Sonia and Rahul Gandhi

Lucknow, Nov. 16: Police today claimed to have arrested three armed Pakistani militants apparently driving towards Rae Bareli, lending an ominous ring to recent home ministry warnings about Rahul and Sonia Gandhi’s security.

Senior officers did not name either leader but dropped enough hints. The trio, they said, had confessed to a Jaish-e-Mohammed plot to kidnap a “VVIP” and trade him or her off for 42 jailed militants including condemned Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

The special task force, which said it captured the trio after a brief highway gunfight 11km from Lucknow, claimed the militants’ plan was to seek United Nations mediation to seek their comrades’ release.

“Who is the politician whose abduction could have made international impact and ensured the release of 42 hardcore militants?” said STF senior superintendent Amitabh Jash. “It’s an easy guess. He or she must be of overriding national importance.”

Jaish is headed by Masood Azhar, one of the jailed militants traded for the passengers of the hijacked Indian plane, IC-814, in Kandahar eight years ago.

Director-general of police Vikram Singh said the militants planned to infiltrate the target’s party office.

“They would work either as a political worker or a Class IV employee, sweeping the floor or serving water. They would study the VVIP’s movement. At a convenient moment, they would abduct the VVIP,” Singh said.

The three suspected militants at the DGP’s office in Lucknow. (PTI)

“Jaish trained the trio in using arms and in all the skills required to carry out an abduction. They were shown videographed scenes of the VVIP’s rallies.”

The police chief said the militants’ grey Santro, UP-33A-3536, had a Rae Bareli registration. The STF, tipped off by informants, had challenged them around 5am near Vishal Hospital on Sitapur Road.

The trio allegedly began firing in the air but stopped after the police warned them. Officers failed to explain why such a heavily armed group — allegedly carrying two AK-47s, 4kg RDX, five detonators, 15 Chinese-made grenades and several Chinese pistols — would stage such a tame, bloodless surrender.

The trio have been identified as Mohammed Abid alias Fate, 27, of Manzag Road, Lahore; Mohammed Yusuf alias Faizal, 21, of Kashimpur Colony, Multan; and Mirza Rashid Beg alias Raza, 26, from Royal Court Road, Gujranwala.

Officers also claimed the men had tickets for the Jammu-Delhi Sampark Kranti Express, dated November 14, suggesting they had reached Delhi on November 15. They did not explain why the militants had held on to the tickets while driving to Uttar Pradesh.

A fork in the road at the point the men were arrested leads to Rae Bareli, the police said, adding that the militants may have been headed to Rahul’s constituency, Amethi, or Sonia’s Rae Bareli.

“They may have acquired the Santro after reaching the Uttar Pradesh border from Delhi,” an officer said.

The Union home ministry had earlier this year warned the state about threats to Sonia and Rahul. On March 25, the ministry advised Rahul against freely mingling with the public during his pre-poll roadshow in Uttar Pradesh.