Police recover bombs, pistols from houses of SIMI members

The crime branch have recovered weapons, a laptop, CDs and DVDs containing 'Jihadi speeches' during the raids conducted by them on the houses of SIMI activists arrested from Vadodara, police said on Wednesday.

The police had raided the houses of Usman Aggarbatiwala and other accused Imran Sheikh on Tuesday in Vadodara.

"Usman, during his interrogation, has said that Qayamuddin, one of the absconding suspects, had given him a bag which he had hidden in a warehouse belonging to his uncle," deputy commissioner of police ,Abhay Chudasama said.

"We searched the warehouse on Tuesday night and found the bag which contained one pistol, two live bullets, one air pistol, a seven inch long pipe bomb and 19 compact discs and DVDs," Chudasama said.

"The air pistols were used during the SIMI training camp in Halol in January 2008. They used to practice shooting using the air pistol. The bomb has been dismantled and its material has been sent to the forensic science laboratory, along with other material recovered, for analysis," he said.

"The CDs and DVDs contain jihadi speeches of Bin Laden and others. The CDs are also being analysed," Chudasama added.

Chudasama said they had also searched the house where the computer techie Abdul Subhan alias Taufiq used to stay while he was in Vadodara and recovered a laptop from there.

"The laptop was used by Subhan while he was in Vadodara. The data in the hard-drive of the laptop is being analysed by forensic experts," DCP Chudasama said.

He said they also raided three cyber cafes near Usman's house and have taken into custody a couple of hard-drives which are being analysed.

One team of crime branch officials also conducted search operation at 33, Lukman Park Society in Bharuch on Tuesday, where one, the key conspirators of the serial blasts, Sajid Mansuri used to stay as a tenant prior to the terror attacks.

Sources said the police have recovered some incriminating documents from the house. They had also collected finger prints and other samples from the rented premises, they added.

The house was rented to Sajid by one Saeed Hayat of Ikhar village for Rs 1,200 per month,  two months prior to the blasts. Hayat was a care-taker of the property which is owned by a London-based NRI.

Ten SIMI activists are in police custody for their alleged involvement in the terror attacks on July 26 in Ahmedabad which claimed 55 lives.