The Hindu : Front Page : ‘HuJI activist smuggled RDX’

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Sunday, Sep 02, 2007
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‘HuJI activist smuggled RDX’

Marri Ramu

Narco analysis test on Lashkar detainee reveals shocking details

HYDERABAD: Shahed, the Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami activist smuggled eight to 10 kg of RDX from Bangladesh into Hyderabad six months ago, the police investigating the recent twin blasts in the city said here on Saturday.

A massive search has been launched in the city and vigilance stepped up at all important public and private places. Investigators hope the fresh trail would lead them to the culprits behind the blasts and the explosion at the Mecca Masjid three months ago.

“We’re searching for the RDX and cannot rule out the possibility that Shahed’s 15 agents who smuggled it in were behind the twin explosions and the masjid blast,” Joint Commissioner Harish Kumar Guptha, heading the Special Investigation Cell, told The Hindu.

Police learnt about the RDX through the narco analysis test on Samir, an alleged agent of the Lashkar-e-Taiba caught by the BSF in April last while trying to sneak into West Bengal from Bangladesh.

Samir’s revelation came as a jolt to the police, who formed more than 100 special security teams and have had them working round-the-clock to prevent further terror strikes.

Samir, who reportedly confessed to his role in the Mumbai train blasts, was brought here in connection with the masjid explosion.

Shoaib Jagirdar from Jalna of Maharashtra, accused of trying to get a passport for Samir with a fake name from the Hyderabad Passport Office, and his close relative Syeed Imran and another Hyderabadi, Rafiuddin, were arrested later.

Fresh case registered

Police have registered a fresh case of criminal conspiracy to trigger explosions against Samir, Jagirdar, who got bail two days ago, Imran, Rafiuddin and 11 others, including three Bangladeshis.

“We took some more suspects into custody and hope to get crucial clues in a day or two,” Mr. Guptha said.

Police have arrested a Bangladeshi woman Rafsanjani, 23, on a charge of travelling without valid documents.

The woman claimed that she came to India three years ago and was pursuing a B.A. course in Vellore. She maintained that she was in the city to meet her relative. She has been remanded to judicial custody.

Death toll up

The toll in the twin blasts has risen to 42 with the death of 12-year-old Yogesh Vallabh in Rajkot of Gujarat.

Vallabh sustained serious injuries in the blast at Lumbini Park and was put on ventilator in a private hospital here before being flown to Rajkot on Friday night. He died on Saturday.

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