2 suspects arrested in Bengaluru, one in Bhatkal; No blast link, clarify cops

Bengaluru, Jan 9: The Bengaluru police and sleuths of the Internal Security Division of the State police claimed to have busted a major terror module after arresting three men hailing from the coastal town of Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district.

The police also claimed that they seized huge cache of explosive substances, including ammonium nitrate, detonators, electronic timer devices, digital circuits, circuit-making materials and fuel oil.

The arrested are Syed Ismail Afaq (34), Saddam Hussein (35) and Abdus Subur (25). City Police Commissioner M N Reddi said that CCB police and ISD officials raided two places, one in Cox Town, Pulakeshinagar in Bengaluru and the other at Jamiya area, Bhatkal, to make the arrests.

œDuring the raids in Cox Town, we found several incriminating material like communication equipment, cellphones and laptops. During the raids in Bhatkal, the cops seized around three kg of materials used for making explosive devices. The materials have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for examination. The accused were receiving direct instructions from their handler abroad. They were also in touch with Indian Mujahideen operatives and other banned terror organisations,  Reddi said.

Police said that Afaq and Hussein were staying at a rented house in Cox Town. Subur, an MBA student, was arrested from a house in Bhatkal. He said that the police were verifying if communication equipment found had any link to the explosive devices. Reddi said that prima facie there was no connection between Thursday's arrests and the Church Street blast of December 28.

œThe module busted on Thursday doesn't seem to have any connection with the perpetrators of the Church Street blast. However, we are not ruling out any possibility since the arrested are still being questioned. We had received credible information about the storage of huge quantity of explosive substances and conducted raids.

The explosive materials were at different stages of manufacturing. Initial probe suggests that the accused had sourced these materials from various sources within the country. Further investigation is on,  Reddi said.

A case has been registered at the Pulakeshinagar police station under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of Explosive Substances Act, Sections 10, 13, 18 of Unlawful Activities (Prohibition) Act and Sections 120 (b) and 121 (a) of the Indian Penal Code.