Upon their discovery, the documents were delivered to Seydişehir District Governor Kemal İnan, and an investigation was launched into the incident. The files, dumped into a field near Aliçerçi Village in Konya’s Bozkır district, were first noticed by passers-by who took them to the governor.
According to reports, the documents belong to the Gendarmerie Command and had official stamps on them. In addition to Özçaban’s signature, the documents were also undersigned by Gendarmerie Security Branch head Maj. İ. Sezai Gürbüz.
İnan initially declined to comment on the documents, saying that as they had just been discovered it was too early to speculate on how or why military documents were dumped in a field. However, yesterday Konya Governor Nezih Doğan issued a statement to squash speculation about the files, saying that the documents were files related to such things as the Law on Highway Traffic and routine traffic procedures, including forms needed for use by traffic controllers. Doğan said that one member of the Gendarmerie traffic team had left a file of documents inside a bag on the side of the road during a routine traffic checkpoint procedure and had forgotten them there.
The files include numerous documents signed on various dates in February as well as a CD.
Col. Özçoban is accused of masterminding two planned bomb attacks code-named “Çarşaf” (Chador) and “Sakal” (Beard) under the Sledgehammer plan, an alleged plot to stir up chaos in order to overthrow the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government in a coup d’état. According to the plan, bombs were to be detonated in two mosques on a Friday, shortly after midday prayers. A nine-member squad was to plant a remote-controlled bomb in a shoe cabinet at Fatih Mosque before leaving the building. The bomb would be detonated only seconds after the completion of the Friday prayer.
At Beyazıt Mosque, a similar bomb was to be placed in the garden of the mosque by a team of gendarmerie officers, led by Özçoban, who was arrested on Sunday.
