As Gujarat observed the first anniversary of the Akshardham attack, the crime branch of the Ahmedabad police on Wednesday claimed the sensational terrorist strike was carried out at the behest of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence jointly by the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayiba.
Joint Commissioner of Police C P Pandey claimed alleged Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Chand Khan had lied to the Jammu and Kashmir police about having guided the two terrorists, who launched the attack on the temple complex, till Ahmedabad.
Arrested in J&K, Khan had told the police there that the terrorists had not received any local support, contradicting the claims of the Gujarat police, who had arrested five persons for their alleged role in the Akshardham attack.
"It was a joint operation conducted by several modules of the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Tayiba, which have a network from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and other cities," Pandey told reporters in Ahmedabad.
He made the claim on the basis of "documentary evidence" available with the police and "precise information" revealed during the interrogation of arrested alleged Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Chand Khan.
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