US President Barack Obama’s former adviser and anti-terrorism expert Bruce Riedel sees Lashkar- e-Taiba’s signature in the Karntaka terror plot.
“The case looks to be an LeT plot. Recruiting Muslims, especially scientists, is a long-standing LeT goal and their funding comes from Saudi sources,” Riedel, a Senior Fellow at Saban Centre for Middle East Policy at Brookings Institution and author of books on international terror, told Express in an e-mail interview.
Of the 15 suspects arrested in Karnataka, one is a junior scientist with Defence Research and Development Organisation and two are doctors. The suspects were reportedly targeting individuals and were funded by handlers in Saudi Arabia.
Though some experts say LeT is known for mass strikes, Riedel says: “Targeted killing and assassinations are LeT’s long standing terrorist objectives.”
Riedel served in the Central Intelligence Agency for 30 years and worked with many US Presidents. However, former chief of the Counter-Terrorism Wing at the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) B Raman says that at this stage, it is difficult to say if the accused belong to any particular terror outfit.
“A probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) can throw more light. Though Bangalore police have done a good job in busting the module, NIA needs to take over the investigation,” he says.
According to Raman, NIA’s investigation will be better coordinated and will avoid conflicting versions of police of different states.
Raman says, it would be difficult for the Bangalore police to build a strong case as they have not found any hard forensic evidence.
The states have to agree to NIA taking over the probe. “I do not see any problem from Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra as both are ruled by Congress, but Karnataka may not be keen,” he says.
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