Pak militants held for Mysore terror bid

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Friday, October 27, 2006 (Mysore):A major terrorist plot to attack Karnataka's Assembly, the Vidhan Soudha and the adjoining Vikas Soudha, has been foiled by the state police.

Two Pakistani terrorists were arrested late Thursday night in Vijaynagar near Mysore.

Acting on a tip off, the police apprehended the two terrorists on the highway at Vijaynagar, following a shootout. Two policemen were also injured in the incident.

The terrorists have been identified as Mohammad Fahad and Ali Hussain. One of them has been taken to the Vijaynagar police station for questioning.

The Institute of Languages was also on the hit list. Several weapons as well a CD with measures on how to make a bomb were found with the two men.

The two have been sent to 10 days police custody.

Weapons recovered

Soon after the incident, DGP Karnataka BS Sial addressed a press conference, where he said that a Pakistani passport was found at the house of the terrorists.

One AK-47 rifle, a pistol, a satellite phone, a digital watch were found on them. A map of the Vidhan Soudha and chemicals were also recovered from their possession.

Preliminary interrogation revealed that they belong to Al Badr, a Pakistani terrorist outfit. A letterhead of the outfit was also found on them.

Brush with terror

Meanwhile, the Karnataka DGP said hunt is on for other terrorists, who may be connected to the two arrested men.

The terrorists had been in Mysore for the past four months. While one came to the city eight months ago, the other terrorist had come three months back.

They had bought a store in Mysore as well and used it as a front for their operations.

The men had surveyed the Vikas Soudha building, an extension of the Vidhan Soudha in Bangalore. The police said the terrorists had big targets in mind and the Vikas Soudha building was on the hit list.

Karnataka's first major brush with terror was on December 28 last year, when a lone terrorist drove into the sprawling campus of Bangalore's Indian Institute of Science.

He then fired indiscriminately, killing one professor from New Delhi and injuring three others. In that incident as well, the terrorist had used an AK-47 rifle.



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