Blasts in Narendra Modi's Patna rally were revenge for Gujarat riots: NIA

NEW DELHI: The terror plot to target Narendra Modi at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan last year was meant to be a revenge for the 2002 Gujarat riots and the terrorists planned everything from using firearms to employing a suicide bomber and ultimately using a series of bomb blasts to assassinate the BJP leader and then Gujarat chief minister, the National Investigation Agency ( NIA) has concluded.

A 36-page charge sheet submitted by the NIA in a Patna court nearly a fortnight ago reveals that the suicide bomber, who is now a "protected witness" of the agency, will depose in court to divulge the details. His identity has been kept a secret by the agency. An explosive-laden suicide jacket was prepared for attacking Modi during his prime ministerial campaign and it was even tested on a tree by the main accused Haider Ali and Umer Siddiqui, but the suicide bomber backed out, the charge sheet says.
The NIA has attached a photograph of a date tree near a railway line opposite the Ring Road in Ranchi where the jacket "was fastened to the tree and tested" by the terrorists using a remote control switch.

"It is evident that Haider Ali and his associates had a motive to carry out a fidayeen attack on Modi," says the charge sheet. Ali and Siddiqui hatched the plan, with the latter motivating initially one person, who is now the protected witness, to become a suicide bomber.

"However, after discussions, the person informed Ali and Siddiqui that considering the security cover provided to Modi, it would not be possible to target him as planned. He refused to participate in the planned attack on Modi," the charge sheet says.

It adds that Ali, who was present at Modi's three earlier rallies for reconnaissance, concluded after observing the security arrangements that it was almost impossible to attack the BJP leader with firearms.

"It was therefore decided to explode bombs in his election rally, with intention to kill a large number of common people which would lead to a stampede and in the ensuing melee, Modi could be easily targeted from close range," the charge sheet says. The revelations highlight the heightened threat that Modi has faced from Jihadi terror groups since on September 13 last year, when he was declared the prime ministerial candidate by the BJP.

The NIA makes it clear that according to its investigation the accused "perceived Narendra Modi was responsible for the post Godhra riots in Gujarat" and the Muzaffarnagar riots acted as an immediate trigger since the terrorists blamed the BJP for these riots.

"It has come on record that Ali used to incite SIMI cadres to take revenge for the Gujarat riots. When this (Patna) plan was discussed by Ali and Siddiqui (with other accused), they said that the attack at Gandhi Maidan will be a revenge for the Gujarat riots. Further, they also felt that the leaders of the BJP were responsible for the recent riots in Muzaffarnagar," the charge sheet says.