Three men were arrested from Madhya Pradesh in the case of the Ujjain-Bhopal passenger train blasts on March 7. The National Investigation Agency (NIA,) has been interrogating three arrested, of which one has revealed that the group had actually planned attacks in Uttar Pradesh. He said that the Bara Imambara dargah in Barabanki, Lucknow and also the main cleric of this Shia dargah, were the targets.
The arrested Syed Mir Hussain, according to reports, has confessed that Waris Ali Shah dargah in Barabanki was the chief target. He also revealed that they spent days studying the security arrangements and pilgrims in the dargah. Upon realizing that the dargah has heavy security arrangements, the group gave up the idea. Maulana Salman Hussaini Naqvi, Shia cleric of this dargah was also the target. The group studied his movements and also surveyed his house. The group is also said to have clicked pictures of his two vehicles and his home.
Mohammed Danish, Syed Mir Hussain and Atif Muzaffar were taken into custody at Pipariya after a shootout. Forth accomplice, Saifullah, was killed in the firing exchange between the UP Anti-Terror Squad and the terrorists in the outskirts of Lucknow. After the NIA took the case of train blasts on March 16, three of the seven accused have been arrested and in custody till March 27.
Hussain had told the NIA that they considered many places in Lucknow to “fix the targets, to implement the sharia law, to have a jihad and to have bomb blasts and commit murder at fixed places” before “settling down in Arab or other countries.” They planned for blasts at the dargah during Mazar, 9 A.M., to 3:30 P.M.,, but gave up the idea as the place has heavy police protection all through the day.
