Kill all Hindu leaders ahead of polls: IB intercept states
Intelligence Officials say that Sikh militant groups and the Lashkar-e-Taiba are coming together to carry out a major attack in India
New Delhi, Nov 21: Under the radar of Sikh militants and the Lashkar-e-Taiba are VHP and RSS leaders. A plan has been hatched in Pakistan to target these leaders ahead of the assembly elections.
The intercepts picked up and deciphered by the Multi Agency Centre, the counter terrorism unit suggests that militant forces are being mobilised in large numbers to carry out a spate of attacks on Hindu leaders ahead of the elections.
"The
threat
is
serious
and
the
intercept
Grade
A,"
said
an
Intelligence
Bureau
official.
"The
information
picked
up
by
us
suggests
that
the
Sikh
militant
groups
and
the
Lashkar-e-Taiba
are
coming
together
to
carry
out
a
major
attack
in
India.
We
have
warned
the
respective
police
forces
to
be
on
guard
and
we
suspect
that
the
target
states
would
be
Punjab
and
Uttar
Pradesh,"
the
official
said.
Two pronged attack
As per the information available, the attacks would be two pronged. While the Sikh militants would target the Hindu leaders, the Lashkar-e-Taiba would carry out a fidayeen strike. Killing of Hindu leaders is bound to cause immense tensions and will lead to communal riots.
"This would shake the security mechanism and that is when the Lashkar-e-Taiba would come in to strike," the officer noted.
Also read: What are Kosher funds and how it can help terrorism during demonetisation
The rise of Sikh militancy is an often spoken about subject in Intelligence circles. The threat is real, but the ISI has been slow in launching these militants into India, the IB officer noted.
These groups will look to hit India at a time when security officials will be busy with election duty. The alert has been issued early so that the moves made by militants can be thwarted at an early stage.
"The
Lashkar-e-Taiba
would
look
to
carry
out
attacks
outside
of
Kashmir
in
the
coming
months.
We
have
informed
the
police
officials
to
begin
operations
to
ensure
that
no
militant
is
able
to
slip
in.
Further,
we
have
also
told
the
police
to
keep
a
tab
on
groups
such
as
the
SIMI
which
act
as
a
proxy
to
the
Lashkar-e-Taiba,"
the
officer
said.
Two weeks back, an Intelligence Bureau alert suggested that members of the SIMI will try and avenge the killing of their men. It may be recalled that SIMI operatives had been killed in an encounter after they escaped from a jail in Bhopal.
OneIndia News
Read in Tamil: இந்து தலைவர்களை கொல்ல லஷ்கர்-இ-தொய்பாவுடன் கை கோர்த்த சீக்கிய தீவிரவாதிகள்.. ஐ.பி. வார்னிங்