Compact discs and DVDs containing speeches of Osama bin Laden, Ayman Al Zawahiri and other Al-Qaida leaders calling for jihad were seized during Crime Branch raids in Vadodara on Tuesday night.

Although police officers refused to confirm it, this appears to be the first time that CDs containing Laden’s speech have been found in Gujarat.

The video discs — 19 altogether — were seized on the basis of statement given by Usaman Agarbattiwala, said Abhay Chudasma, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch.

The officers also refused to divulge the full contents of the Laden CDs or how old they were.

Two pistols, a pipe bomb, balloons, a laptop and computer hard drives were also seized. They have been sent to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory for further investigation. The hard drives were seized from Internet cafes operational near Agarbattiwala’s house.

Agarbattiwala, a resident of Vadodara, is one of the 10 arrested SIMI members allegedly involved in the Ahmedabad blasts. “Agarbattiwala said he was given a bag by Qyamuddin, which he kept at his uncle’s warehouse in Vadodara. We recovered the pistols and the CDs from that bag,” said Chudasma.

One of the two pistols recovered is an air pistol used for shooting practice. Chudasma said: “The balloons and air pistols were used for shooting practice in the training camp set up in Halol this January. The pipe bomb has been dismantled and its material sent for forensic examination.”