Riyaz Ismail Shahbandri is one of the Indian Mujahideen's three top commanders and is currently based in Karachi, Pakistan along with his brother Iqbal Bhatkal.
While the two Bhatkal brothers were living in Khondwa, Pune they presided over terrorist networks that later carried out multiple bombings across the country.
Riyaz is currently based in Karachi, Pakistan along with his brother Iqbal where they fled to in the aftermath of the Batla House encounter in 2008.
Yasin was later caught and sentenced to death in India and the brothers are now believed to operate their own faction of the group, dubbed the "Karachi project", with help of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and the Lashkar-e-Taiba.
[6] An Investigation by NIA reveals that Riyaz was frustrated with Pakistan's ISI officials due to their bad treatment.