The Hindu : Karnataka News : Four terror suspects held in Ullal

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Karnataka

Four terror suspects held in Ullal

Karnataka Bureau

‘Three HAL employees being questioned in Bangalore’

BANGALORE/MANGALORE: Four persons suspected of having links with the terrorist outfit Indian Mujahideen were arrested from houses in and around Mangalore during a joint operation conducted early on Friday by the Mumbai police with help from the Karnataka Anti-Naxal Force and the Dakshina Kannada police. The arrests are said to be in connection with the recent blasts in various parts of the country. Inspector-General of Police (Western Range) A.M. Prasad claimed that all four were local people and dispelled rumours that the suspected terrorists were from Gujarat and Maharashtra. “We believe we have broken into a key local unit of the Indian Mujahideen,” he said.

In a related development in Bangalore, senior officials of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on Friday confirmed that three of their employees were being questioned by Central agencies over their alleged links with the functionaries of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India.

Director-General and Inspector-General of Police R. Sri Kumar, who has been closely monitoring the developments and is coordinating with the Union Home Ministry, said: “We are in close touch with the police of other States. We are following up on all possible leads in the shortest possible time.”

The suspects arrested in Ullal have been identified as Mohammed Ali (56), a real estate agent from Mukkachari in Ullal, and his son Jawed Ali (20), a student of Quranic Studies; Naushad (25) of Subhashnagar, who is engaged in construction work; and Ahmed Bawa (33), a petty businessman from Haleyangadi village near Mulki. As evidence, the police displayed what they claimed to be five “live bombs”, several mobile phone SIM cards from Maharashtra and Gujarat (used and unused), alleged Jihadi literature and compact discs, passports, mobile phones, a laptop, two computer hard drives and Rs.11.39 lakh in cash. The police said all the details of the case and the incriminating evidence could not be shared as it might affect the probe.

The Bangalore police, reportedly helping the IB team, remained tight-lipped. “We have neither arrested nor detained any HAL employee,” said Police Commissioner Shankar M. Bidari.

The Director-General on Friday reviewed the investigation related to serial blasts in Bangalore.

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