,” the NIA has said in its charge sheet filed against IM co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and three others.
The IM uses interesting codes for countries, probe agencies, weapons, etc. as was borne out from the e-mails in possession of the NIA.
Pakistan’s ISI was code named ‘Taagut’ or ‘Voda’, NIA was Neye, Al-Qaeda was termed ‘Waagu’ or ‘Micro’ while Taliban became ‘Tech’.
Even places got new names. India became ‘Innd’, Delhi ‘Shaam’, Mumbai ‘Gaww’, Pune ‘Metro’, while Bhatkal, the home town of IM men Riyaz, Iqbal and Yasin Bhatkal, was code named ‘Dehat’.
There was also an element of Bollywood to this naming and Iqbal Bhatkal was codenamed ‘Bebo’.
Even weapons were given interesting names: ‘pistol’ became ‘chaloo ticket’ and AK-47 ‘reservation’; with explosives becoming ‘Chrnnn’ and suicide bombers ‘deposits’.
