L.K. Advani

Chennai, Nov. 1: Two persons were arrested today by Tamil Nadu police for planting a pipe bomb beneath a bridge near Madurai on BJP leader L.K. Advani’s yatra route on Friday.

The special team arrested Adbul Rehman, 26, and Ismath, 22, both residents of Madurai.

The police seized an autorickshaw and a motorcycle, which they said was used in the crime.

They are also searching for two associates of Rehman and Ismath who they believe had assisted them in the plot.

“The two have admitted that Advani was their target and are being interrogated. We are probing if they are linked to Imam Ali, a key member of the Al Umma extremist group who was gunned down in Bangalore in October 2002 after escaping from police custody. They (Rehman and Ismath) have named two other collaborators, for whom an intensive search is on,” a senior police officer said.

The investigators zeroed in on the duo by examining all phone calls made in the Alampatti area, which is close to Madurai, on Friday and the two preceding days.

There were a large number of calls from one number, which was traced to Abdul Rehman of Madurai. Monitoring his phone led them to Ismath and both were picked up from their homes this evening, the police said.

The six-foot pipe bomb, packed with explosives used for granite quarrying, was found around 8am on Friday by a resident who alerted the police.

Advani’s convoy was to pass the route at 10.30am.

The police cordoned off the area, redirected Advani’s convoy and launched an investigation.