Lashkar suicide attack on Republic Day feared
by Chandrika Jain

    New Delhi: At least eight terrorists of the militant outfit, Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) have entered New Delhi recently with the motive of carrying out a suicide attack on Republic Day, intelligence agencies here claimed on Friday. The intelligence agencies have passed this information to the Delhi Police and other security agencies. The intelligence inputs warned that apart from the eight terrorists, five more terrorists would be joining them to carry out the attack during the Republic Day, when President A P J Abdul Kalam along with other prominent leaders including, political and military, will participate in the function. According to the information, the eight terrorist were carrying number of sophisticated weapons with them and were hiding somewhere in South Delhi. Informed sources said that they were anticipating a terrorist strike around the Red Fort area or on the route of the Republic Day parade that takes place on January 26. Senior officials of the Delhi Police have met Intelligence Bureau officials to review security preparations for the Republic Day.

   Meanwhile, the South India operations chief of the Lashkar-e- Taiba was arrested at Nalgonda in Andhra Pradesh in connection with the December 28, 2005 terrorist attack in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Accused, Abdul Rehman, 35, was taken into custody by a Bangalore police team in the Andhra Pradesh town on January 1 and he was remanded in police custody for 14 days by a magistrate. According to the police, Rehman has strong LeT links and it has been established. He was in charge of 'violent' LeT operations in south India and the arrest will certainly lead to a major breakthrough in the IISc attack case. The attack outside a conference hall of the IISc in which bullets were sprayed from AK-56 automatic weapon left a retired professor of IIT Delhi dead and four others wounded.

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