LeT Ultras Admit to Role in Bangalore Blasts

Shillong/Bangalore, Dec 3 (DHNS): The two Lashkar-e-Toiba militants, handed over to India by Bangladesh, have confessed to their involvement in the serial blasts that rocked Bangalore last year, a top police official said on Thursday. 

Thadiayantavide Nazir (25) alias Nazir Paryan told interrogators of the Meghalaya Police and the BSF that he had planted the bombs in Bangalore along with one Rahim, said an official who is a part of the interrogation team.

Nazir, a bomb expert, and another LeT operative Shamas Nazir alias Safiq (33), both from Kerala, were handed over to the BSF by Bangladesh’s BDR on Wednesday. The duo, however, have so far not admitted to their involvement in the attack at IISc in 2005.

Nazir and Shamas had been in Bangladesh for about a year and they are understood to have revealed vital information regarding their “bases” in South India.

Bangalore city police commissioner Shankar Bidari confirmed on Thursday that the two terrorists were the “most wanted” in the Bangalore serial blasts.

Nazir and Shamas are A1 and A19 (accused one and 19), respectively, in the blasts that rocked the city on 25 July, 2008.

“We are convinced that Nazir played an active role and was involved right from planning to execution in the serial blasts. However, we are not sure of his involvement in the IISc attack,” he said.

“A four-member team has left for Meghalaya and we have all the proof to prove in the court that the two terrorists are wanted in the Bangalore blasts case. The team is also carrying copies of the charge sheet and with in few days, the two terrorist will be brought to the city. Based on their information, if need be, we will file a supplementary charge sheet,” the commissioner said.

The duo told the Meghalaya police and the BSF personnel that they had taken a house on rent on Hosur Road one-and-half months before the Bangalore blasts.

Meetings

Earlier, they held a series of meetings in Ernakulum, Aluva, Malappuram and Kannur in Kerala planning the blasts. They came to Bangalore by a Scorpio SUV on July 22 and stayed in the house.

They planted 11 bombs around 4 am and fixed the time of the blasts between 2 pm and 3 pm and went back to Kerala by the same vehicle, sources in Meghalaya told Deccan Herald.

The two terrorists also revealed the existence of their group’s bases in UAE, Qatar and Bahrain, the official claimed.

According to sources, there was an intelligence report that a Lashkar commander had been in touch with Nazir and the duo were on a recruitment spree under instructions from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The two LeT militants were produced before the court of additional district magistrate here amid heavy security. They have been remanded in judicial custody for one day.