Kaiga was not on terror radar: Mirji

Contradicts Union home secys statement

Police Commissioner Jyothi Prakash Mirji on Sunday said investigation by City Police had revealed no plans to attack the Nuclear power station at Kaiga in Karnataka by those arrested for terror links over the past few days.

Mirji’s observation was in contradiction to Union Home Secretary R K Singh who on Saturday said Kaiga was on the radar of the arrested men. Reports from Kaiga said police had heightened vigil at the nuclear power plant.

When mediapersons asked Mirji to comment on the Union home secretary’s remarks about Kaiga being a target, he refused to comment on the issue. “As far as our investigations we haven’t come across any such targets. The modules were targeting specific individuals and had no installations whatsoever as their targets.”

Stating that he hadn’t come across any such information, he suggested that the media may pose to the Union home secretary their question on the issue. 

On Saturday, the media had reported Singh as saying that the arrest of 11 persons in Karnataka had averted a major terror strike on defence and nuclear installations.

As a precautionary measures, security has been stepped up at the long-neglected checkpost near the Kaiga Atomic Power Station in the wake of the reported terror threats. The Police on Saturday began work on renovating the Halur checkpost, which was in a dilapidated condition for the past three years.

Investigators questioning the arrested men say that terror planners could be deviating from their usual strategy of bombings that cause cause deaths and damage property, to targeting individuals perceived to be anti-minority could be a new modus operandi by terror planners, deviating from bombings that cause death and damage property and strengthen the cause of anti-minority elements.

The reported choice of targets in Karnataka – two prominent journalists , a media baron and an MP - suggest that they have been targeting opinion makers. The police have also claimed  a similar modus operandi in Hyderabad too. Obedulla-Ur-Rehman, arrested from Hyderabad along with others, was allegedly planning to assassinate two corporators and an prominent leader of Hindu organization in Hyderabad. Investigators say there might be a similar modus operandi targeting specific political targets for assassination by the Nanded module too, now being investigated by the Maharashtra ATS.

One more held

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) have arrested one more terror suspect from the City. Mohammed Akram alias Khalid alias Imran Khan, 22, was arrested from Majestic area, and a foreign made 7.65-mm pistol, along with 16 cartridges and other incriminating articles, were seized, police said.