Ranchi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today took two suspected terrorists, Ifthekhar Alam and Firoz Aslam alias Sonu, on a transit remand for three days for interrogation in connection with serial bomb blasts in Patna and Bodh Gaya.
Alam was arrested from Sithio village of Dhurva police station area while Aslam was nabbed at Karbala Chowk in Lower Bazar police station area Friday night. They were produced in the court of chief judicial magistrate.
The team had recovered six timers and 18 live bombs in Ranchi yesterday at the instance of a person detained in connection with the multiple blasts at an election rally in Patna, which was addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. Following leads, NIA, at the instance of Ifthekhar and Feroz Aslam, recovered the timers and bombs near Sithio village and detonators and explosives from Hindpirhi.
After a detailed interrogation of four persons of the Ranchi module, including Hyder Ali alias ‘Black Beauty’, having association with banned terror groups like SIMI (Student’s Islamic Movement of India) and Indian Mujahideen, NIA identified some more members of this module, official sources said.
The arrest of the four people on May 20 had unraveled a conspiracy by the ‘Ranchi module’ to target PM Narendra Modi in October last year when he was addressing a political rally in Patna, NIA had claimed.
Police said the bombs were similar as used by the ‘Ranchi Module’ in the October rally of the PM.
NIA had claimed the arrested persons had told their interrogators during questioning that they wanted to target Narendra Modi and had also carried out dry runs at five places namely Akbarpur, Kanpur, Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Delhi and Patna.
But finding it very difficult in view of the political leader’s security, they planted bombs at the Patna rally out one of which was placed barely 100 metres from the dais, NIA officials said.
Besides Ali, NIA had arrested Mojibullah, Numan Ansari and a juvenile (whose identity was not disclosed).
Except for Ali, NIA had announced a cash reward of Rs. five lakh on the heads of the other three who allegedly planted the bombs during the October 27 rally of Narendra Modi.
At least seven people were killed and scores others injured when bombs exploded at a make-shift railway platform and at the rally addressed by the current Prime Minister of India in his run up to the 16th Lok Sabha elections.
