Five terror suspects, allegedly associated with Base Movement, who were arrested on Sunday night and Tuesday in Madurai and Chennai respectively, were sent to a 10-day police custody by a NIA court here on Wednesday.
Dawood Suleiman, Abbas Ali, Samsum Karim Raja, Shamsudeen and Ayub Ali were arrested for their alleged involvement in the low-intensity blast at the toilet in Mysuru Court Complex on August 1 and in court complexes in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
They youngsters covered with black mask- were brought by a team of NIA officials from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka and produced before NIA court judge Muralidhar Pai, who sent them to police custody.
They will be interrogated by the NIA till December 9.
During the hearing, one of the suspects, Ayub Ali, interrupted the judge and said he wanted to reveal truth pertaining to the case.
However, the Judge said that he could reveal the same to the investigation agency. They will be taken to Kerala, Chennai and Mysuru as part of the investigation.
EOM
For relatives of Dawood Suleiman, it was a rude shock when police officers informed them about his arrest and that too in connection with a terror case.
For them Suleiman was a very studious, friendly and obedient person who was the only hope of their lower-middle class family.
Dawood Suleiman, one of the five terror suspects attached to Base Movement terror module, was arrested by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) on Sunday from Chennai. He was flown into Bengaluru on Tuesday night.
“I came from Madurai after hearing that he would be produced in the NIA court on Wednesday morning. He spoke to his parents over phone on Sunday night and consoled them. He claimed he was innocent,” said Riyaz, one of Suleiman’s relatives who was waiting outside the court.
It was only around 4.30 p.m, Dawood was paraded in with the four other suspects, Abbas Ali, Samsum Karim Raja, Shamsudeen and Ayub Ali.
All were masked and it took a few minutes for Riyaz to identify him.
Dawood, who was wearing a checked shirt and black trousers, told the judge that he was suffering from a fever and cold.
Justice Muralidhar Pai directed the police to provide adequate medical treatment. The magistrate sent them to police custody till December 9.
“Suleiman used to a visit a library in Madurai run by Abbas Ali, another suspect who has been arrested, for lending religious books. The police would have seen his name in the register and picked him up as he was the only person who had completed engineering,”
Dawood, the police claim, is the leader of the module and in charge of the propaganda material including drafting of the electronic propaganda in the pen drives.
According to Riyaz, Suleiman completed his schooling with the help of scholarships and had taken education loan to pursue his engineering degree in a college in Erode.
“He got campus placement and started working in a software company in Chennai six months ago. It is said that he was picked from the office itself.” he claimed.
Dawood’s father is a sub-contractor who took up road work and is a heart patient. His mother is ailing and his brother works in a shop.
“He used to visit his parents every weekend during his college days and even after he joined work. His mother used to make his favourite parotta for breakfast. He left after meeting his mother on Sunday,” said Riyaz.
His parents were in a shock when the Kerala police visited his house on Wednesday evening for a enquiry. “We contacted him over the phone after he was picked up and he said he did not do anything wrong,” he added.
His anxious relatives hope that the court proves him innocent and he can return to his family.
