Darbhanga terror case accused travelled to Pakistan, met Lashkar operatives

The two alleged conspirators in the case were sent to custody by a Special NIA court, Patna.

 

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the Darbhanga terror blast case, has found that the two accused in the case were in touch with Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba handlers.

The two alleged conspirators in the case Mohammed Saleem Ahmed alias Haji Salim and Kafil alias Kafeel, were sent to custody by a Special NIA court, Patna. While Saleem has been sent to six-day judicial custody due to ill-health, Kafeel has been sent to six-day police custody. One of the accused Saleem had met senior operatives of Lashkar when he had gone to Pakistan

Special Public Prosecutor of NIA, Chhaya Mishra, stated that Iqbal Kana of Lashkar-e-Taiba, who was handling the duo, had imparted bomb making training to Saleem who had visited Pakistan multiple times. “They had so far got Rs 1.60 lakh for executing the blast and were promised amounts in crore on the successful completion of a blast in a running train which would have resulted in the death of hundreds of passengers. The reward money  depended on the number of deaths that would have happened in the blast”, Mishra told The Sunday Guardian.

“The NIA had demanded their custody as it wants to identify the rest of the members who were a part of this conspiracy  who are likely to have more explosives in their possession”, Mishra added.

As of now, the NIA has arrested four accused in the case, including Imran, Naseer, Saleem and Kafeel. The four have been booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The mastermind of the conspiracy, Saleem, a resident of Kairana, Uttar Pradesh used to talk to his handlers in ISI daily through a basic mobile phone to escape surveillance.

On June 17, a blast had occurred in a parcel at the Darbhanga railway station that led to a minor fire. Police had found that the consignment was booked at the Secunderabad railway station.

The incident took place when a parcel was being taken by the parcel van of Secunderabad-Darbhanga Express to the assigned place of storage. A bottle containing some liquid was found stashed inside the damaged parcel bundle after the blast and sent for forensic examination.