Hyderabad hand grenade case: NIA files chargesheet against 3 LeT terrorists

On Wednesday, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet against three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives in the Hyderabad hand grenade case on the charge of hatching a terror conspiracy to raise funds, collect explosives and carry out recruitment into the banned outfit.

The agency said it filed the chargesheet against Mohd Abdul Wajid, Samiuddin and Maaz Hasan Farooq, following up on investigations into the case involving the LeT, which was bidding to target Hyderabad. The NIA took over the case investigation in January this year from Hyderabad Police.

The investigation by the premier anti-terror agency revealed that Zahed, Sami and Maaz were in touch with Farhatulla Ghori, an ‘individual terrorist’ listed by the Union government.

Simultaneously, the NIA said the charge-sheeted accused were also in league with Siddiqu bin Osman alias Abu Hanzala, Abdul Majeed alias Chotu and other LeT leaders and operatives.

“They had aimed to carry out bomb blasts at crowded places in Hyderabad,” stated the anti-terror agency.

Farhatulla Ghori, Siddiqu bin Osman and Abdul Majeed are both based in Pakistan, said the agency, adding, “Ghori recruited Zahed from cyberspace and sent funds to him through hawala channels.”

“Zahed was tasked to recruit more persons into LeT and to carry out terrorist acts. Sami, Maaz and Mohammed Kaleem were instigated and prodded by Zahed to work for the LeT,” the NIA said.

Four hand grenades were dead-dropped at an isolated spot near Manoharabad village on Hyderabad-Nagpur Highway (NH-44) on September 28 last year, stated the agency further.

It revealed that Zahed got the hand-grenade consignment collected through Sami and then gave one grenade each to Sami and Maaz with instructions to hurl the same “at public gatherings during Dusshera festival”.

However, the NIA clarified that the accused’s intentions could not bear fruit as they were arrested before the planned attacks.

“The grenades were recovered from their possession while searching their houses. Rs 20 lakh was also seized from Zahed,” the NIA stated, as it unravelled the facts while filing the chargesheet under sections 120B, 153A of the Indian Penal Code, sections 4, 5, 6 of the Explosives Substances Act, 1908 and sections 13, 17, 18, 18B, 20, 38, 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.