Days after his arrest in Bengaluru, it has emerged that terror suspect Mohammed Akram of Nanded was named in 2004 in the confession of one of those accused of trying to kill BJP leader N. Indrasena Reddy in Saidabad. The city police had said that a Jaish-e-Mohammed module was behind the attack.
Sources said that both counter-intelligence officials and the city police SIT failed to take the confession seriously, which led to Akram slipping out of their radar. He subsequently became a big operative, building a terror module with connections in Hyderabad, Nanded, Bengaluru and Hubli and also established contacts with operatives in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, sources said. A special branch official said, ‘Akram’s name figured in the confession of the accused of the JeM module, along with the name of Farhatullah Ghori. Operating from Saudi Arabia now, Ghori is also on our wanted list.”
In the latest conspiracy case, sources said Akram frequently visited the city and discussed terror strategies with Mohammed Obaidur Rehman of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Colony here. According to the police, Akram was close to Shahed Bilal, a resident of Malakpet and HuJI commander from the city who was killed in an encounter in Pakistan. Following the attempt on Mr Indrasena Reddy’s life, Hyderabad police had arrested Shahed’s brother Zahed, Khaleem and Gulam Yazdani in January 2004. Shahed was then operating from Saudi Arabia, the police had claimed. Ghula Yazdani was later killed in an encounter. Zahed and Khaleem were also alleged to be involved in helping a Bangladeshi suicide bomber.