Mumbai: The bomb blast in suburban Ghatkopar on December 2 was planned in the Gulf by Lashkar-e- Toiba operative Abu Hamza and funded by Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), a prime accused in this crime has confessed to police.

Twenty-seven year old Toufiq alias Chittu alias Rafique alias Yasar, a resident of Tamil Nadu, has revealed that the conspiracy was hatched in the Gulf by Abu Hamza, who had roped him and others in the alleged crime.

He is the third accused to give a confession in this case. Two others are Imran Rehman Khan and Mohammed Altaf. Toufique's confession was recorded by the chief metropolitan magistrate who forwarded his statement in a sealed cover to a Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) court recently.

The designated Judge A P Bhangale has taken Toufiq's confession on record.

The confession reveals that Toufiq went to Riyadh and took up a job of a cashier in a hotel where he came in contact with Ibrahim, a resident of Tamil Nadu. Ibrahim in turn introduced him to Abu Hamza and his group.

Abu Hamza brainwashed his friends and Toufiq about the sufferings of Muslims in Gujarat riots. He told them that Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) was trying to build a temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

He appealed to them to declare jihad against the majority community and India. All of them agreed and joined his group which was named as Muslim Defence Force, Toufiq said.

PTI