Dr Imran Ahmed alias Immu bhai who was arrested in Bangalore in connection with a plot aimed at assasinating scores of Hindu leaders would be crucial to the investigation which had shown signs of withering away. The National Investigating Agency made this arrest in Bangalore while Dr Ahmed says that he had visited the country on a fake passport.
What is ironical about this accused is that he is related to Kafeel Ahmed the Glasgow bomber.
Kafeel Ahmed had died after a prolonged battle at hospital after he sustained burn injuries while trying to ram an explosive laden jeep into the Glasgow airport nearly six years back. In this connection, the police in London and Australia had also arrested Kafeel’s brother Sabeel Ahmed and cousin Hanif Mohammad. However both were set free.
The Plot to kill Hindu leaders at Bangalore, Hubli, Hyderabad and Nanded was unveiled last year following the arrest of 16 persons. The case however ran into rough weather when the NIA closed ghe case against four persons including a journalist and DRDO scientist after no evidence was found.
The accusation against Dr Imran Ahmed is that he had provided shelter to a person by the name Mohhame Akram who had travelled to the Gulf. The NIA states that Akram had travelled to Saudi Arabia in the year 2011 allegedly to plot the assasinations. During this meeting they had decided to kill Hindu leaders and also some journalists who were writing pro Hindu articles.
NIA sources say that the investigations into the alleged role of Dr Imran Ahmed have just commenced and they are now examining the pen drive that was seized from him. He was in Bangalore to meet his family and was travelling on a fake passport. He is married to the sister of Kafeel Ahmed who are also residents of Bangalore. It is not clear if he is part of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba bit we realised during the investigation that they subscribe to the views of the banned Pakistan basd outfit. Many of them involved in this plot had travelled to Pakistan via Iran and obtained trsining, the NIA claims. The role of Imran Ahmed at the moment appears to be resteicted to providing shelter, but we are trying to find out if there is more to it, NIA sources also point out.
However the bigger worry for the NIA os that the mastermind Zakir Ustaad is still at large. He is believed to be holed up in Saudi Arabia. Usattad according the investigators was the key person in this entire plot. He had travelled several times to Bangalore and Hyderabad to oversee the preparations. However he managed to give the slip once the case broke out in the open. Ustaad according to the investigators was close to some operatives in Hyderabad. He is alleged to have created a liasion between operatives in India and the Gulf in order to carry out the assasinations of nearly 15 pro Hindu leaders and jpurnalists.