The Hindu : New Delhi News : LeT had plans to rope in naxalites?

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Sunday, Jun 21, 2009
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LeT had plans to rope in naxalites?

Devesh K. Pandey

NEW DELHI: Mohammad Omar Madani, the alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba head in Nepal, had carried out an extensive research into the organisational structure and functioning of the naxals to exploit them by developing links with their cadres.

A study of the diaries purportedly seized from Madani gives a clear insight into the approach of the terror outfit towards expanding its base in India. In one of the diaries, the alleged LeT operative had noted down all the significant information about naxal activities, its history and its organisational structure.

During interrogation, Madani allegedly disclosed that he had been asked by his Pakistani handlers to identify men in the naxal-hit areas of Jharkhand and recruit them for training. “It appears that the outfit had plans to rope in naxal cadres in order to take advantage of its large logistical base in several States and also use their firepower. But we are verifying the facts,” said a police officer.

Among the naxal-affected States are Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Madani purportedly claimed that he had not recruited anyone from Jharkhand so far but his brother had in the past recruited Kamal Ansari from there. Kamal was later arrested in connection with his alleged involvement in the 2006 train blasts in Mumbai.

The police are also investigating financial transactions made by Madani, including those carried out through a reputed money-transfer agency in Nepal. Five bank accounts purportedly operated by him are under scrutiny. The police claim to have found that Madani also used to get huge sums of cash through his Pakistani handler Usman. He had also been receiving big consignments of fake currency to fund terror activities in India.

While Madani is presently in the police custody, efforts are on to track down a man who had been sent to Jodhpur in Rajasthan by the outfit to create a base after completion of his training.

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