Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

What were Vikar and his associates up to?

HYDERABAD: What were the plans of Hyderabadi youth Vikar Ahmed and three of his acquaintances, including Amjad, all of whom were reportedly moving in Hyderabad with firearms?

After terror suspect Vikar Ahmed and Amjad fired at three policemen and sped away on a bike along with another associate at Santoshnagar on Wednesday, answer to this question became crucial. Though the police don’t have a ready answer, they believe the movement of Vikar Ahmed with three associates, all armed with pistols, clearly indicates that they are in city to execute a “major task”.

They are not sure what the task is, whether the targets are individuals or organisations and what the scale of terror strike would be. Going by the reported movements of Vikar Ahmed, believed to be well-connected with top cadre of different terrorist outfits operating from abroad, intelligence agencies suspect the terrorist module was plotting a major strike.

Police say they have reasons to believe that Vikar Ahmed and his associates pose big threat because of their reported association with HuJI, believed to be responsible for exploding bomb in Mecca Masjid in May of 2007 that killed nine namajis and led to police firing leaving five more dead. Terrorists have been changing their targets and mode of striking frequently. In the recent Mumbai terror attack, terrorists carrying modern weapons opened fire indiscriminately at general public and lobbed grenades damaging property. Members of Hyderabad-based terrorist modules were caught earlier with explosive materials and ‘jihadi’ literature. But rarely had police received information that all four members of the same gang were carrying pistols. This became a cause of concern for the law-enforcing agencies in the backdrop of Mumbai terror attacks prompting them to step up security at all vulnerable places.

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