The Bangalore police arrested two terror suspects, one an alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative from Bihar, and the other a resident here with suspected Lashkar-Taiba (LeT) links.
A city police team arrested Mohammed Kafeel Akthar (26) at Barasmela village in Darbhanga district of Bihar on May 6 for his alleged role in the 2010 blasts at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here. After producing him in a local court in Bihar, the police are bringing him to Bangalore for further investigations, Bangalore Police Commissioner B.G. Jyothi Prakash Mirji told presspersons here Tuesday.
Co-conspirator
Mr. Mirji said that Akthar, a teacher at Al-Azari School in Darbhanga, was an associate of six persons from Bihar arrested earlier in connection with the stadium blasts. Akthar had allegedly conspired with top IM operatives such as Yasin Bhatkal, Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal, Mohsin Chowdary, Bilal, Azeez Khomeni and others in planning the stadium blasts as well as attacks elsewhere in the country. He had also supplied mobile phones and SIM cards to Yasin Bhatkal.
About 15 persons were injured in the blasts that took place on the periphery of the stadium on April 17, 2010, less than an hour before an IPL match. Suspected IM operatives had concealed low-intensity explosives behind the billboards on the stadium's compound wall, two of which went off while the police defused the remaining.
‘LeT operative' arrested
In the other case, the police on Monday arrested an alleged LeT operative, Syed Abdul Rehman (25), a resident of Chamarajpet here, and seized a pistol from him.
Mr. Mirji said that following intelligence inputs that some terror outfits were planning strikes in the city by organising local youths, the police raided Rehman's house and arrested him. Rehman, he said, was an illegal arms supplier who had two cases against him.
Jail contacts
When he was lodged in Bangalore Central Prison in a theft case, Rehman came in contact with Fahad, an Al-Badr activist and a Pakistani national arrested by the Mysore police on charges of planning disruptive activities. Fahad and some other jailed LeT operatives had “brainwashed” Rehman to join the jihad movement and also introduced him over phone to LeT commanders in Pakistan, Mr. Mirji said.
On his release from jail four months ago, Rehman and other LeT activists planned an attack to release Fahad, who is now in Gulbarga jail. The idea was to attack the escort party accompanying him to court for trial.
