Sufiya knew of B’lore blasts plan: Police

Officials of the Karnataka Police interrogating Thadiyantavide Nazeer, LeT’s South India commander, have got indications that Suifya, wife of Abdul Nasser Madani and tenth accused in the Kalamassery bus-burning case, was aware of the extremists’ plan for the serial blasts in Bangalore city in 2008.

The officials are now reportedly trying to find out whether Sufiya’s knowledge of the Bangalore blasts plan was comparable to her close knowledge of the bus-burning plan, in which Sufiya, according to the Kerala Police, was one of the conspirators. Nazeer, as chief conspirator, is the first accused in that case. Sources said that any move from the Karnataka Police to question Sufiya in custody would depend on what further information Nazeer could provide them on this.

According to reports from Bangalore, Nazeer has told his interrogators that Abdul Sattar alias Sainuddin, master blasts-man of the LeT in South India, had contacted Sufiya in connection with the plan for the Bangalore blasts. Nazeer has also told them that the terror strike on Garden City was planned when Sainuddin, hailing from Muslim-majority Malappuram district of Kerala, was based in Hyderabad.

Sainuddin is said to have had close connections with the Madani family as there were reports earlier that Sufiya was his daughter’s local guardian while she was attending school in Kochi. The assumption of the Karnataka Police is that Sainuddin could have used this relation with Sufiya for seeking funds needed for the strike in Bangalore.

According to sources in the police, Nazeer has told his interrogators that Sainudin had sent an emissary, Omar Farooq of Malappuram, one of the accused in Kerala terror case, to Sufiya for money after the pre-arranged funds for the terror strike were delayed.

The Karnataka Police has not yet been able to know for sure whether Sufiya had given money to Farooq. A confirmation of this is possible only through the interrogation of Sainuddin who is now in the custody of the Gujarat Police in Ahmedabad in connection with the blasts there last year.

Nazeer has also told the interrogators that he and Sainuddin had joined the militantly-oriented Islamic Sewak Sangh, the former form of Madani’s PDP, almost simultaneously. Madani has already denied reports that Nazeer was with the ISS, saying that it was impossible because he could have been too young by then to join ISS.

However, sources said the police were still refusing to fully believe the statements given by Nazeer in the absence of corroborative evidences. They said corroboration of Nazeer’s statements on Sufiya had to come from Saninuddin, for which his detailed interrogation was necessary.