Ibrahim had planned to bomb Tirumala temple

Ibrahim had planned to bomb Tirumala temple
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

HYDERABAD, JULY 15: The State police stumbled upon documentary evidence to the effect that Syed Ibrahim, one of the key suspects in the series of bomb blasts in south India, and his associates had planned to blow up the famous abode of the Lord of Venkateswara at Tirumala.

The plan was contained in a sheaf of papers seized from Ibrahim's house in Bangalore. The house was raided by the Karnataka police after Ibrahim was injured in an explosion on Sunday night.

A special team from the AP police, which is camping in Bangalore, scanned the documents which contained the list of places of worship where the blasts had already occurred and those which still remained the targets. One of the targets was Tirumala, which is visited by thousands of devotees from all over the country and even abroad everyday.

Highly-placed sources said that as per the plan, the bombs were supposed to be planted in the `general queue' at Tirumala (a majority of the devotees go through this queue), preferably on week-ends when the rush would be heavy.

In the event of failure to do so, Ibrahim and his associates also thought of an alternative -- triggering off the bombs in some of the cottages on the hills. There are several cottages on the hills to accommodate the thousands of devotees who pour in regularly.

However, State Director-General of Police (DGP) H J Dora preferred to deny that Ibrahim had such a plan.

Ibrahim is said to be a member of Deendar Anjuman, which is being held responsible for the series of blasts on places of worship. While Ibrahim suffered serious injuries, two of his associates -- Zakir and Siddique -- were killed when an explosion took place in the van in which they were travelling in Bangalore on Sunday night.

Latest information received from Vijayawada revealed that Ibrahim had, in fact, visited Machilipatnam a few weeks before the bomb-blast at a Gospel Healing meeting there in May. He reportedly held a meeting with his associates on the Manginipudi beach to chalk out the strategy.

As many as 20 persons were injured in the Machilipatnam explosion, the first in the series of attacks on religious congregations and places of worship in the state.

An ENS report from Vijayawada said that the city police continued raids on the houses of functionaries of Deendar Anjuman. At least 35 persons, either relatives of Ibrahim or members of the Anjuman, have been rounded up in the city in the past five days. On Thursday night, five more Anjuman workers were taken into custody for interrogation.

Meanwhile, in Hyderabad, the Deendar Anjuman denied that it was involved in the blasts in places of worships in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa and dissociated itself from Ibrahim, Zakir and Siddique.

Addressing a press conference here, Deendar Anjuman president Moulana Mohammed Osman Ali Mallanna contended that the Anjuman had nothing to do with the blasts. ``The three might have done it on their own and we strongly condemn any such activity that would hurt the religious sentiments of people,'' the octogenarian president of the sect said.

According to him, Deendar Anjuman believed in peace, brotherhood, tranquility, tolerance and communal harmony among the followers of various religions. ``If any individual does such acts, only he is responsible. We obey the law of the land and the Constitution,'' he asserted.

Osman Ali Mallanna also condemned the activities carried out by various organisations having affiliations with the ISI. ``We are deeply pained over the manner in which the image of Deendar Anjuman is being tarnished by the police by linking it with the activities of ISI,'' he said.