Southward Bound ; Pakistan-Backed Terrorist Groups Are Aiming at Soft Targets in the South Which Is Home to Several Defence Set-Ups and Infotech Giants

India Today › November 14, 2006

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Summary

This is one call on his sleek mobile phone that Karnataka state Director-General of Police (DGP) B.S. Sial will not forget easily. Of late, Sial and his men have been working under intense pressure: on one side the mounting Naxal activities in various parts of the state; on the other, unexpected communal riots in unlikeliest of places like Mangalore. So when he got the midnight call, apprehension was writ large on Sial's face. But soon, it turned into relief as the caller, a senior state police official informed him about a 'big catch'.

Police are not revealing exactly when Mohammed Ali Hussain and Mohammed Fahad, both 24, were arrested. But it is believed that the arrest took place in the first week of October. The two Pakistani terrorists, both members of the dreaded Al Badr group were nabbed in Mysore, 130 km south of Bangalore. They had sneaked into the city six months ago. "They were helped by locals; some of them touts, in obtaining fake documents to show them as bona fide citizens of Mysore. And they had a devastating terror plan including major strikes in the coming months," says Sial. The two were picked up following a tip-off about their suspicious behaviour by the owner of the house they had rented. The police had been on their trail ever since their application to secure an Indian passport, based on fake documents, was rejected by the passport office in Bangalore. Both were later formally charged with various crimes including violations of the Arms Act, Foreigners' Act, attempt to kill policemen and waging war against India.

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Extract

Southward Bound ; Pakistan-Backed Terrorist Groups Are Aiming at Soft Targets in the South Which Is Home to Several Defence Set-Ups and Infotech Giants

The arrests could not have been better timed. They came just two days before Asia's biggest Information technology exhibition was to begin in Bangalore. The two were planning to damage key tech targets and the state government secretariat buildings, the...

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