Author: PTI
Publication: The Times of India
Date: May 25, 2003
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/xml/uncomp/articleshow?msid=47445592
Pune, a quiet city off Mumbai, is
fast changing into a base of Islamic militants as the security agencies
claimed that they had substantial inputs and interrogation reports suggesting
that groups of Lashker-e-Tayiba militants and underworld gangs were receiving
arms training in the area.
The security agencies have come
across certain leads after the questioning of 12 ex-SIMI activists nabbed
from various parts of Maharashtra, which suggest a considerable presence
of Pakistan-based militants in the city, sources said.
They said that investigations into
the blasts at Mumbai Central on December six last year and Mulund on March
13 this year have revealed that the accused had also received training
and planning in Kondva forest area of Pune.
Saquib Nachan, considered to be
the kingpin of the subversive activities in Maharashtra, is alleged to
have been organising their stay and other facilities in Pune.
The sources said that two LeT militants
Irfan alias Abu Sultan and Anwar Ali, who were gunned down by Mumbai police
on March 29 this year had also stayed in Pune for a considerable time.
Irfan was the Chief Commander of
LeT in South India. The duo were among the three militants gunned down
in an encounter at Borivali in Mumbai.
