Delhi police reveal 2002 plot to kidnap Tendulkar and Ganguly

The Delhi police have revealed that three Pakistan-based terrorists confessed to conspiring to kidnap Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly in 2002.

The news comes in the backdrop of heightened fears surrounding cricketers' security after the attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore earlier this month, and the uncertainty over this season's IPL, which overlaps with general elections in India.

The police told a Delhi court on Tuesday that the terrorists, belonging to the Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HUJI), had wanted to kidnap the cricketers in a bid to secure the release of two HUJI members who were imprisoned in India. The confessional statements of Tariq Mohammed, Ashfaq Ahmed and Ashad Khan were recorded on February 13, 2002, a fortnight after their arrest from Delhi's Nizamuddin railway station.

The development comes after nearly a fortnight of talks between the IPL and the government regarding the tournament's itinerary. The home ministry had initially asked for a postponement of the IPL but the event's organising committee has been re-jigging the schedule in an attempt to ensure that the government's security forces aren't overstrained.