Targeting foreign tourists just ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi was part of a well-thought out strategy of Indian Mujahideen to tarnish India’s image and raise doubts on its ability to hold mega sporting events, the arrested Jaish-e-Mohammad militant from Pakistan has told the police.
Reliable sources in the Delhi police’s special cell told this newspaper that Mohammad Adhil, alias Ajmal, alias Guddu, a resident of Karachi, who was arrested along with five other alleged militants of IM’s module, was sent from Pakistan two months ahead of the September 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi to specifically target the games and create fear among the athletes of participant countries.
“As they were unable to target the athletes, Qateel reconnoitred Jama Masjid area since it is frequented by foreign nationals and got in touch with Adhil, who was staying in Delhi. Together they stole a car from Cycle Bazar in Jama Masjid and planted a crudely-made bomb into it. The bomb was deliberately timed to explode some minutes after the firing on Taiwanese tourists since a lot of journalists would have gathered at the site to report on the firing incident and the explosion would have caused major casualties,” a source said.
In the run up to the Commonwealth Games, two Taiwanese tourists were injured in the firing incident outside the historic Jama Masjid on September 19, 2010, which was followed by a mild explosion in a car, minutes after the firing incident. The investigators had recovered a pressure cooker along with timer device and wires from the car, “Adhil had fired upon the tourists while Qateel was driving the stolen car. Adil has disclosed that they wanted to create a scare and send a wrong message about India’s ability to hold such events,” the source said.
The police is suspecting that such an incident could not have taken place without the help of locals and some suspects have been put on surveillance. Raids are also being conducted in Nangloi area with more arrests likely.