INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE ATTACK: TRAIL GOES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000802

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

DS/IP/SA FOR JOHN LEAZIER
DS/DSS/ITA FOR STEVEN CAPELLI
DS/DSS/OSAC FOR BLAIR JOHANNSSEN
NEW DELHI AND MUMBAI FOR RSO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER PGOV PINR ASEC CASC OVIP IN
SUBJECT: INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE ATTACK: TRAIL GOES
COLD

REF: (A) 05 CHENNAI 2901, (B) CHENNAI 00017


1. SUMMARY: (SBU) Four months after a gunman opened fire
at the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) at Bangalore,
the assailant remains at large. While Karnataka police
officially blame the Jammu and Kashmir based Lashkar e-
Tayyiba (LeT) for the attack, in private they speculate
that the attacker could be from one of India's northern
states or is a local. The dismantling of a LeT cell
based on the interrogation of a suspect in the December
28 attack may have prevented a follow-up attack. In the
aftermath of the shooting, Karnataka police have
established a new police zone in Bangalore's information
technology corridor and initiated a surveillance program
of mosques in sensitive parts of the state. END SUMMARY

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IISC ATTACK: BANGALORE POLICE YET TO CAPTURE GUNMAN
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2. (SBU) Four months after the December 28, 2005 attack
on the Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore, city
police are still seeking those responsible (Ref A).
Initial openness by law enforcement officials about the
progress of the investigation has now been replaced by an
unwillingness to share details about the case. Bangalore
Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Singh at a meeting told
Post, "These are issues that cannot be discussed."
Kishore Chandra, Additional Director General of Police
Intelligence (ADGP I) Karnataka, who handled the initial
investigation, however, told Post that the trail had gone
cold (Ref B).


3. (SBU) Karnataka Police officially state that
investigations indicate the attack was carried out by a
module of the Jammu and Kashmir based Lashkar e-Tayyiba.
"That is the line we are pursuing," B.S. Sial, Director
General of Police, Karnataka told Post. But ADGP I
Chandra now believes that Islamic terrorists from India's
northern states or perhaps a local terrorist cell carried
out the attack (Ref B). Subash Bharani, Additional
Director General of Police Law and Order (ADG LO),
endorsed Chandra's supposition, speculating that the
attackers came from across Karnataka's northern border.

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KARNATAKA POLICE DISMANTLE LeT CELL
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4. (SBU) Interrogation of Abdul Rehman, alleged
operations Chief of LeT in south India, led to the arrest
of four other operatives in Karnataka (Ref B). Mehboob
Ibrahim, age 35, a trained fabrication mechanic turned
mullah of Guledagudda in Bagalkot District in north
Karnataka, was arrested on January 17, 2006 and police
allegedly seized from him incriminating documents and
explosives. Nizamuddin, age 24, and Noorulla Khan, 25,
both of Chintamani in Kolar district of Karnataka were
arrested on January 25, 2006 at Hesarghatta, a Bangalore
suburb. Police seized from them a country (homemade)
pistol, bombs hidden in lunch pails and detonators. On
February 12, 2006, Chan Pasha, a forty seven year old
clothing store owner was arrested for allegedly operating
a hawala system that funneled money from Saudi Arabia to
operatives in India. Pasha allegedly met Rehman in Saudi
Arabia where the latter operated a business. "We
prevented a follow on attack in January 2006," ADGP I
Chandra told Post.


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ARRESTED LeT CELL MEMBERS AHL-E-HADEES ADHERENTS
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5. (SBU) All of the suspects arrested so far are
adherents of Ahl-e-Hadees, a sect in the Salafi tradition

CHENNAI 00000802 002 OF 002


of Islam. The sect has a following among some educated,
urban Muslim youth in search of jobs. Through a network
of the sect's adherents in the Gulf, mullahs in Ahl-e-
Hadees mosques often secure jobs for young members.
While most youth view membership primarily as a passport
to personal economic improvement, some fall prey to the
group's Jihad ideology. Ahl-e-Hadees remains a minority
group among Karnataka Muslims. The majority of
Karnataka's Muslim community follows the Deobandhi
tradition, a synthesis of Hinduism and Islam. Roshen
Baig, a former Karnataka Home Minister and senior Muslim
Congress leader, told Post that a lack of support for
strident Hindu-nationalism among the Hindu majority helps
to keep militant Islam in check in Karnataka.

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POLICE RESPONSE: REORGANIZATION AND MORE SURVEILLANCE
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6. (SBU) The attack's aftermath brought a fiscal windfall
for Karnataka Police. An exclusive police zone covering
the Electronic City-Whitefield suburb of Bangalore which
hosts the majority of companies in the city's famed
knowledge industry was approved by the state government.
An expanded quick reaction team and a doubling in the
size of the city police force are other approved
proposals. Karnataka's ADG LO Bharani told Post that
surveillance of mosques suspected of harboring extremists
is providing actionable information. Former Home
Minister Baig remains skeptical, however, saying that
officers often pocket the money meant to pay for
informants.

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USG ASSISTANCE: JUST GIVE US THE INFORMATION
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7. (SBU) COMMENT: Despite a cold trail, Karnataka police
are reluctant to seek USG assistance. Top state police
officials with Cold War mindsets remain suspicious of USG
intentions. "Give us the information and we will act,"
Karnataka DGP Sial told Post. Post will continue to
encourage greater cooperation from Karnataka police
officials. END COMMENT.

HOPPER