Terror suspicion: NIA gets 4-day custody of Najmul Huda, Afzal, 4 others

Bengaluru, Jan 23: A special court on Saturday remanded six persons arrested on suspicion of ISIS links to four-day's NIA custody till January 27. Of the six men picked up from different parts of Karnataka, five were produced amid tight security before the National Investigation Agency (NIA) designated court after they were medically examined.

"The court has granted four-day remand to interrogate them on charges filed against them," an NIA counsel told reporters later.

The NIA teams arrested the suspects on Friday, including four in Bengaluru and one each at Mangaluru and Tumakuru, which are 350 km and 70 km from here.

Five suspects Asif, Ahad, Mohammed Sohil, Mohammed Afzal and Syed Mujaid Pasha were present in the court, while sixth suspect Najmal Huda was being brought to the city from Mangaluru on transit remand.

"The raids and arrests are part of the nationwide security steps being taken to prevent any incident and avoid panic in the public," Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara told reporters on Friday.

"Raids were conducted on a tip-off that the suspects were planning bomb attacks on Republic Day (January 26) in the city or other places in the state to cause panic or seek publicity," a anti-terrorist squad official said on anonymity.

On alert and inputs from the home ministry, the state police have also taken steps to beef up security across the southern state, especially in and around Bengaluru, with additional deployment at sensitive and vital installations.