Al-Qaeda sets eyes on City

Al-Qaeda sets eyes on City
DH News Service, Bangalore:
Is the IT City under al Qaeda radar? Evidence gathered so far by the City Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths, along with Intelligence Bureau (IB)...

Is the IT City under al Qaeda radar? Evidence gathered so far by the City Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths, along with Intelligence Bureau (IB), which is probing the involvement of Kafeel Ahmed and Dr Sabeel Ahmed in London terror plot, are pointing at Bangalore being one of the prime targets of the al Qaeda.
According to top police officials, prominent installations in the City such as the ISRO, HAL, Infosys campus and the IISc, are under al Qaeda’s radar. “An attack on the IISc might be its (al Qaeda) first step into Bangalore,” the sources said.
Over and above, the investigators now have strong suspicion that the al Qaeda may also be involved in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) attack when a Delhi-based scientist was gunned down. (The Bangalore police were under the impression that only Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) was behind the attack). In fact, the police are yet to crack the case.
The investigators have taken up the probe in this regard after seizing the high-capacity hard disks from Kafeel’s residence in Banashankari II stage. The disks contained clues on the terrorist group’s plans in Bangalore. The disks have revealed that Kafeel, an aeronautical engineer and the one who drove the flaming jeep into the Glasgow terminal, designed the blueprint of the plot. The designs for making car bombs are also found in the disks. The investigators believe that Kafeel might have drawn the sketch of these designs during his stay in Bangalore between 2005 and 2006.
While the Ahmed brothers being al Qaeda terrorists is almost confirmed by the British police, the local police, who are in possession of these evidences, have taken up the investigation to ascertain as to how deep the al Qaeda might have penetrated Bangalore. Bangalore Police Commissioner N Achutha Rao, who confirmed the seizure of the hard disks from Kafeel’s house, said: “The hard disks are being examined to ascertain the connection of Sabeel and Kafeel with terror attack on the IISc”.
The City police has taken the assistance of various Central agencies to conduct investigation in this regard. Official sources fear that Ahmed brothers might have created terror modules, especially the “sleeper cells”, to help the striking force to carry out the attack and also escape easily. “We are trying to dig out more information about their activities in Bangalore so that terror modules, if any, can be smashed,” officials said.
The police are also probing the financial transactions of Kafeel, Sabeel and their cousin Dr Mohammed Haneef, who is also an accused, during their stay in the City.