Abdul Nasser Madani, a charismatic rabble-rouser and religious extremist, founded the banned Islamic Sewak Sangh a decade ago.

Soon after the Union government banned the ISS in 1992, he launched the People's Democratic Party to forge a broad Muslim-dalit-backward alliance. Though Madani entered into parleys with the Congress and the Indian Union of Muslim League, his political aspirations did not fructify.

Today Madani is imprisoned in the Salem jail. He was arrested from his Kochi home on the night of March 31, 1998 in connection with the Coimbatore bomb blasts. He has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 153 (a) (spreading communal hatred), 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 124 (a) (sedition), and also under the Arms Act.

Madani's arrest followed the interrogation of Ooma Babu alias Majid, a prime accused in the serial blasts, who told the police that the PDP chairman had sheltered him and others.

The police also arrested P K Abubacker Harath Moulavi, principal of the Anwarussari Islamic College at Karunagapally in Kollam, which, incidentally, was the ISS headquarters.

The police alleged that in the last decade Madani, aided by the ISI, built a network of Islamic militants in the southern states. Intelligence agencies say they have conclusive proof that Madani arranged for the training of several Al-Umma activists in Pakistan.

From time to time, the police registered a number of cases against Madani for issuing communal statements and making inflammatory speeches. They also recovered a large cache of pipe-bombs from different offices and hideouts of the extremist leader.

PDP leaders, who still issue occasional statements on matters concerning the Muslim community, allege that Madani's arrest was a political conspiracy.

"Our leader's arrest was nothing but an act of political vendetta as the PDP had opposed the ruling Left Democratic Front in the election," says Madani associate and PDP secretary K E Abdullah.