Patna blasts: 9/11 videos motivated jihadis to plan attack on Modi

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Sep 10, 2014:  The group of men who allegedly carried out attacks on then PM designate Narendra Modi at a election rally in Patna last year were motivated by showing the videos of 9/11 attack at a guest house in Barnawapara forest in Raipur, says the NIA chargesheet filed into the October 2013 blasts.

The videos were played by Haider Ali on his laptop, in an attempt to prepare young men to carry out an assassination bid on then Gujarat CM. Haider also informed his audience "the attack on WTC was carried out by the Al-Qaeda," the chargesheet states.

The ambitious assassination plan on Modi was however given up by the SIMI module but they went on to orchestrate attck on rally. Giving out the details of the planning starting 2011, the NIA in its charge sheet filed last month said , "For targeting Modi, a plan was made by Haider and Umer Siddiqui (both arrested). 

They also felt that the leaders of the BJP were responsible for the riots in Muzzafarnagar last year. For this purpose, initially one person was motivated to become a suicide bomber by Haider and Umer." This person is now a protected NIA witness. 

The charge sheet further states, "Haider then decided to conduct recee of the election rally to be held at Ambikapur in Chattisgarh on September 7, 2013. He again discussed the plan of attacking Modi with the person who was motivated by them but he refused. Thereafter, Haider asked Umer to prepare two persons including accused Azharuddin Qureshi for the task of attacking Modi. Haider also prepared a suicide jacket packed with explosives to be used for attacking Modi. However, the same was not found to be suitable and the idea was dropped."

When the plan to carryout attack on Modi was in full swing, Haider was deeply perturbed over the news regarding communal riots in UP’s Muzzafarnagar. Haider who was then visiting Mirzapur in UP then discussed the atrocities on Muslims during the Muzzafarnagar riots with his followers. It was suggested that BJP is behind it and it was  decided to avenge the atrocities on Muslims.

The NIA chargesheet says, "After Muzzafarnagar riots, Haider  visited Mirzapur and asked his followers to get ready for a situation, whenever riots like the one at Muzzafarnagar breaks out. Haider also asked his contact Fakhruddin to arrange gelatin rods which were promptly arranged by him through his contact. Haider allegedly also transferred a sim of Rs.25000 in the bank account of one Ahmad Hussain from Canara Bank for arranging 100 gelatin rods. "

According to NIA, Haider had befriended Ahmad while offering namazs at a local mosque in Mirzapur. Ahmad later introduced Haider to Fakruddin. In its chargesheet, the agency further alleged that Haider who was also behind last year Bodh Gaya shrine, "was aware cylinder bombs which were used in Bodh Gaya blasts di not have a big impact, so the accused decided to use elbow pipe for planting the same at the rally and to procure raw material visited Mirzapur."

A day before the attack on Modi’s rally at Patna, the NIA says Haider and his associates carried the bombs in bus. "They started from Ranchi late on the evening of October 26, 2013 by Aditya Vijay bus service and reached Patna in the early hours of October 27, 2013. All of them deboarded the bus near Patna junction railway  station. From there, the group divided itself into pairs... Since Imtiyaz Ansari and Tariq Alam were sporting beard so it was decided by the group that they will plant the bombs somewhere between Patna junction railway station and Jakkanpur police station, which was a crowded place.."

According to NIA, the money to finance the attack came from the stolen gold given to Haider by arrested SIMI ideologue Abu Faisal, who is alleged to have looted gold ornaments worth several crores in Madhya Pradesh. "..During the year 2010-11, Haider started giving stolen gold ornaments to Firoz Aslam, now arrested and chargesheeted, and this continued till the last quarter of the year 2012. The gold ornaments were stolen by Faisal and his associates from various places in Madhya Pradesh. These ornaments used to be melted by Firoz and the same used to be sold in the local market and the money exchanged in lieu of these ornaments were handed over to Haider," states the chargesheet.


Courtesy:Indiatoday