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Rediff.com  » News » Nasir had plans for Sep 11: Police

Nasir had plans for Sep 11: Police

By Vijay Singh in Mumbai
Last updated on: September 13, 2003 21:47 IST
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Abdul Rehman Syed Ali alias Nasir, a prime suspect in last month's twin blasts in Mumbai, had plans for September 11 too, Police Commissioner R S Sharma said on Saturday.

Nasir was shot dead in an encounter in Matunga in central Mumbai on Friday night.

Nasir, police believe, was a founder of the Gujarat Muslim Revenge Force.

Sharma said Nasir had links with the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba group and the Mumbai police was chasing him for the past eight to ten days.

Sharma said Nasir had trained the group involved in the twin blasts -- Syed Mohammad Hanif, 42; his wife Syed Fahmida Mohammad Hanif, 36; and daughter Syed Farheen Mohammad Hanif, 18.

 "Nasir was planning a strike during the Navratri festival too. We had him watched for quite some time now. Our men even went to Hyderabad following him," he said.

Sharma said Nasir may have already assigned a group for the Navratri festival . "There will be a very high alert for Navratri this year," he said.

From the encounter site on Friday, police recovered a diary which led them to Nasir's residence in Mira Road's Naya Nagar area. Here, they found 215 gelatin sticks, 199 detonator shells, 26 alarm clocks, 25 electronic detonators, 14 ordinary detonators and one personal computer.

Nasir, who did not study beyond higher secondary level, was in Mumbai for over a year. His father, aYamini, passed away in Hyderabad recently.

Nasir went to the Gulf in 1996 and worked in Dubai. It was here he came in contact with Hanif.

He returned to India last year and formed the Gujarat Revenge Group.

He was in constant touch with Hanif and in July they firmed up a plan to carry out a series of blasts in Mumbai.

After the success of August 25, Nasir, police claim, wanted to carry out more blasts on September 11 -- the second anniversary of terrorist attacks in the United States.

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Vijay Singh in Mumbai