Author: TNN
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 3, 2008
URL:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Bangalore_terror_suspect_wanted_to_target_US/rssarticleshow/2751976.cms
Introduction: A senior IPS officer narrates
an argument he had with Ghouse on jihad. When the officer pointed out that
Islam shuns violence, Ghouse is supposed to have said: "Jihad is a holy
struggle in the name of Allah." The officer says: "After half an
hour, I gave up because I realized it would be impossible to convince him."
Suspected terrorist Riyazuddin Nasir alias
Mohammed Ghouse wanted to visit the United States and spread terror there,
he has told interrogators.
Since it was difficult to gain entry into
the US, Ghouse had twice pleaded with terrorist leaders to at least send him
to Iraq to work as a fidayeen - an extremist who equips himself with arms
and ammunition and strikes a target, causing mass destruction.
However, the terrorist leaders persuaded him
to drop the idea as they thought "there is so much to do in India".
Ghouse, who was well informed about post-9/11
incidents, grudged the American invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Investigations have revealed that Ghouse visited
Mecca thrice for umrah (a pilgrimage undertaken during the non-Haj season),
on a family passport that had a validity of 10 years up to December 2006.
He first visited Mecca as a child in 1996.
In 2005, during his second trip, he met Abdul Samad, brother of South India's
most wanted terrorist, Shahid Bilal, and reportedly expressed his willingness
to go to Iraq as a fidayee to fight American forces.
However, his plan did not materialize. In
2006, Samad got Ghouse a fake passport and sent him to Pakistan. While undergoing
training there, Ghouse again expressed his keenness to go to Iraq. But Bilal
stopped him.
After Ghouse completed his training in Pakistan
- from May 2006 to January 2007 - he was sent to India through the Nepal border
with a mission: indulge in subversion and disturb peace.
Besides use of arms and explosives, Ghouse
was trained in operating computers, reading and drawing maps, sketching and
horse riding. "He has a graphic memory and is very quick in drawing maps,"
a police officer says.
Eastern range IGP H N Satyanaraya Rao says
the local police have had a tough time extracting information from him. "He
is a good catch, but a tough nut to crack. To question a terrorist, we need
specialized agencies. The limited expertise of the local police has become
a limitation. To extract one bit of information from him, we have to ask him
100 questions."
Ghouse had planned to blast the Andhra Pradesh
police headquarters in Hyderabad. The arrest of his father and brother, and
the case booked against him by the Hyderabad police, made a teenage Ghouse
drop out of college and take the path of jihad.
A senior IPS officer narrates an argument
he had with Ghouse on jihad. When the officer pointed out that Islam shuns
violence, Ghouse is supposed to have said: "Jihad is a holy struggle
in the name of Allah." The officer says: "After half an hour, I
gave up because I realized it would be impossible to convince him."
Ghouse and his associate Asadullah Abubaker,
who were arrested in Davanagere district on charges of terrorism, are in police
custody.
