Pak Trained Terrorists Arrested For Plotting To Attack Indian Nuclear Plant At Kaiga

Another terror suspect has been arrested in Bangalore. The Bangalore City Crime Branch picked up Dr Nayueem Siddique last evening on the basis of information provided by those already arrested, widening a terror-module investigation that had begun with 11 arrests on August 29–30.

A laptop, mobile phone, and Rs 10,000 in cash were seized from Siddique, a native of Davangere. Police said he was in touch with the others already in custody, providing logistical and financial support to their activities, and was also working as a recruiter for them. With his arrest, 14 suspects were in custody.

The module's members included a journalist with an English daily, a junior software engineer with DRDO, and several other educated young men — which is what made the case stand out. Preliminary investigation showed the suspects had plans to target Sangh Parivar leaders, MPs, a media owner, and two journalists. Police Commissioner Jyoti Prakash Mirji told the press that the arrested youth were in regular touch with Lashkar-e-Toiba and Harkat-ul-Jehadi-al-Islami (HuJI) operatives in Saudi Arabia. A 7.65 mm pistol and seven bullets were recovered from a Bangalore house where six of them were picked up.

At the time, the Union Home Ministry said the men also planned to attack vital installations such as the Kaiga nuclear power plant and the Sea Bird naval base at Karwar — a claim that drew wide alarm. But the subsequent NIA probe could not substantiate the nuclear-target allegation. The case (RC 04/2012, Hyderabad) went to an NIA special court in Bengaluru, and in September 2016 the accused were convicted on guilty pleas under the UAPA, Arms Act, and other charges.

The distinction matters: an alleged plot against a nuclear installation is a headline; what investigators could actually prove in court is the record.