’93 Chennai blast mastermind Imam Ali, 4 others shot dead in Bangalore

A joint team of the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu police today shot dead the mastermind of the 1993 bomb blast at the RSS’s Chennai office a...

A joint team of the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu police today shot dead the mastermind of the 1993 bomb blast at the RSS’s Chennai office and a former member of the fundamentalist Al-Umma group, Imam Ali, and four of his associates in Bangalore.

The police team cornered the 32-year-old fugitive, whose Kerala-based group is also accused of orchestrating the 1998 Coimbatore serial blasts, at his M S Ramaiah Layout hide-out at 2.30 a.m. today. He and his associates—including a woman—were shot dead after they reportedly started firing on the police with an AK-47 when asked to surrender, Bangalore City Police Commissioner H T Sangliana said at a press conference. The police are investigating their role in the 1998 Coimbatore serial blasts, which killed over 60 people.

A native of Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, Imam Ali reportedly trained in Kashmir and in Bangladesh under the Hizbul Mujahideen, the police said. Arrested for his role in the ’93 blast by the Tamil Nadu police in 1997, Ali escaped in Madurai in March this year in Madurai while he was being

transported back to prison after a court hearing. He floated a new group called Al-Mujahideen. Said to be an expert bomb-maker, Ali was spotted two months ago in Thiruvananthapuram, but he managed to slip through the police dragnet.

The other casualties in the 30-minute operation include Manga Basha alias Anwar (35) of Tirunelveli, Mohammed Ibrahim (25) of Madurai, Seniyappa alias Saifulla (30) and his wife Yasmeen. The police team seized an AK-47 rifle—said to be the same weapon Ali had snatched from the TN police while escaping—two country-made pistols, one revolver, live cartridges, hand grenades and other explosives. ‘‘They were planning to blast religious institutions to create unrest,’’ said Sangliana.

With today’s operation, the police also claim to have foiled an attempt to target the country’s top leadership. Ali’s potential targets included L K Advani, Murli Mahohar Joshi and VHP leader Ashok Singhal, Coimbatore DIG Ashutosh Shukla said.

‘‘Ali recently visited Allahabad to make an attempt on Joshi’s life,’’ Shukla added.

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Posing as timber merchants from Kerala, Ali and his associates moved into the Bangalore house three months ago and paid a monthly rent of Rs 3,500. Ali had also changed his appearance—he shaved off his beard and sported a chandan mark on his forehead.

Police sources said the raid was timely since they’d received information that Ali and his associates were planning to move out of the house in the next few days. Policemen disguised as milk and vegetable vendors had been staking out the place, and on Saturday evening, Sub-inspectors Subramanya and Shashikala posed as a couple and visited the house on the pretext of renting it. Yasmeen, the wife of Saifulla, allowed the policemen, who were accompanied by the landlord, to tour the house, and they were able to confirm the identity of the members from photographs in the rooms, Sangliani said.