IB had forewarned UP about terrorist strikes

Lucknow, Nov 24: Even as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has blamed the central intelligence agencies in failing to inform the state about the possible blasts by the terrorist outfits, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) had cautioned the state about the possible attack three days ago.

The Allahabad unit of the IB had sent an advisory to the state government about possible attack by the terrorist organisations in six cities or more.

The advisory, sent on November 20 last, had asked all the district authorities to be on high vigil following conspiracy by the terrorist organisations to target the areas particularly dominated by the minorities.

In its one-page coded advisory, the agency maintained that the militant group associated with Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba could try to kidnap a politician and carry out blasts at historical and important places.

The letter also indicated that places like Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Sultanpur, Faizabad, Varanasi and some others could be the target of the anti-national forces.

However the agency, in its recent warning, did not gave any specific warning about the terrorist attack on the judiciary.

But on the other hand Ms Mayawati had termed the serial blasts ''a failure of central intelligence agencies''.

''The central intelligence agencies neither warned UP nor asked the government to stay alert for a possible terrorist strike... it is their failure,'' she asserted while briefing media about the serial blasts yesterday.

She said it was unfortunate that the central intelligence agencies (Intelligence Bureau), who are responsible to track the activities of the terrorists in the country, totally failed in performing their duties. Similarly the IB had sent an 'SOS' last year before Diwali, revealing that the judiciary was among the prime targets of terrorist organisations, specially courts in which major cases were being tried.

Sources said UP is one of the major states that face terror threats on account of court proceedings against terrorists. The case against the fidayeen attack on the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, in which JeM militants and sleeper cells were involved, was almost in its final stages.

In Varanasi, those accused of planning and executing the serial bombings of March 7, 2006 -- Waliullah Khan and militants of the Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HuJI), which is now the major front for LeT in India -- are standing trial. Their case is also in the final stages of hearing.

In Lucknow and Faizabad, the trial of some other hardcore JeM, LeT and HuJI militants are going on. Yesterday attacks are likely linked with these trials.

The sources further said after Jaish-e-Mohammed member Afzal Guru was given the death penalty in the Parliament attack case, his sponsors in Pakistan launched terror modules to create unrest in India as a mark of protest and to terrorise the judiciary so that the conviction of other arrested militants was delayed.

According to these sources, the IB learnt of this through electronic surveillance and interrogation of arrested militants. Soon after, they sent a warning to all states, including UP, where cases related to terrorism were going on.

However, due to the casual approach of the state police, along with that of the local intelligence agencies, the militants were able to successfully carry out their mission of striking at the judiciary and creating terror. UNI