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Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow
The four suspected Hizbul Mujahideen militants arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police from Moradabad on Tuesday had the Israeli embassy in New Delhi on their target.
Disclosing this, the Moradabad Deputy Inspector General of Police Rajni Kant Misra told rediff.com: "It was from the interrogation of Ulfat alias Saiful Islam, the Hizb group leader, that we got some clues about their design to attack the Israeli embassy in New Delhi."
Misra said, "The interrogation revealed that the militants were planning strikes both in Delhi and in Uttar Pradesh on August 15, India's Independence Day."
Ulfat's arrest followed confessions by Mohammad Taqi of Nagla Saktu locality in Moradabad, who was picked up in an 'anti-terrorist operation' from a village in the same district, about 170 kilometres east of Delhi.
Hailing from Poonch in the Kashmir valley, Ulfat confessed having received training in the Pakistani ISI run camps in Kotli area of Pakistan occupied Kashmir, the police officer said.
The huge cache of arms recovered from their possession included two AK-56 series assault rifles, two Chinese pistols and a lot of ammunition and explosives.
"We have recovered two sophisticated assault rifles of the AK-56 series together with eight live magazines, two Star pistols with as many as 124 cartridges, 12 foreign made grenades, 29 kg of explosives with 51 detonators, which included 24 detonators with timer device ranging up to a period of six months," state police chief R K Pandit said.
Pandit said, "Ulfat began his operation in Uttar Pradesh some three years ago, when he came under the garb of a student to a madrassa in Moradabad; and it was during this period that he established contacts with others, whom he recruited as his assistants."
Later he roped in Zafar Alam and Mohammad Rizwan alias Haider to join him in his 'mission'. These two were also arrested from Qamarpur village in Rampur district.
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