BENGALURU: The four terror suspects in police custody here had planned a gory welcome for Barack Obama, a police source said on Tuesday. The US President is visiting India as the chief guest at this year’s Republic Day ceremony in Delhi.
The arrested men, all natives of Bhatkal town on the Karnataka coast, had planned synchronised blasts in Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru on January 26, the source said.
Timed for 7.30 am, the blasts were meant to cause massive loss of life and property. One of the accused had been in constant touch with Indian Mujahideen handlers on social media, according to the source. The handlers, hailing from Saudi Arabia, had discussed how to spread jihad across India and had allegedly exchanged contact numbers of youth who wished to join the terror outfit.In December, Syed Ismail Afaque, a homeopathic doctor arrested in Bengaluru, had met a second rung IM handler in Sharjah and allegedly discussed plans to carry out the attacks on Republic Day.The four men have already confessed that they were receiving hawala money from the foreign countries to carry out terror attacks.
According to City Police Commissioner M N Reddi, the operatives were in constant touch with the terror suspects who are absconding in foreign countries. The absconders were funding these four suspects. Though these accused do not have direct involvement in any blast cases, they were into manufacturing and delivering of deadly explosives to carry out attacks.