Lashkar E Toiba – Popular Front nexus revealed

LeT boss Nazeer had stayed at PFI facility: Police

VR Jayaraj | Kochi – Daily Pioneer

The Kerala Police on Thursday claimed in the High Court that LeT’s South India commander Thadiyantavide Nazeer had stayed at Periyar Valley, an office facility of Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), near Aluva off Kochi. Through this revelations, the police were suggesting that there could be links between the LeT and the Popular Front, said security experts.

In their affidavit opposing the bail petitions of five of the accused in the case of attack on the professor, the police said that they had obtained evidence suggesting that Nazeer had stayed at Periyar Valley. The police had held extensive searches at Periyar Valley after the attack on the professor.

The Popular front (when it was NDF) had maintained that none of its workers had anything to do with the terror activities in the State or elsewhere when allegations were raised against it after the arrest of Abdul Jaleel, a former activist of the outfit, on October 19, 2008 in the context of the killing of four Malayalee militants in Kupwara, Kashmir.

Jaleel was arrested after it was found that he had contacted the four militants over phone. The police had then taken several activists of the Islamist outfit into custody for questioning. They were also convinced that many former activists of SIMI had migrated to the NDF after it was banned.

The police told the High Court that there were a total of 51 accused in the case pertaining to the Taliban-model attack on Prof TJ Joseph of Church-run Newman College of Thodupuzha. A suspected PFI terror squad had cut off the right hand of Joseph on July 4 for preparing a question paper that allegedly blasphemed Prophet Muhammad.

The police had so far held that there were 49 accused in the case. They said in the affidavit filed in the court opposing the bail pleas of the accused the police had so far arrested 22 of the accused. These accused involved two persons who had direct involvement in the attack. The court deferred the bail applications for order.

According to the police, the conspiracy for the attack on the professor was hatched at different places though the main conspiracy was held at Perumbavoor on March 28. They said fifth accused MK Nasser was the chief conspirator behind the operation. Also, different units had been organized for different purposes like providing medical assistance to the gang if necessary and legal help, they said.

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