Qaeda lures a butcher of Meerut with `1cr offer to plant bombs By Piyush Srivastava in Lucknow Expert says al-

Qaeda could be hunting for mercenaries THE dreaded global terror organisation, al- Qaeda, has apparently picked out a b utcher in Meerut with a mindblowing ` 1 crore offer over the telephone to plant bombs in his hometown. The Uttar Pradesh Polices special task force ( STF) and the special operations gr oup ( SPG) were investigating the authenticity of the calls made from numbers in Iran, Tajikistan and Spain to the Meerut meat merchant, Hashim Ilahi, a few hou rs after the serial blasts in Mumbai on July 13. Ilahi informed Meerut DIG Prem Prakash the very next day about the calls that he received on his mobile from international numbers that he couldnt identify origi nated from which country. The police later found that the numbers belonged to Iran, Tajikistan and Spain. The people identified themselves as members of the al- Qaeda and said I was of g reat use to them. They called me July 13 midnight and July 14 early morning. The y offered me ` 1 crore, saying all I had to do was plant bombs in the city, Ilahi said. They called me from these three numbers + 9837173840, + 3444050 and + 786 8970150, he added. He was apparently selected for the deadly assignment because the last number of my mobile phone was 786, considered auspicious in Islam. I didnt pay attention when I got the first call around midnight. I was terrified after the second and the third because by then I knew about the terror attacks in Mumbai. So the very next day, I went to the nearest police sta tion. But they shooed me off. I finally contacted the DIG, Ilahi said. The small- time merchant, who has a shop in the Garh Road area of Meerut, said: Those who called me were clear about what they wanted. They said I needed to hel p them in organising two bomb blasts in Meerut for which they would pay me ` 1 c rore. But since I have registered a complaint with the police, I think my life i s in danger now. The police have asked him not to worry, though. The calls originated through the Internet from different countries. We are tryin g to put some of the numbers under surveillance. More details would be available soon. We are taking this case seriously and the investigating agencies are already on the job. We can reach a conclusion once th e probe is over. DIG Prem Prakash said. The DIG then contacted special DGP Brijlal. Only an investigation will tell, Brij lal later said. The calls were made through the Internet. It was routed through two international mobile service providers. We have deployed experts to find out the IP addresses of those websites through which the calls were made, he added. Retired IGP S. R. Darapuri said the al- Qaeda does try to recruit people from In dia, Pakistan and Bangladesh as mercenaries. It is well- known that some very big international terrorists groups, including

the al- Qaeda, use money to lure recruits. In such cases, there is no need for indoctrination. They ask people to work for them for money. But then they select their mercenaries very carefully and after watching them for long, he said. We have seen in the past that mostly, the terrorists were completely brainwashed and motivated by wrong interpretation of religion. But it doesnt mean that money is not involved. The terrorist organisations assure full financial support to t heir families after their death, he added. But the latest call, I must say, is a new trend for our country, Darapuri said. Explaining how international calls were made through the Internet, software engi neer Ateesh Agrawal said there could be a possibility that someone sitting in In dia had routed his calls to Ilahi through different service providers in Iran, T ajikistan and Spain. We cannot say anything with confirmation without gathering the details regarding the location of the computer and the mobile server through which the calls were routed. The investigators can try to contact the mobile service providers to kn ow who the users of those numbers are. Then they can trace the computer from whi ch the calls were initially originated before being diverted through those mobil e numbers of the particular servers, he said. Mail Today