The Hyderabad police on Sunday, October 2, said that they foiled a terror attempt aimed at creating communal tensions. The police arrested three persons who were allegedly conspiring to hurl explosives in public gatherings. The police caught the accused when they were receiving a consignment of four hand grenades to carry out terror attacks in the city.
According to police, the prime accused Abdul Zahed (39), who was previously involved in terror-related cases in Hyderabad, revived his contacts with Pakistan’s ISI conduits. He had intended to carry out terror attacks including bomb blasts and lone wolf attacks in the Hyderabad, police said. Along with Abdul, two others—Mohammed Sameeuddin (39) and Maaz Hasan Farooq (29)—were also arrested.
The police said that, Abdul Zahed, a resident of Malakpet, was previously involved in several terror related cases in Hyderabad including suicide attack on the Hyderabad City Police Commissioner’s task force office Begumpet in 2005. He was also in regular touch with Pakistani ISI-LeT handlers, police said.
Abdul came in touch with three absconding terror accused—Farhatullah Ghori, Siddique Bin Osman and Abu Hamzala, Abdul Majeed—all natives of Hyderabad who were wanted in several terror-related cases. According to the police, the absconding terror accused had moved to Pakistan and now working under the aegis of ISI.
“In the past, they recruited local youth, radicalised them and executed terror attacks such as the blast near Saibaba Temple Dilsukhnagar in 2002, bus blast at Ghatkopar in Mumbai, suicide attack on Task Force office, Begumpet in 2005. They also attempted to cause blasts near Ganesh Temple, Secunderabad in 2004,” police said in their press note.
Police said that Abdul in his confession revealed that the three terror accused revived their contacts with him and they further motivated and financed him to recruit and carry out out terror attacks in Hyderabad. Subsequently, Zahed recruited Samiuddin and Maaz Hasan for the purpose, police said. Police also added that they had collected information about the group’s activities and foiled their attempts to cause terror and communal tension in Hyderabad.
The police recovered two hand grenades and cash worth Rs 3,91,800 and two mobile phones from Abdul. They also seized one hand grenade and cash worth Rs 1,50,000 along with a mobile phone and a motorcycle from Samiuddin and one hand grenade and two mobile phones were seized from Maaz.