A MAN who tried to frame a Blackburn resident as a terrorist planning attacks on Hindu temples during a premeditated and highly organised campaign of deception has been jailed.

Manchester Crown Court heard how on June 26 Usman Ahmed disguised his voice in a call to police where he stated a man in Blackburn had told to him he was imminently going to commit attacks against Hindu temples in the UK.

The 32-year-old further claimed that he had serious concerns about the man and had even seen detailed documents outlining the plans.

Officers, believing there to be an imminent threat to the safety of the public, launched an investigation and carried out a search of the man’s home and car where they uncovered paperwork detailing plans for an attack.

The man was i arrested for terrorism offences and taken in to custody for questioning.

Due to the seriousness of the offences under investigation, as well as the potential risk to the public at large, a team of detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing were involved. They took various steps in an effort to trace the original call and ultimately identified Ahmed.

Ahmed was question on June 29 and admitted he made a false report and lied about everything in an effort to seek revenge against the man in question.

His account to police detailed a complex conspiracy to make the man look guilty, dating back to as early as April. This included placing a tracker on the man’s car, breaking into his vehicle to plant evidence and using various SIM cards to cover his tracks. Further enquiries corroborated the admission and the previously arrested man was released from custody with no further action taken against him.

Instead, Ahmed was arrested on suspicion of completing a series of acts intending to pervert the course of justice.

Ahmed, of Southville Road, Bedford, pleaded guilty to one count of completing a series of acts intending to pervert the course of justice. He has been jailed for five years and four months

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Superintendent Will Chatterton, head of investigations for Counter Terrorism Policing North West, said: “This was a premeditated and highly organised campaign of deception by Ahmed to try and frame an innocent man. He went as far as planting evidence in a bid to see this man convicted of atrocious crimes and to be seen by the world as a terrorist.

“Thankfully, officers foiled his deceit and when confronted by detectives, Ahmed realised the severity of the accusations he had made and admitted it was all a lie.

“His false claims placed an innocent man in an unthinkable position, caused understandable concerns in the community and wasted the valuable time of officers who had to pause investigations into other serious matters in order to ensure the public were safe from an alleged imminent terrorist attack.”