Suspected Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) operative Umer Siddhiqui, who was recently nabbed here, had planned to attack a Delhi-Bodh Gaya special train and the Shia mosque at Lucknow, police said today.
Police added that along with the recent Patna blasts accused Haider Ali alias 'Abdulla', Siddhiqui (35), had also trained youth to make bombs and carry out suicide attacks on political leaders.
"During interrogation, Siddhiqui confessed that they had planned to execute blasts on the Delhi-Bodh Gaya VIP special train for pilgrims, targeting people from foreign countries like Japan and Sri Lanka," Additional Director General (ADG) of Police (Intelligence), Mukesh Gupta, told reporters here.
Police also recovered a letter written by former SIMI head Safdar Nagori, who is presently being held at Sabarmati Jail, from Siddhiqui's possession.
Siddhiqui and his associates had also reconnoitred Sirpur, a Buddhist historical site located around 90km from the Chattisgarh state capital, Gupta added.
Siddhiqui, said to be the mastermind of the July 7 blasts at the Bodh Gaya temple complex in Bihar, is one of the 13 alleged SIMI operatives who have been arrested over the last two weeks in Raipur.
Police also claim to have recovered several video clippings and documents from the arrested SIMI operatives which are "anti-Indian" in nature.
"We have seized clippings of hate speeches and attack strategies in the form of CDs. These clippings resemble those used by extremist outfits working in Pakistan," he said.
During his interrogation, Siddhiqui admitted that the Kashmir issue, atrocities against Muslims, co-operation from Laskhar-e-Taiba, Jaish-E-Mohammed and Indian Mujahideen were issues which SIMI would discuss during their weekly meetings in Raipur.
He said that SIMI activists were inspired by terrorist organisations based in Afghanistan.
According to ADG Gupta, SIMI members had planned to leave the country after building a terror network here.
"A Pakistani visa application form was also seized from Siddhiqui," the ADG said.
On November 15, Sidhhiqui, who ran a coaching centre at Raja Talab, and autorickshaw driver Abdul Wahid Khan (54), were arrested for their alleged links to SIMI.
Later 11 others — Sheikh Habibullah (34), Roshan Sheikh (35), Hayat Khan (45), Abdul Aziz (45), Sheikh Azizullah (38), Moinuddin Qureshi (37), Mohd Dawood (38), Mohd Aslam (28), Sheikh Subhan (48), Mohd Saeed Abdul Jaleel (50) and Azharuddin Samshuddin Qureshi (19) — were picked up by police.
According to police, four absconding Patna serial blasts accused — Haider Ali alias Abdulla, Noman Alam alias Feroze, Taufiq alias Asif and Mujibullah — had after the incident reached Raipur from Rourkela.
Siddhiqui and his associates had put them up at a rented house in the Sanjay Nagar area. But by the time police could carry out a raid, the four accused had already fled.
Siddhiqui, who planned the Bodh Gaya temple complex blasts, had also been plotting an attack on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi during one of his rallies at Kanpur, Delhi or Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh, police claimed.
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