The Hyderabad police has arrested eight suspected Lashkar-e-Tayiba operatives and unearthed a plot to explode an improvised explosive device near a Ganesh temple in Secunderabad during the forthcoming Ganesh festival.

Seven other suspects are absconding.

"By timely planning and action, the city police unearthed the entire conspiracy, arrested the important accused, seized explosives and saved the situation, which otherwise would have resulted in a major law and order problem," Police Commissioner R P Singh said on Sunday evening.

The arrested included a religious leader, Maulana Naseeruddin, the commissioner said.

Naseeruddin headed an organisation known as the Tahreek Tahfuz Shariat-e-Islami (Movement for Protection of Islamic Law).

"Naseeruddin has been working clandestinely on behalf of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and their leaders Abdul Bari alias Abu Hamza and Shahed alias Abu Nidal, both natives of Hyderabad, presently operating from Saudi Arabia," Singh said.

"These operations were plotted in pursuance of the overall terrorist game-plan of LeT to indulge in subversion and sabotage to disturb peace and national integrity of India. Naseeruddin has been instrumental in fomenting communal passions among the gullible and innocent youth and making them resort to inhuman activities," the commissioner added.

Naseeruddin was providing ideological, financial and moral support to the other accused, who had planned very meticulously and wanted to operate during the forthcoming Ganesh festival.

The accused had started procuring firearms and explosives to prepare the IED, which was to be planted near the Ganesh temple adjacent to the Secunderabad railway station.

One of the accused, in the guise of a devotee, was to explode the IED by operating a remote control.

According to the officer, acting on information that Naseeruddin and his associates were indulging in subversive activities, a task force raided their hideout at Ghousenagar under the Chandrayangutta police limits early Sunday.

The task force nabbed four persons -- Ahmed Mohiuddin Rashid, Syed Abdul Quadeer, Sheikh Fareed and Munawarullah Shareef -- and seized firearms, ammunition, explosive substances, fuse wires and detonators.

An Ambassador car and two stolen two-wheelers were also seized.

Another man, Abdul Aziz, an explosives expert, managed to escape.

Based on the confessions of the accused, the police apprehended Naseeruddin near his house and also arrested three others -- Omar Farooq, Mohammed Jaweed and Ghulam Aslam Siddiqui-- from the house of one Aslam at Toli Chowki.