The Karnataka police arresting a suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist from Bihar's Darbhanga district has drawn the ire of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who objected to the unilateral “brazen” action without informing his State.
A police team from BJP-ruled Karnataka arrested Mohammed Kafeel Akthar (26) from Barasmela village two days ago in connection with the 2010 Chinnaswamy Stadium twin blasts, Superintendent of Police Garima Malik said.
“The Karnataka police neither contacted the local police nor informed us about the arrest,” the SP said, adding the Darbhanga police came to know about the capture from the suspect's family.
A security guard was killed and 15 persons were injured in the blasts that took place on the periphery of the stadium on April 17, 2010, a few minutes before the start of an IPL match.
In Patna, Mr. Nitish Kumar said: “The Karnataka police have brazenly violated an established law about giving prior information to the local police about the arrest of a person from their jurisdiction.”
“This is not right. Rules have been flouted in this case,” Mr. Kumar said.
The Bihar DGP had lodged a strong protest with his Karnataka counterpart, Mr. Kumar told journalists.
The Chief Minister sought a report from the Darbhanga SP and on the basis of it, a complaint would be lodged with the Union Home Ministry. — PTI
K.V. Subramanya reports from Bangalore:
The Bangalore police who arrested Akthar on Sunday, produced him in a local court in Bihar. He is being brought to Bangalore for further investigations, Commissioner B.G. Jyothi Prakash Mirji told presspersons on Tuesday.
Mr. Mirji said Akthar, a teacher at the Al-Azari School in Darbhanga, was an associate of six persons from Bihar arrested earlier in connection with the explosions near the stadium. Akthar allegedly conspired with top IM operatives such as Yasin Bhatkal, Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal, Mohsin Chowdary, Bilal, Azeez Khomeni and others in planning the blasts at the stadium as well as a few other attacks in other parts of the country. He had also supplied mobile phones and SIM cards to Yasin Bhatkal.
Suspected IM operatives had concealed low-intensity explosives behind the billboards on the compound of the stadium. While two crude bombs went off, the remaining were defused by the police.
In another development, the police on Monday arrested an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Syed Abdul Rehman (25), a resident of Chamarajapet in south Bangalore, and seized a pistol from him.
Following intelligence inputs that some terror outfits were planning to carry out strikes in Bangalore by organising local youths, the police raided Rehman's house and arrested him. Rehman was an illegal arms supplier and there were two cases against him.
When he was lodged in the Bangalore Central Prison in a theft case, Rehman came in contact with Al-Badr activist and Pakistani national Fahad. The Pakistani national was arrested by the Mysore police on charges of planning disruptive activities a few years ago. Fahad and some jailed LeT operatives had “brainwashed” Rehman to join the jihad movement and introduced him over phone to LeT commanders in Pakistan, the Police Commissioner said.
After he was released from jail four months ago, Rehman and other LeT activists planned to attack the police party and free Fahad, who is lodged in the Gulbarga jail. The plan was to attack the escort party that would take Fahad to court for trial.
