Friday marks two years since an explosive laden bike went off near the state BJP office in Malleswaram injuring 14 people.
Even as the city police patted its own back as the case was cracked in 48 hours and the first arrests were made, the alleged mastermind is still at large. Not just that, the manhunt for Abubacker Siddique, the man who is believed to have built a terror module from the remnants of Al Ummah, has gone cold.
The mystery man
Interrogation of the arrested suspects revealed that the module was put together by Abubacker Siddique, a former leader of Al Ummah believed to have been trained across the border. But for this sketchy information, police of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are groping in the dark.
A senior officer said Siddiqui is still active and suspected to have built multiple modules in Tamil Nadu. He is now suspected to be heading modules under the banner of South Indian Mujahiddeen. Agencies believe he has connections with other terror organisations, including the Indian Mujahiddeen.
Even after most of those involved in the Malleswaram blast and the murders of some Hindu right wing leaders in Tamil Nadu were arrested, there have been cases of right wing leaders being assassinated in Tamil Nadu and Kerala that bear the signature of the now busted module.
A senior officer said that Siddique had turned to be one of the major security threats emanating from south India and he is a priority for intelligence agencies. “He does not use mobile phones and it is difficult to track him,” he said.
The latest reports suggest that he may have shifted base to Sri Lanka and is operating from the northern parts of the country.
