Driver now claims his vehicle was hijacked by militants

In a new twist to the probe into the terrorist attack in Ayodhya, Rehan, the driver of the jeep used in the attack, has claimed the militants had hijacked his vehicle and drove it themselves to the scene of the incident.

• Militants told driver they were on pilgrimage

Earlier, Rehan had claimed that the militants had hired his vehicle saying they were on a pilgrimage to Ayodhya.

• 6 militants storm Ayodhya, killed

Senior Superintendent of Police Avinash Chandra told PTI in Ayodhya on Thursday that Rehan had told interrogators that he was asked to move aside from the driving seat by the militants at gunpoint after which one of the terrorists drove the jeep to site of incident on Tuesday.

According to Rehan, when the vehicle reached near the Digamber Jain temple facing the northern side of the iron
railings guarding the acquired land, the militants asked him to leave and triggered a blast in the jeep after getting down,
the SSP said.

• Police get lead into Ayodhya attack

The driver also told the police that the militants had thrown away the sim card of his cell phone and threatened that
they had a silencer pistol and that no one would hear if they opened fire at him, he said.

Rehan said he was nabbed by the police while he was trying to flee from the scene of blast.

Meanwhile, police and central intelligence agencies are probing Rehan's visits to Saudi Arabia.

Chandra said that the interrogation of Rehan and another driver Raj Kumar, who had brought the five militants in his
jeep to Faizabad from Akbarpur, about 70 km from Ayodhya, was continuing.

"We are trying to verify the statements of Rehan and Raj Kumar," he said.