Alleged Isi Agent Held

The city police yesterday arrested an alleged agent of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), who claimed his mission was to blow up the residence of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. The police are verifying Abdullah Salakhis claim during interrogation that he was an ISI-trained agent assigned the job of blowing up the Sena chiefs residence Matoshri at Kalanagar in Bandra, north-west Mumbai, city police commissioner Subhash Malhotra, told reporters.

The police commissioner said Salakhi also claimed that he had inspected the area where Sena mouthpiece Samana is located with an intention to destroy it. by carrying out an explosion.

Some incriminating documents were also seized from salakhi when he was nabbed at Mumbra, in neighbouring Thane district.

Malhotra said Salakhi was an expert in remote control as well as time bomb devices and actively involved in Tahel-e-hadis, an organisation headed by Zalis Ansari, who is languishing in a jail in Jaipur for carrying out a bomb blast in Ajmer in Rajasthan in 1993.

He said salakhi had in 1993 masterminded blasts outside gamdevi police station in south mumbai and in andhra pradesh at nampalli railway station, abid police station in hyderabad and in secunderabad. Mr malhotra said police would also interrogate ansari who is considered to be the brain behind all the plots. More pti rp va pal skl 03131842 d