CHENNAI/COIMBATORE: The killing of Imam Ali, who carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head, and four others in Bangalore on Sunday has spelt the end of a dreaded terrorist in Tamil Nadu.
Ali had escaped with an associate on March 7 at Thirumangalam near Madurai and evaded the police for the past six months.
According to police sources, after Ali''s escape, the Tamil Nadu police formed three teams, which spread out in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Finally on a tip-off, a team formed by Shukla, Akthar and STF SP Ashok Kumar traced Imam Ali in MSR Nagar where Ali was masquerading as Ravi the timber merchant.
Ali was the prime accused in the RSS headquarters bomb blast in Chennai on August 8, 1993, that killed 13 people. He was earlier arrested for attempting the murder of a Hindu Munnani leader. He had plans to kill Deputy Pirme Minister L.K. Advani and HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi. He also aimed to demolish temples, primarily the Meenakshi temple In Madurai.
Hailing from Chathapettai in Melur near Madurai, Imam Ali converted at the age of 18. An expert in making explosives, he was trained by the ISI.
Ali began his activities as part of the All-India Jihad Committee founded by Palani Baba of Coimbatore. His tried to kill Hindu Mannai worker Ramagopal in 1991 during the `1000 lamp'' festival in Tirupur. He was caught and handed over to police. But he escaped even as he was being taken to the police station by attacking the police.
For a brief while, he joined the Al Umma of Kovai Basha (S.A. Basha), the prime accused in the Coimbatore blasts. But not happy with its approach, he went to Kashmir and then to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
He returned and formed his own team and blasted the RSS office, bringing down the two-storeyed building. He formed the Islamic Defence Force (IDF), mostly with converts like him. But after his associate Hyder Ali was arrested, he too was caught in 1997. His cadres soon joined Al Umma.
The killing of `Mangai'' Basheer, Mohamed Ibrahim, Seeniappa and his wife Yasmin also makes the state police work easier. They were responsible for a series of explosions in Chennai after the Coimbatore blasts and the series of train blasts in three trains that emerged from Chennai.
In Coimbatore, heavy security protection has been provided for DIG Shukla, who was behind the Bangalore operation.
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