This is what a defiant and talkative Abu Jundal, the Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative and key 26/11 handler who is in the custody of the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad told his interrogators. Vicky Nanjappa reports.

J undal's questioning by both the Delhi and Maharashtra police revolved largely round his role in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. Now, questioning by the Gujarat police, who have had him in their custody, more details about his activities in India have come to light.

Jundal, who hails from Beed in Maharashtra, has always held the 2002 Gujarat riots as one of the main reasons for him to take to terrorism, a fact recorded by an Intelligence Bureau dossier.

The questioning by the Gujarat police has now revealed that Jundal had a great deal of focus on the modules in Gujarat and was constantly working on building up a very strong network there. He focused largely on modules in Ahmedabad, and even while he was in Pakistan, his primary focus remained on this state.

Jundal had said during his questioning that it was easy to recruit people from Gujarat. There are a large number of youth who feel strongly about the riots. For the LeT, the 2002 riots worked like a charm when it came to recruiting new cadres, Jundal told his interrogators.

Jundal was attempting a deadly cocktail of the Lashkar and the Indian Mujahideen in Gujarat. After the 2006 Karnawati Express train blast, the police realised that the Gujarat module of the IM was extremely strong.