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Rediff.com  » News » Hyderabad arrest may avert a Delhi attack

Hyderabad arrest may avert a Delhi attack

By Vicky Nanjappa
May 04, 2010 17:53 IST
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The interrogation of Zia-ul-Haq, the alleged Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative who was nabbed in Hyderabad on Monday, has revealed that he was very much in the know of the blasts that the Lashkar was planning on undertaking at the Delhi markets

A Hyderabad Police officer told rediff.com that even though Haq had not revealed much on the Delhi plot, interrogators were trying to elicit information on persons who have been sent out to carry out the attack in the national capital.

It is too early to say whether Haq was part of the same team, which was planning on carrying out the Delhi blasts, but we would be able to confirm the same in the days to come, the officer added.

Indian intelligence agencies say that Haq is of prime importance. He is a hardcore operative of the Lashkar and his role with terrorism was visible since the year 2006 when terrorists carried out a grenade attack at the Odeon theatre in Hyderabad.

Haq, aged 34, was born in Adilabad district. His father was a salesman in Qatar and Haq moved along with him. Later, he found a job in Dubai and shifted there.

The police say he came in contact with a man called Abu Ali, who is believed to be a Lashkar commander.

Haq told his interrogators that he fell prey to Lashkar's brainwashing and agreed to go to Karachi. He is said to have obtained training over there for nearly a year. Following that he returned to Hyderabad in 2005, where he started to work as a cab driver. He entered into India from Pakistan with seven others through the Poonch sector in Jammu.

His specific brief was to be part of the sleeper cell in Hyderabad. He worked as a cab driver, but kept in touch with Abu Aziz. His handler had on one occasion directed him to visit Delhi and collect a consignment of arms, which he along with some of his men smuggled into Hyderabad.

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Vicky Nanjappa
Related News: Haq, Delhi, Hyderabad, Abu Aziz, Abu Ali