AHMEDABAD, Oct 13: In a sensational disclosure, the Gujarat Police last night unearthed a plot hatched by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to assassinate Union Home Minister L K Advani and Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and arrested an ISI agent who was, however, killed while trying to escape police dragnet after interrogation.Gujarat Minister of State for Home and Border Security Haren Pandya told newsmen here this afternoon that, following a tip-off, Abu Qasam alias Ajmal, the ISI agent, was arrested yesterday by the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of police from near the Visat petrol pump in the Sabarmati area of Ahmedabad. He was brought to the ATS headquarters for interrogation where he disclosed the plot.After the interrogation, while he was being taken to the inspector-general's office, he snatched a sten-gun from a commando but another commando shot him dead, Pandya said.The minister pointed out that the ISI agent had crossed into India from the Jesalmer border with the help ofPakistani rangers with the primary task of plotting elimination of Advani and Patel. Abu Qasam had also enrolled an accomplice, Bablu alias Usman, with whom he used to contact in Mumbai on a mobile telephone number 09820458403.Usman was the key-man in the plot as he possessed the stocks of research and development explosives (RDX), arms and ammunitions. However, no such thing was seized by the police from Abu Qasam, Pandya said.Abu Qasam also informed the police that he was a key-man in the team of Lashkar-e-Toiba's Azam Cheema who was also ISI's commander-in-charge of organising terrorist activities and had been sent to India three months ago to conduct similar tasks.Around 11.30 pm yesterday, after getting the information about Bablu's mobile phone, the ATS commandoes were taking Abu Qasam to the inspector-general's office to facilitate his talks with Bablu on a Subscribers' Trunk Dialing system.On his way to this phone, Abu suddenly pulled commando P S Raval's carbine and tried to open fire.However, another commando Dinesh Jambu, immediately fired shots at him. The ISI agent was seriously wounded and was pronounced dead on being brought to the civil hospital, Ahmedabad, at around midnight, Pandya added.Pandya pointed out that a diary had been seized from Abu Qasam and was being studied for its contents. The ISI agent had also been trained in Afghanistan.After arriving in India, he landed in Gandhinagar and, when arrested, he claimed that he was working as a marble worker in a factory at Gandhinagar. In fact, he was closely watching the activities and movements of ministers and VIPs in the state capital for two-and-a-half months, the minister said.Abu Qasam was staying in Gandhinagar itself for the last few weeks and had contacts in Jodhpur also, Pandya added.
