Over 16 yrs after terror attack, Akshardham accused arrested

Mohammed Farooq Shaikh, an accused in the 2002 Akshardham temple attack case, was arrested on Monday, the police said. Thirty-four people were killed and over 80 injured in the terror strike, which had taken place a few months after the 2002 post-Godhra riots.

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad and Ahmedabad crime branch apprehended Shaikh, who was on the run for the past 16 years, from Ahmedabad airport, minutes after he arrived from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

ACP (crime) Bhagirathsinh Gohil told reporters that Shaikh used to live in Juhapura locality of Ahmedabad, but had fled to Saudi Arabia after the attack on the temple.

"The accused had met with members of terrorist organisations like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Saudi Arabia and planned the attack to avenge the losses suffered by Muslims in the Gujarat communal riots. He had arranged funds for the attack," the police said in a release.

The police said that Shaikh was a facilitator for the terrorists, and had also arranged for logistical support to them. "The terrorists had conducted a survey of several crowded places, before deciding to carry out the attack at Akshardham temple," it said.

Shaikh's brother Mohammed Salim, also an accused in the same case, was arrested earlier.

Two terrorists had attacked the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar on September 24, 2002. They went on a shooting spree killing 34 people, mainly devotees, one police official, and one National Security Guard commando.

The terrorists were killed by commandos after a nearly 15-hour siege.

The alleged prime conspirator of the terror attack Abdul Rashid Ajmeri was arrested upon his arrival at Ahmedabad airport from Riyadh last year. According to the police, ten persons accused in the case have been arrested so far, while 22 others are still out of reach. Six persons, who were tried and convicted, including three who were facing death sentence, were acquitted by the Supreme Court in May 2014.