By IANS
Mumbai : The gunning down of two Bangladeshi terrorists Tuesday night has averted a major terrorist attack in Mumbai, said an anti-terrorism squad (ATS) officer here.
Additional Commissioner of Police (ATS) Param Bir Singh told IANS Wednesday: “The two Bangladeshi terrorists who were gunned down late Tuesday night were to survey several places in Mumbai with a view to carry out terror attacks.”
Singh said: “The two are believed to have ties with Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) and had come here to hatch a terror plot.”
Following a tip-off that the two Bangladeshis were meeting some persons to deliver fake currency notes at Kashimira in neighbouring Thane district, the ATS team from Mumbai and Pune intercepted them.
“When the police surrounded them, they opened fire and in retaliation the police fired back killing the two on the spot,” Singh said. He added that the ATS had information that fake currency notes and a revolver were to be delivered. In addition to that the ATS has also recovered a powder like substance suspected to be RDX.
“One of the victims has been identified as Mohammad Ali and his passport has been recovered but the other person’s identity is yet to be ascertained,” Singh said.
In addition to the explosives, the police have also seized firearms and Rs.200,000 in fake currency notes from the two men. Singh said the ATS had received tip-off from central agencies about the arrival of a Bangladeshi terror group in Mumbai a fortnight ago.
The ATS received information that two members of the group were likely to arrive at Kashimira, following which two teams – one from Pune ATS and another from Mumbai ATS – were deployed.