British Islamists (top L-R) Mohammed Chowdhury, Shah Rahman and (bottom L-R) Gurukanth Desai and Abdul Miah who pleaded guilty to plotting to blow up the London Stock Exchange in 2010. AP Photo
A man going under the name of a Bollywood movie character is among four British Asian terror suspects who are said to have confessed plans to launch a “Mumbai-style” attack in London.
Bizarrely, the 30-year-old man of Bangladeshi origin from the city of Cardiff told British police
his name is Gurukanth Desai — the character played by Abhishek Bachchan in the 2007 film ‘Guru’. The fictional role was said to have been based on the late industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani.
“He changed his name before our operations began. He is the brother of Abdul Miah, who has also been arrested,” a West Midlands police spokesman told HT. “I wasn’t aware that it’s a Bollywood name.”
The four men — Gurukanth, Abdul Miah, Mohammed Chowdhury and Shah Rehman — admitted to planning a similar blitz on key London targets, a London court was told on Wednesday.
They were among nine suspects — some of Pakistani and others of Bangladeshi origin — who were arrested before Christmas, 2010. They were inspired by the preachings of recently killed Yemeni extremist Anwar al-Awlaki.