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| 05 November 2004 | Friday | 21 Ramazan 1425 |
Pakistani charged in false terror case
NEW YORK, Nov 4: The US authorities on Wednesday charged a Pakistani man with lying about a false terrorist plot to destroy a vital bridge.
Tanveer Chaudhry, who had a pending application for asylum in the United States, allegedly concocted a story to win the US authorities' favour. He was charged with making false statements and awaited arraignment in a federal court in New York.
According to court papers, Mr Chaudhry had contacted the FBI on Oct 1 to report a customer at the gas station where he worked who had tried to enlist him in an attack on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. The bridge links the city with New Jersey, Brooklyn and Staten Island.
He claimed the customer and unidentified 'brothers' wanted to hijack two petrol trucks so they could "burn the bridge", and offered him $5,000 to join in the plot.
On Oct 5, after being given a polygraph test, Mr Chaudhry admitted he lied, authorities said.
Mr Chaudhry said he and the customer had spoken about the possibility of an attack on the bridge but had never discussed about doing it themselves, court papers said. He now faces imminent deportation.
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