Modi was Harkat's target; one slain terrorist had visited Bangalore

Ahmedabad, Mar 22 (UNI) Gujarat police today said Chief Minister Narendra Modi was a target of four slain terrorists of Harkat-ul-Mujaheedin, one of whom had also visited Bangalore where they had gunned down a mathematics scholar at the Indian Institute of Science recently.

Four terrorists - Azaan, self-styled chief commander of Harkat-ul-Mujahadeen in Jammu and Kashmir, Phurkan Iqbal Ahmed, a resident of Karachi, and Mohammad Ayub and Mudassar, both Kashmiris, were gunned down by the Gujarat police in an encounter last week.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Manoj Shashidhar today said the terrorists killed in the encounter here on Friday had plans to target Chief Minister Narendra Modi and spread terror across the state.

''The militants had trailed Mr Modi to Surat when he had gone on election campaigns (for local bodies' elections) in January,'' he told a media conference.

''They had also opted to stay in Vatva area as it was close to the Chief Minister's constituency,'' he added.

Of the four who had been frequenting Gujarat since September last year, Phurkan, the Pakistan national from Karachi, had been to Bangalore also and his visit has been '' confirmed'', the police officer said.

Bangalore police has also confirmed that Phurkan had procured an LIC policy and a driving license under a fake identity from there, Mr Shashidhar added.

Besides visiting the southern city and travelling to various places in Gujarat, Phurkhan had also travelled to Mumbai, Delhi, Ajmer and Kota, the DCP said, adding train tickets and hotel bills have substantiated this.

More UNI MMG SA SB BD2159