By IANS,
Shillong : Terror group Indian Mujahideen Thursday threatened to eliminate leader of India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lal Krishna Advani, using suicide bombers during his scheduled visit to Meghalaya next week.
“We have vowed to kill Advani on his visit to Shillong Sep 29. We have already convened a meeting of field commanders,” a statement emailed to journalists and newspaper officers said.
The mail was received from an ID and was claimed to be from Ali Hussain Badr, field commander of the Indian Mujahideen in the northeast of India. Advani is due to arrive in Assam’s main city of Guwahati Sep 28 and then visit Meghalaya’s capital Shillong the next day.
The opposition leader in the Lok Sabha is arriving in northeast Indian states on a three-day visit as part of the party’s Sankalp Rally, a country wide campaign pledging to win next year’s general elections.
“Our main objective is to blow Advani into pieces. Our suicide bombers are ready for this prestigious assignment,” the statement said.
The statement accused Advani and the BJP for the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the recent attacks on churches across India.
“Advani’s Hindutva demand seems to push India into a fascist mould and, as is well known, the proclaimed and identified main enemy of the architects of Hindutva (are) the Muslims and the Christians,” the statement, claiming to be from the Indian Mujahideen, said.
“Apart from the Babri Masjid demolition to the Gujarat massacre and the recent attacks on churches in Orissa, Karnataka, and some parts of Madhya Pradesh, Advani has always tried to portray the Muslims and Christians as inveterate enemies of the Hindus.”
The statement warned the authorities to restrain people from attending Advani’s scheduled programme in Shillong “to avoid casualties”.
“This will be history in the making in the state of Meghalaya when our suicide bombers will rock Shillong.”
“Stop us if you can. We have already set our foot in Shillong to kill Advani,” the statement said.
Badr has claimed to have sent the mail from a cyber cafe in Shillong. “Please do not disregard our mail or else we will not be held responsible for any casualties to civilians. And for your kind information, I am sending you this mail from a cyber cafe in Shillong,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the Meghalaya government has taken the threat seriously and convened a high level security meeting to discuss the email.
“We would take all security measures to ensure Advani’s safety and this email should not dissuade him from visiting the state,” Meghalaya Chief Minister Donkupar Roy told journalists here.
Security agencies are also taking all steps to verify the authenticity of the mail and find out if at all this was sent from a Shillong cyber cafe.