Tuesday, Dec 24, 2002
Tuesday, Dec 24, 2002 |
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Tamil Nadu
By S. Vijay Kumar
Though the creamy layer of the militant outfit was trying to regroup its activists, informers and intelligentsia to establish a formidable `Muslim Defence Force', the bottom line of the whole operation was to "eliminate staunch Hindu hardliners who were striking the Hindutva chord, to provoke the innocent people," highly placed sources told The Hindu today. While the MDF was intended to "train Muslim youth in the use of arms and explosives and in other expertise to organise attacks on enemies of Islam in case of necessity", the accused were also assigned by Abu Hamza alias Abdul Bari of the LeT in Saudi Arabia — wanted for masterminding an explosion in Andhra Pradesh — to form a cover organisation, `New Vision', for propagating the religion among the oppressed classes in the southern States. Trusted lieutenants of Abu Hamza were instructed to form an elite force to "identify hideouts and protect terrorists" visiting Tamil Nadu to recruit youth for "systematic indoctrination of the Jihad" at undisclosed destinations in the Gulf. It was under these directions that the core group mobilised 25 youngsters for a meeting at Courtallam during June this year, the sources said. Hamid Bakri, principal of the Ayesha Siddique Arabic College for Women at Kayalpattinam, is the president of the All-India Tauhid Jamath Federation and architect of the now-defunct Kayal Islamic Defence Force. Along with his associate, Zakkaria, he visited Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka for participating in Muslim conventions, on invitation. A special police team is now probing `hawala' transactions, through which the accused received funds from abroad. Zakkaria received Rs. 1.5 lakhs in November from Abu Hamza. The money was given "to bear all financial implications of the operations in south India". "That these hardliners have international links is no surprise as they have always maintained a network of like-minded groups. Even the militant, Imam Ali, was trained by the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in Kashmir and he enjoyed the support of activists of the banned Students' Islamic Movement of India for funds and hideouts all through his run, until he was shot dead in Bangalore," a top police official said. The extremists in Tamil Nadu had a distinct profile. "They are not anti-Hindu and have always been targeting some controversial leaders. But for the Coimbatore serial blasts, there has not been a single incident in which they hit the innocent public, he said, adding the militants were now searching for a new leader, after Imam Ali. With the arrest of suspected extremists in Tirunelveli, Sivaganga and Tuticorin districts and the recovery of explosives at Mallipattinam near Thanjavur, police officers and intelligence agencies have been put on high alert. "We have given instructions to SPs and DIGs to remain vigilant," said the IGP (South Zone), T. Rajendran.
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