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Is Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Rajnath Singh being targeted by a human bomb? The UP police is currently probing a tip off in this regard.
"According to our information, a Rs 100 million deal has been struck by some unidentified persons to eliminate the chief minister," Lucknow district police chief B B Bakshi told rediff.com.
About half a dozen persons, including the key informer Pradun Singh, are in police custody.
The police is trying to track down two suspected Kashmiri militants who were believed to have stayed with their relatives in Qaiserbagh area of Lucknow.
They were believed to be carrying three bags full of cash and weapons, including an AK-47. "We have picked up the relative for questioning and hope to get to the root of the conspiracy," Bakshi said.
"On Friday, Pradun Singh, a resident of Sitapur district told the police about overhearing the telephone conversation of a young man. The latter told the person on the other end that someone by the name of Shoaib Akhtar had agreed to carry out the suicide mission against Rajnath Singh for Rs 100 million," a top intelligence official told rediff.com.
He promptly informed the security personnel at the chief minister's residence, who swung into action.
Pradun Singh claimed to have seen the caller sitting on a Hero Honda motorcycle parked on the roadside at a busy intersection in Lucknow.
"Even a rumour on these lines cannot be taken lightly. We are not taking any chances," Bakshi said.
"We have traced Pradun Singh's antecedents and, so far, nothing suggests that he is playing a prank or had any ulterior motive," he added.
"We have got some leads that may assist us in zeroing in on the culprits," he said.
"A banned Maoist outfit had placed him of their hit list ever since he ordered a major operation against them in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra districts of southeastern UP, along the Bihar and Madhya Pradesh border. Another threat is from Pakistan's ISI-supported Kashmiri militant groups," Bakshi said.
"The latest threat is also suspected to be funded by the ISI," he added.
"We have already alerted all agencies entrusted with the chief minister's security. They have been warned to be specially alert during the election campaign when it is difficult to provide foolproof security," he said.
UP's Principal Home Secretary Naresh Dayal has issued specific instructions to all district magistrates and superintendents of police to ensure that no one got too close to the chief minister during the election campaign.
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