ATS lays hands on Al Qaeda's sensitive 'black diary'

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has decoded incriminating code words found in a 'Black Diary' recovered from suspected terrorist Minhaj Ahmed who has links with Al Qaeda. These codes were used to carry our terrorist activities, ADG Law and Order Prashant Kumar said, adding each page of the 'Black Diary' carried several codes.

Lucknow:The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has decoded incriminating code words found in a 'Black Diary' recovered from suspected terrorist Minhaj Ahmed. These codes were used to carry our terrorist activities, ADG Law and Order Prashant Kumar said, adding each page of the 'Black Diary' carried several codes.

The ultras used the code word 'Qurbani' to carry out an attack before Bakrid, sources said. The other important sentences that are decoded are: 'Have read the book' meant 'recce has been carried out'; 'the book comprises seven pages' meant 'the blasts could be carried out in seven locations'; 'the book has been published' meant 'explosives are ready'; and 'the book has been delivered' meant 'explosives have been setup at the attack sites'. Pressure cooker bombs, e-rickshaw batteries and pistols that the suspects had allegedly planned to use to carry out blasts, were all given code words, Kumar said.

Sources said the ATS is grilling the arrested suspects to dig out more information from them. During the interrogation, it was learnt that they used phrases such as 'first flight' has departed, meaning the first batch of terrorists have left (the house) and 'second flight' referred to the second batch. Another code, which read "friends are coming over to cook meat," meant two ultras were arriving in Lucknow. Musa, one of the suspects, received the code, ''Bedbugs are to be fed with sheermal and kebabs," twice, sources in the squad said. The code meant a massive explosion was to be carried out.