Al-Qaeda 'terrorist' held for making threat call to Chavan
Published: Sep 6, 2010 00:52 Updated: Sep 6, 2010 00:52
MUMBAI: The officials of the Anti Terrorist Squad of the Maharashtra police arrested Abdul Gani Shah in Nasik late Saturday for making a threat call to the state Chief Minister Ashok Chavan posing as a terrorist of Al-Qaeda organization.
The ATS chief Rakesh Maria said that the police confiscated eight cell SIM cards and a dairy containing telephone numbers of several ministers.
Maria said that on basis of the preliminary inquiry Shah had made the threat call to the official residence of the chief minister from outside the Deolali railway station in Nasik. He was tracked down from the phone number. The accused who is in the custody of the Nasik railway police was produced before a holiday court on Sunday which gave a transit police remand for the accused to be taken to Mumbai.
According to police sources, Shah called the residence of the chief minister on Saturday and demanded to speak to Chavan. "I'm a terrorist of the Al-Qaeda speaking and connect me to the chief minister immediately; Shah is alleged to have told the operator at Chavan's residence.
The news spread like wild fire and created jitters in government and political circles. A official at "Varsha' the residence of the chief minister speaking to Arab News said, "A person claiming to be a terrorist of the Al-Qaeda phoned Chavan's residence five times and insisted on speaking to the chief minister. However, the caller was told that the chief minister had left on a tour to Aurangabad.
The official further stated, "The caller not being satisfied with the reply given, informed that the chief minister would have to face the consequences, as he was a member of the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization and warned that Chavan was the next target of the terror network."
The security personnel at the residence of Chavan were jolted by the threat perception to the chief minister. The chief minister's staff immediately informed the Malabar Hill police station about the threat call. Chavan who was in Aurangabad confirmed about the threat call received at his residence.
The Mumbai police had taken serious cognizance of the threat call in the background of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the death penalty awarded to the alleged Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Qasab, the several alerts sounded by the federal intelligence agencies. Therefore the police were not willing to accept or consider and more ignore that the threat call might have been made by some lunatic or some prankster. The Malabar Hill police which registered the crime transferred the case to the ATS.

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