Author:
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: September 30, 2002
The mastermind of the 1998 Coimbatore
serial bomb blasts and member of the fundamentalist group Al-Umma, Imam
Ali was shot dead early this morning along four of his associates by a
joint team of the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu police.
The police team cornered the 32
year-old, whose Kerala-based group was accused of orchestrating the 1998
serial blasts in Coimbatore 1993 blast as well as the blasts at the RSS's
Chennai office, at his hide-out in M S Ramaiah Layout at 2.30 a.m. today.
The terrorists were shot dead after they reportedly started firing on the
police with an AK-47 when asked to surrender, Bangalore City Police Commissioner
H T Sangliana said at a press conference.
The others killed in the 30-minute
operation include Manga Basha alias Anwar (35) of Tirunelveli, Mohammed
Ibrahim (25) of Madurai, Seniyappa alias Saifulla (30) and his wife Yasmeen.
"They were planning to blast religious institutions to create unrest,"
said Sangliana.
Ali's potential targets included
Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, Union Human Resource Development Minister
Murli Manohar Joshi, Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal and Tamil
Nadu Additional Director General of Police Murthy, Coimbatore Deputy Inspector
General of Police Ashutosh Shukla told the media. "He even recently visited
Allahabad to make an attempt on Joshi's life," Shukla added.
Ali was arrested by the Tamil Nadu
police in 1997 after the Chennai blast. In March this year, he escaped
while being transported from the courtroom to Thirumangalam jail in Madurai.
Ali, an expert bomb-maker, formed
a new group, al-Mujahideen, after his escape. A native of Tirunelveli,
he allegedly trained in J&K and Bangladesh under Hizbul Mujahideen,
the police said. Ali and his associates had moved into the M S Ramaiah
Layout house six months ago. They were masquerading as timber merchants
-Ali had shaved off his bears, tonsured his head and sported chandan on
his forehead.
Tipped off on their presence, Bangalore
police had been keeping an eye on the house. On Saturday, Sub-Inspectors
Subramanya and Shashikala posed as a house-hunting couple and visited the
house. Yasmin, Saifulla's wife, allowed the policemen to tour the house.
The 'couple' confirmed the identity of the members from photographs in
the rooms.
