IM's strike plan at Bodh Gaya foiled

NEW DELHI, Oct 11(agencies) : Delhi Police on Thursday claimed to have solved the Pune serial blasts in August and averted terror strikes in Delhi and Bihar’s Bodh Gaya during upcoming festival season with the arrest of three suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists.

Delhi Police Commissioner Niraj Kumar.

The Pune blasts were to avenge the murder of IM ope-rative Qateel Siddique in Yer- vada Jail on June eight and the initial plan was to target Mumbai or the prison but later this was changed due to logistical reasons, police said.

Asad Khan (33), who is a recruiter, motivator and ideologue of the IM, and Im-ran Khan (31) were arrested on September 26 from their hideout in Pul Prehladpur in south Delhi and Syed Firoze (38) was apprehended from Nizamuddin Railway station five days later, Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar told a press conference here.

Asad Khan is a computer expert and has done his diplo-ma. They were allegedly di- rected by top operatives of the outfit Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal.

Five kg of explosive materials, ten detonators and other articles were recovered from them.

They had plans to target Delhi during the festival season and a temple in Bodh Gaya. “With the arrests, we have managed to avert these incidents,” Kumar said.

“During the interrogation of Abu Jundal, we came to know about the plans to strike terror in the country,” he said.

Jundal, a key 26/11 handler, was arrested here in June after being deported from Saudi Arabia.

It came to light during his interrogation that one Fayaz Ahmed Qagzi, a resident of Beed in Maharashtra who is presently based in a West Asian country, was coordinating with Bhatkals. Qagzi was directing the three arrested also. “It was the Bhatkals who asked one Raju Bhai to arrange hideouts for the trio,” Kumar said.

Police have prepared sketches of Raju Bhai and two others who were allegedly wanted in Pune blasts and are yet to be arrested. “The Indian Mujahideen militants received their finances through hawala transactions. This module had received Rs three lakh from their mentors based abroad through hawala operators. “Later, on the instructions of Iqbal and Riyaz Bhatkal, they came to Delhi for causing blasts,” Kumar said.