Rahul Gandhi is highest-value target in India for terrorists, say security agencies

NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi’s claim that he might be assassinated like his grandmother and father might have invited ridicule, but security agencies acknowledge that he is by far the highest-value target in India for terrorists.

According to a source in the security set-up, Gandhi’s life is constantly in danger but it was imperilled once in November 2007, when Jaish-e-Mohammad head Maulana Masood Azhar’s younger brother Ibrahim Athar, one of the hijackers of IC 814, was revealed as the brains behind a plot to kidnap Gandhi.

“Three militants, Mohammed Abid, Yusuf and Mirza Rashid were trained by Jaish in Sialkot. While Gandhi was the main target, the other two politicians on the list were ex-PM AB Vajpayee and then Leader of Opposition LK Advani,” said a source.

“UP police arrested the militants and foiled the plot,” he added. The plot was hatched around the time of the Sankat Mochan Temple blasts. Security for Gandhi and Congress President Sonia Gandhi were beefed up soon.

A joint kidnap plot between Europebased Sikh groups and LeT had also been foiled during the UP polls in 2007.