Gujarat to extradite Akshardham accused

Author: IANS
Publication: The Times of India
Date: June 1, 2004
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/712524.cms

Police in Gujarat will initiate extradition proceedings to bring back Abu Hamza, who allegedly financed the terrorist attack on the Akshardham temple near here last year and has been recently arrested in  London .
 
"We are closely observing the latest development in Hamza's case. We are also trying to get in touch with Interpol for we want him back here for trial," said Ahmedabad's deputy commissioner of police (DCP) D.G. Vanajhara.
 
"Hamza's role was primarily to finance the Akshardham attack operation. As part of his activities, Hamza financed his local support base here in Ahmedabad," Vanajhara said.
 
In the attack on the Akshardham temple in the Gujarat capital Gandhinagar on Sept 24, 2002 , two terrorists had gone on a shooting spree killing 39 people inside.
 
According to police, Hamza's activities focussed on inspiring youth to join Islamic militancy.
 
Described as a hardcore fundamentalist, Hamza, 46, reportedly joined forces led by Osama Bin Laden to wage Afghan war.
 
According to the crime branch, Hamza, with one eye and one severed arm, was born in Hyderabad .
 
For many years, he was based in Saudi Arabia from where he was thrown out for allegedly abetting Islamic terrorism. He then sought asylum in  Britain where authorities arrested him recently to probe his role in terrorist attacks around the world.
 
Apart from the terror attack on Akshardham, police in Gujarat want him in a series of other cases. A conspiracy in 2002 to attack a religious procession, the serial tiffin bomb blast case, conspiracy to select Muslim youths for training in militancy in Pakistan and an illegal money laundering racket busted last October.
 

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