Date:12/02/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/02/12/stories/2008021259550500.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

All sinister plans of Nasir had failed

Marri Ramu

Hyderabad youths were to help him in attack on DGP office

Plan hatched to crash a four-wheeler packed with explosives into the office at Saifabad
Nasir planned to hijack a tanker carrying HP by threatening the driver at gunpoint

HYDERABAD: Two youngsters from city -- Billa of Saidabad and Wajid of Tadbund -- were to help Raziuddin Nasir, a Hyderabadi terror suspect arrested recently in Karnataka, in the planned suicide bomb attack on the DGP office here. Police sources told The Hindu that Nasir had disclosed this to his interrogators.

They had planned to crash a four-wheeler packed with explosives into the DGP office at Saifabad. HuJI terror cell commander Mohammed Abdul Shahid alias Bilal had informed Nasir that Billa would assist him in the attack .

Contact number

Nasir asked Billa to provide a room to store the explosives, which the latter could not do. Billa was also supposed to help procure other material to prepare the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Since he could not extend the required help, the youngster from Jeevanyaarjung Colony of Saidabad gave the contact number of one Shabeer stating that he “would look after everything”.

At the instance of his handlers, Nasir subsequently approached Wajid to steal a car to be used in the attack. But this too didn’t materialise. “Nasir is yet to be grilled thoroughly in this regard to ascertain further facts,” a police officer associated with the investigation said.

Explosives

Nasir told the police that he was to receive the explosives near Sharif Dargah in Pahadisharrieff and Zee ‘dhaba’ on Mumbai highway on the city outskirts. Zaheerabad bus stand was another designated place to receive the explosives.

Startling revelation

Another startling revelation reportedly made by Nasir was that he wanted to steal a tanker of hydrogen peroxide (HP) to prepare IEDs. Introducing himself as a chemistry student, he had approached a tanker driver Ashok, at Varoor, 15 km from Hubli, but in vain.

Later, Nasir planned to hijack a tanker carrying HP by threatening the driver at gunpoint. For this, he selected the Pune-Mumbai highway. “This plan too failed as his associate could not provide the revolver he had asked for,” the investigators said.