NIA charges 10 for blasts in Modi's Patna rally

NIA on Friday charged 10 alleged SIMI operatives for trying to physically harm Narendra Modi when he was touring the country as the BJP’s prime ministerial nominee and later carrying out serial blasts during his Hunkar rally in Patna on October 27 last year.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday charged 10 alleged Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) operatives for trying to physically harm Narendra Modi when he was touring the country as the BJP’s prime ministerial nominee and later carrying out serial blasts during his Hunkar rally in Patna on October 27 last year.

In the chargesheet, filed before a special NIA court in Patna, the NIA has alleged that even after carrying out the Patna blast, members of the SIMI’s Sithio module led by Haidar Ali, arrested on May 21 this year, continued to plan more terror actions across the country in Delhi, Jaipur, Ajmer, Mumbai and various places in Gujarat.

Witnesses have told the NIA that Azharuddin Qureshi, one of the accused charged in the case, planned to go to Afghanistan after carrying out bomb blasts in the country.

According to the chargesheet, the members of the module first went to Modi’s rallies in Chattisgarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh for reconnaissance of his security detail. When they found, it was difficult to reach near Modi, they decided to carry out bomb blasts at his rally in order to cause stampede which may help them to reach near the BJP’s PM nominee.

“Accused persons perceived Modi as a threat to the interests of Muslim community in India and believed that he was responsible for the post Godhra riots in Gujarat. Further they also felt that leaders of BJP were responsible for the recent riots in Muzaffarnagar,” claims the chargesheet.

Besides Haidar and Azharuddin, the agency has charged Numan Ansari, Taufique Ansari, Mujibullah, Umer Siddique, Ahmad Hussain, Fakhruddin, Firoz Aslam and Ifteqaar in the case. Before the present chargesheet, the NIA had charged Imtiaz Ansari in the case as well who was arrested on the day of blasts from Patna railway station.

“We have enough evidence to prove our charges against the accused during trial,” said the NIA director general Sharad Kumar.

The NIA has not chargesheeted alleged India Mujahideen operative Tehseen Akhtar alias Monu in the case, though he was named as an accused in its FIR.