Hyderabad police arrest 3 suspected terrorists with ISI-LeT connections

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad police on Sunday arrested Abdul Zahed, a resident of Malakpet, who was allegedly involved in several acts of terrorism. The police claim that Abdul Ahmed reestablished contact with his Pakistani ISI conduits and planned to carry out terror attacks in Hyderabad City, including bombings and lone wolf attacks, in order to terrorise the general public.

According to precise information provided to Hyderabad police on Sunday, Abdul Zahed, a resident of Malakpet, and his companions received a shipment of four hand grenades and planned to carry out major terrorist attacks in Hyderabad.

By making timely arrests, Hyderabad City Police were able to thwart the plans of this organisation by acting quickly and gathering specific information about their covert actions. Three people—Abdul Zahed, Samiuddin, and Maaz Hasan were apprehended with four hand grenades, over Rs 5 lakh in cash, and four mobile phones.

According to preliminary investigations, Abdul Zahed was previously involved in several terror-related cases in Hyderabad, including a 2005 suicide attack on the Hyderabad City Police Commissioner's task force office in Begumpet. He also managed to maintain constant communication with Pakistani ISI-LeT handlers.

The police claim that the three wanted suspects, Farhatullah Ghori, Siddique Bin Osman, Rafique, Abu Hamzala, and Abdul Majeed, are all natives of Hyderabad and fled after being identified as suspects in a number of terrorism-related cases. They eventually settled in Pakistan and are now employed by the ISI.

They had previously carried out terror attacks like the bombing in Dilsukhnagar near the Saibaba Temple in 2002, the bus blast in Ghatkopar, and the 2005 Mumbai suicide attack on the Task Force office in Begumpet. They had recruited local youth, radicalised them, and carried out these attacks. In 2004, they made yet another attempt to blow a bomb near to the Ganesh Temple in Secunderabad.

Adul Zahed confessed that Farhatulla Ghori, Abu Hamzala, and Majeed had reestablished communication with him and had encouraged and provided financial support for Zahed to recruit new terrorists and carry out attacks in Hyderabad. Zahed, Samiuddin, and Maaz Hasan were hired by Zahed at the direction of handlers in Pakistan.

Four hand grenades that Zahed had acquired from his handlers in Pakistan were found in the possession of the aforementioned individuals during a search. He wanted to explode these hand grenades at public gatherings using other group members, inciting fear and racial conflict in the neighbourhood.

Further interrogation and investigation are on.