Soumya Menon/ENS

Bangalore, Feb 19: Eight fidayeens are on the loose and they may strike anytime, anywhere in the country.

This startling revelation by Mohammed Ghouse alias Riyazuddin Nasir, one of the terror suspects, who was arrested in Honnali, has kept police on their toes.

Ghouse, during one of the interrogation sessions, told Corps of Detectives (CoD) that eight fidayeens trained in Pakistan had sneaked into the country, spread out and were set to strike.

Ghouse told interrogators that they were in Uttar Pradesh, Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Kerala, North Karnataka and Hyderabad.

“He said he had met them at a meeting two months ago and they were ready to strike. They were also LeT militants, trained in Pakistan,” said the police official.

Ghouse has also revealed that he had conducted a recce on the office of the Bangalore Commissioner of Police and had obtained passes to enter the premises on Infantry Road in December.

He also said he had surveyed a five-star hotel in the city and wanted to strike there as a a large number of foreigners make up its guests.

“His actual target was Raj Bhavan and the chief minister’s house. He wanted to send a strong message that if he could strike a hotel, he could also bomb an important location like Vidhana Soudha and Raj Bhavan,” said a police official.

He had also planned to use petrol tankers to set off explosions in Bangalore and Hyderabad, said a police official. During interrogation, Ghouse had also revealed that he had recruited several students from reputed engineering and medical colleges across North Karnataka.

He was in constant touch with terrorist Abu Hamza, the alleged IISc attacker. His last email to Hamza states: “All is clear here. You can come down. But do inform me when you come,” said an official. Ghouse had five email ids and had been in constant touch with Hamza and Shahid Bilal.