The Hindu : 'LeT militant got close to Modi a week before polls'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 14, 2003

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Other States - Gujarat

'LeT militant got close to Modi a week before polls'

By Our Special Correspondent

AHMEDABAD JAN. 13. A special task force of the crime branch police had been working for the last couple of months on information regarding the Lashkar-e-Taiba activist, Sadiq Jamal Mahetar, who was killed in an encounter here last night. Sadiq was allegedly looking for opportunities to kill top political leaders, police claimed, adding that the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, was to be targeted before Ramzan, a week before the Gujarat Assembly elections on December 12. Sadiq had come very close to Mr. Modi on November 24 when he was inaugurating his election office in Maninagar. It was the strict security cordon around Mr. Modi that saved him then.

In 1997 Sadiq came in contact with some underworld dons connected with the Dubai-based Dawood Ibrahim gang in Mumbai. In October 2001, he went to Dubai and through one Tariq Parveen came in contact with Salim Chiplun, a close aide of Dawood's brother, Anees Ibrahim, and Chhota Shakeel. Through Chiplun, who worked as an agent of the Pakistan's ISI and the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Sadiq came in contact with the LeT and joined the outfit.

Sadiq, who was affected by the recent riots in the State, decided to wage "jehad" after he was indoctrinated by a moulana while he was in Dubai. He was sent back to Gujarat with the mission to kill Mr. Modi, the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani and the VHP international secretary, Pravin Togadia, a couple of months ago. Since then he had been moving between Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar, police said.

On information that Sadiq was expected in a housing complex in Naroda last night to meet one of his accomplices, police kept a watch. Sadiq reached the spot around 1.55 A.M. and was identified by the informer.When police tried to apprehend him, Sadiq fired a round from his revolver. In the return fire, he was seriously wounded and was declared dead upon arrival at the Civil Hospital here. Besides an illegal revolver, six live cartridges have been recovered from his body.

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'LeT militant got close to Modi a week before polls'