M A I N   N E W S

5 held for Akshardham attack

Ahmedabad, August 29
In a major breakthrough, the police today arrested five persons hailing from sensitive Dariapur and Shahpur areas in connection with Akshardham temple attack.

The police said their interrogation revealed that terrorist outfits Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) had masterminded the strike.

Among the arrested was a Maulvi, who was running a relief camp for victims of post-Godhra communal riots in the Dariapur area here, City Police Commissioner K.R. Kaushik told reporters here.

Thirtytwo persons, including three security personnel, were killed in the attack on September 24 last year.

Mr Kaushik said it was sometime during the post-Godhra riots last year that the conspiracy to attack the Akshardham temple was hatched in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia. The five accused had provided logistic support to the two terrorists, who were killed by the NSG commandos, he added.

Acting on a specific information, the police arrested Salim Sheikh, Mufti Abdul Kayoom Mansuri, Maulvi Abdul Miyan Sayyed — all residents of the Dariapur area and Altaf Malek and Suleman Aadam Ajmeri, staying in the Shahpur area, he said. The police acted on an information that some Muslim youths of the city, who were working in various cities of Saudi Arabia and were closely associated with Pakistan’s ISI and JeM and LeT, had come to Ahmedabad recently. — PTI