Hyderabad, January 20: An Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) depot on the outskirts of Hyderabad and oil refineries in Visakhapatnam and Chennai were the locations which the self-styled commander of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), Shaik Abdul Khaja alias Amjad, had intended to bomb.
Within Hyderabad, he reportedly planned to eliminate some police officers who had arrested and interrogated several youths in connection with the Task Force, Mecca Masjid and August 25 twin blasts in Hyderabad.
Further, Khaja, a resident of Moosarambagh, is said to have sent about 24 Muslim youths from Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Bidar to terror camps in Pakistan. He was recently picked up from the Chennai airport.
Sources associated with the investigation told Express that Khaja had set his eyes on the three locations and had reportedly recceed his targets.
“Unlike their usual targets like malls and other crowded places, Khaja wanted to target oil depots and refineries to cause maximum damage,’’ sources said.
They said that he was in Chennai to `finalise’ the `boys’ who would carryout the blast. “He had chosen some youngsters and we are on the lookout for them,’’ they said.
Interestingly, though Khaja was the most wanted terrorist by the Andhra Pradesh police and a red corner notice was also issued against him, he is said to have visited Hyderabad and other south Indian cities a few times since 2005.
“For the entire 2005, he did not move from Bangladesh. In 2006, he started shuttling between Bangladesh and Pakistan and later visited Hyderabad and other cities.
When he fled Hyderabad a few years ago, he was lean but now his appearance has changed,’’ sources said.
They said that Khaja is said to have sent about 24 persons for militant training in Pakistan. “He did not reveal any names,’’ sources said adding that once they get the custody of Khaja, they would grill him further.
Another disclosure which sent alarm bells ringing among the City police officials was Khaja’s `indications’ that some police officers too were his targets. It is learnt that those officials who cracked the Task Force blast case and those who picked up and interrogated several dozens of youths in connection with Mecca Masjid blast and the twin blasts at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat were on Khaja’s `hit-list.’ “He was essentially coordinating between Lashkar-e-Toiba and HUJI. Some inputs suggest that he had close links with Riaz Bhatkal, another most wanted terror operative who had a role in the Mecca Masjid and twin blasts,’’ sources said.
–Agencies