Akshardham attack ’plotted in Riyadh’

A key witness in the Akshardham temple attack today said during an in-camera trial at the Sabarmati Central Jail that he saw Muslim clerics from Hyderabad and Ahmedabad holding meetings with leaders of terrorist organisations at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The witness is also learnt to have told the designated court that the clerics and terrorist groups conspired to avenge the killings of Muslims during the post-Godhra communal carnage. He said the leaders planned to target temples across India.

The witness said two of the conspirators Abu Sufiyan and Fardolla Ghori had taken many CDs of the Gujarat riots to Riyadh and had viewed it together. They also collected money for the temple attack.