As the probe into the Delhi car blast conspiracy intensifies, a new name has emerged — Mirza Shadab Baig, a key accused in the 2008 serial bombings and a former engineering student of Al-Falah University.
As the probe into the Delhi car blast conspiracy intensifies, a new name has emerged — Mirza Shadab Baig, a key accused in the 2008 serial bombings and a former engineering student of Al-Falah University. Baig, originally from Village Baridi in Lalganj, once lived with his family in Raja Ka Qila Mohalla, Azamgarh. He failed Class 9, shifted to B.Sc. subjects, eventually completing his 12th from Children School near Azamgarh Railway Station, and later secured a B.Tech in Electronics & Instrumentation from Al-Falah Engineering College, Faridabad, in 2007.
According to a TOI report, Baig was not just another recruit — he allegedly headed the Azamgarh module of the Indian Mujahideen (IM) and is believed to have slipped across the border into Pakistan, where founding IM operatives, the Bhatkal brothers, are also suspected to be hiding. Before dissappearing, Baig is said to have spent a short stint in Saudi Arabia as well.
Police dossiers from 2008 portray Baig as a master recruiter, known for inducting several young men into the terror fold, including his cousin Saquib Nisar, who later became part of the module. Baig also allegedly plotted the merger of two critical IM units — the Azamgarh module led by Atif Ameen and a Delhi-based student group.
Al Falah University’s Links Emerge To Jaipur, Ahmedabad Bombings
Investigators say Baig played a key role in recce missions ahead of the Delhi and Ahmedabad bombings and had a direct hand in planting explosives at India Gate. He lived for a period in Zakir Nagar, Delhi, where he hosted fellow operatives like Mohammed Shakeel and allegedly indoctrinated new recruits through jihadi literature. During raids, police recovered his identity card from his rented accommodation in the locality.
After the Batla House encounter, four IM operatives linked to the 2008 blasts were arrested, but Baig and another associate, Mohammed Khalid, continue to remain on the wanted list.
Baig’s extensive network served as a crucial bridge between the Delhi and Ahmedabad serial blasts, enabling coordination across states. In 2008, he reportedly travelled to Udupi, Karnataka, to procure explosives for the Jaipur blasts, supplying a substantial cache of detonators and bearings to IM leaders Riyaz and Yasin Bhatkal. His name also surfaced among the key conspirators in the German Bakery blast case in Pune.
The 2008 Ahmedabad blasts claimed 56 lives and injured 246, while the Delhi explosions on September 13, 2008, killed 20 and wounded more than 100.