Ayodhya terror steps traced to Poonch

Apart from the purchase in May of a mobile phone connection in Jammu, the Lashkar-e-Toiba appears to have hatched its plan for the Ayodhya a...

Apart from the purchase in May of a mobile phone connection in Jammu, the Lashkar-e-Toiba appears to have hatched its plan for the Ayodhya attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district.

Although police are tight-lipped over the matter, well-placed sources said the plot was masterminded by Abu Kari, alias Mohammad Kari, Lashkar area commander for Mendhar tehsil. On his instructions, Mohammad Naseem—a Rehbar-e-Taleem teacher and a resident of Thera village—travelled in May with Public Health Engineering Department employee Abdul Aziz, from Mendhar to Jammu to purchase an Airtel pre-paid connection.

The phone with the new connection was then given to Kari who, in turn, passed it on to his lieutenants Umar and Dawood, both residents of Mendhar’s Sakhi Maidan. In the meantime, they had persuaded a local driver and owner of a Tata Sumo, Asif Iqbal, alias Farooq, to work for them.

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Farooq has revealed under questioning that Dawood and Umar gave him Rs 1 lakh to take his Sumo to Kashmir where he was to meet Adnan, another LeT area commander. They also gave him the mobile phone Kari had handed them, so that he could stay in touch with them while he was in the Valley.

Sources say that Farooq remained in the Valley from May 21 to 23 and stayed at a house in Pampore before leaving for Jammu on the morning of May 24. It was over this period that his vehicle was outfitted to conceal weapons.

Farooq says he is unable to identify the house.

On May 24, Farooq returned with arms to Mendhar. On June 4, he left again for Jammu and then drove the weapon-laden Sumo to Panipat in Haryana. Having delivered the arms to the terrorists, he returned to Mendhar and took up work as a mixer operator in Rajouri.

The police are unhappy with Farooq’s account, saying that there are many loose ends in his story.

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They are on the look-out for people they believe must have travelled with Farooq to Panipat. While Farooq denies having had any companions, the police feel it is improbable that he drove so long a distance alone, especially in a vehicle carrying weapons.

Police are also unwilling to believe that Farooq threw the mobile phone the Lashkar operatives gave him into a river after he returned from Panipat. Data retrieved from the service provider shows the phone received calls until July 8—three days after the attack at Ayodhya.

Along with Farooq, Naseem and Abdul Aziz, the two LeT members who bought the SIM card, have been taken into custody. Also arrested is one Shakeel, in whose name the Sumo was registered. Shakeel, however, claims that he had sold Farooq the vehicle in May and has no involvement in the plot whatsoever.

For Kolkata, the IMD has forecast mostly cloudy skies with light to moderate rain or thundershowers on most days through Panchami.

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