Hyderabad: The National Investigation Agency has stated that the conspiracy and planning for the explosion at the Kalachakra maidan in Bodh Gaya during the visit of Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama in 2018 were done in Marredpally in the city and Chennai.
An NIA senior official told this newspaper, “In November 2017, the accused travelled to Hyderabad and rented a room. During their stay, Mustafizue Rahman of the JMB went to Hyderabad to meet them. After that, he fixed a meeting for Adil Sheikh and Ahmad Ali with Kausar at Chennai, where the conspiracy took its final form.”
A NIA source said “The hideout of the JMB was at Marredpally in Secunderabad and at Chennai, where JMB leaders Kausar and Dilawar met other handlers and planned the blast a month before the incident. They used fake names to travel and while renting houses.”
The investigation revealed that the accused had committed several dacoities in and around Bengaluru to raise funds. The investigators are looking to find out if they had committed similar offences in Telangana state.
The official said: “After meeting Kausar in Chennai, Ahmad and Adil returned to Hyderabad and shared the details of the meeting with the others. On December 13, Rahman returned to Hyderabad and stayed for a day before leaving to Bihar along with Dilawar. The next day they reached Patna and then Jehanabad. They stayed in the city for more than 15 days between November 29 to December 15, 2017.”
It was found that it was after the blast that the remaining accused left the city and shifted their base to other hideouts. The arrests were made subsequently.
On Monday, the NIA filed a supplementary chargesheet in the NIA special court at Patna with regard to the case in which it mentioned the hideouts and travel plans of the accused before allegedly resorting to the offence.
The NIA had recovered two live improvised explosive devices (IEDs) following the blast at Bodh Gaya.
The motive was to attack symbols of Buddhism in retaliation to the alleged atrocities committed on the Rohingyas in Myanmar and to overawe the Centre, the NIA said.
