The Central Crime Branch of the Bangalore police have
arrested six men from the city, including an English newspaper reporter,
and five from Hubli on charges of plotting a terrorist attack in
Karnataka.
Addressing a press conference here on
Thursday, Director General and Inspector General of Police Lalrokhuma
Pachau said the accused were plotting to assassinate prominent
politicians, Hindutva leaders as well as some journalists (known for
their virulent anti-minority columns). He dismissed earlier claims by
police officers, who told reporters on condition of anonymity, that the
Uttar Pradesh police were involved in the operation. All arrests were
made on Wednesday.
In a release, the police claimed
that they recovered a 7.65 mm pistol and seven live rounds from those
arrested in Bangalore. The police said the accused were “working for the
Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami” — terror organisations known to have divergent ideologies.
Among those arrested was 26-year-old Muthi-ur-Rahman Siddiqui, a reporter who was on the higher education beat for Deccan Herald.
He was arrested from his flat at Mubarak Mohalla of J. C. Nagar along
with his roommates, identified as MCA student Shoaib Ahmed Mirza, his
brother and DRDO junior scientist Aijaz Ahmed Mirza (26), Abdullah Hakim
Jamadar (25), Mohammed Yusuf Nalband (28), BCA graduate and salesman
Riyaz Ahmed Byahatti (28).
Those arrested from Hubli
are Ubedullah Imran (24), Mohammed Sadiq Lakshkar (28), Wahid Hussain
(26), Dr. Jaffar Iqbal Sholapur and Mehboob alias Baba (26).
The
police claimed that the group, which was allegedly linked to an
international terror network, had been under surveillance for the last
four months, and was arrested just before it was about to execute its
plan. The accused are also being investigated for their role in
circulating SMSs and MMSs that led to panic among people from the
northeast residing in the city, says the release.
However,
contesting police claims, A. M. Mirza, father of Shoaib and Aijaz Ahmed
Mirza, said his sons had been framed as part of a “larger conspiracy.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment