New Delhi: The Patna serial blasts had been carried out with a clear view to eliminate Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi, the NIA investigation of the bombings of last October has revealed.
The National Investigation Agency has now arrested four persons, including a juvenile, in this case. Those arrested by the NIA included Hyder Ali, alias “Black Beauty,” who is said to the mastermind, Mojibullah, Numan Ansari, and a juvenile whose identity cannot be disclosed. All the accused have links with both the Indian Mujahideen and the Simi, the probe agency claims.
NIA director-general Sharad Kumar described the arrest as a “big success,” claiming that with these arrests the Patna case had been solved.
The IM and the Simi had hatched a conspiracy to harm Mr Modi during his election campaign and had reconnoitre different places, including Akbarpur, Kanpur (UP), Delhi and Patna.
The terror module, Mr Kumar added, did a dry run at these venues to see how they could get close to Mr Modi to carry out the blasts. But the terror operatives could not get very close due to stringent security arrangements at the venues.
But, at the Patna rally venue, they did manage to place a bomb barely 100 metres from the dais. It did not explode and was subsequently defused.
