The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Terror attacks: ID card ‘linked’ to Bidadi college

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Thursday, Dec 04, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Terror attacks: ID card ‘linked’ to Bidadi college

Staff Reporter

Police find there is no student by that name

BANGALORE: The Bidadi police on Wednesday went into a tizzy following information that the Mumbai police had recovered an identity card, apparently issued by a college in Bidadi in Ramanagara district near here. The Bidadi police visited several educational institutions in search of information on one Sameer Choudhary to whom the ID card had been issued.

The police said it was one among the five college IDs recovered from the terrorists involved in the Mumbai terrorist attacks. The ID card was apparently issued by the Arunodaya Group of Institutions, at Teachers Colony near Mariyappana Palya, to a student named Sameer Choudhary.

However, investigations revealed that there was no student by that name.

“On Wednesday we heard that the Mumbai police had recovered college IDs from the scene of the terror attacks. Apparently, one of them was issued by Arunodaya Group of Institutions. We have verified the details of all the 441 students and we have not found any student by the name of Sameer Choudhary,” a senior officer of Ramanagara district police told The Hindu. “Though we have not received any information or official communication from the Mumbai police, we conducted our inquiries,” he added.

Established around three years ago, the Arunodaya Group offers courses from Pre-University Course to management, commerce and law. The police official said: “We also verified documents pertaining to the admission, and discussed the issue with the president of the institution, Mallayya, and Principal Sreedevi.”

Student reaction

Curious students milled around when they saw the police. “Around 12.30 p.m., we saw a group of policemen entering our campus. They held discussions with Principal Sreedevi. They also called a few students and inquired about one Sameer Choudhary,” said S. Malini, a second year Pre-University Course student. “We were worried for a while; we don’t know anything about him.”

Management view

When contacted, the management of the Arunodaya Group of Institutions said it must be a fake ID because till date they had not issued an ID card to a student by that name. The police also visited several educational institutions in their jurisdiction.

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