NEW DELHI: Intelligence Bureau agents had detected the three Lashkar-e-Taiba members killed in Nagpur on Thursday at least three weeks before their abortive attempt to attack the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's headquarters — an operation that could have resulted in large-scale communal violence.

Sources said an Intelligence Bureau communications operation enabled the agency to monitor the squad's movement, as well as their likely target. However, it was not able to determine the precise time of the attack or gather enough details to make pre-emptive arrests.

As a result, Intelligence Bureau director E.S.L. Narasimhan flew to Nagpur in mid-May to ensure enhanced security for the RSS leadership.

Maharashtra Police authorities have confirmed that the three killed were Pakistan nationals, as exclusively reported by The Hindu on Thursday. Based on documents recovered in the course of the Intelligence Bureau operation, they were identified as Afzal Ahmad Butt and Abdul Kalam Azad, both residents of Lahore, and Mohammad Usman Habib from the town of Gujranwala.

Authorities believe the three went to Nagpur through Patna but little information on the networks that arranged for their transport and stay in both cities is available.

Progress made

The sources said there had been progress in determining how the terrorists obtained the white Ambassador car in which they attempted to penetrate the security ring around the RSS headquarters but declined to share details at this stage

Maharashtra-based Lashkar cells have long sought to eliminate politicians of the Hindu right wing.

As early as November 2000, police arrested three Pakistanis who had set up a covert cell in Mumbra, near Mumbai.

Mohammad Yasin Khalil, Afzal Shah and Mohammad Tayyab were sent from Jammu and Kashmir to make a `fidayeen' attack on Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray.

Lashkar fidayeen volunteers are taught that Islam in India is under state-supported assault. In one typical propaganda article, Lashkar ideologue Hafiz Abdul Salam bin-Muhammad, asserted that "in India, the Muslims are being slaughtered just because they profess Islam.

Their property is plundered, their women are disgraced and molested and their mosques have been razed to the ground."

"Campaign of genocide"

He argues that a campaign of genocide has been instituted against Muslims in India. He claims Mr. Thackeray has told Muslims to "leave the sub-continent, or they should convert to Hinduism or be ready to lose their lives."

"If you recite the azaan [call to prayer]," Mr. bin-Muhammad claims, "the Hindus and Sikhs come to violence." He says, "in India and Kashmir, the Hindu army is massacring the Muslims."

In the wake of the 2002 pogrom in Gujarat, Lashkar chief Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed, asked "the Muslims of India that they themselves rise up for their protection."

Jihad

Mr. Saeed said, "Only `jihad' is the defence of the oppressed Muslims. The riots have proved that the Hindus are fully armed but the Muslims are ill equipped to cope with such a situation."

However, the Lashkar's plans do not centre on avenging pogroms.

"If the disbelievers occupy a territory belonging to the Muslims," one article states, "it is incumbent on the Muslims to drive the disbelievers out of that place."

It lists the "whole of India, including Kashmir, Hyderabad, Assam, Nepal, Burma, Behar [Bihar] and Junagarh" as "lands that fell into the hands of the disbelievers just because we disregarded jihad."

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail