In a joint operation with Central agencies, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) arrested a terror suspect who had taken shelter in the city and had been working as a food delivery executive since one year.
The accused, Akhtar Hussain, 23, a native of Assam, was living with four others in a rented house at Tilaknagar here.
According to officials, the accused was in constant touch with a terror organisation through his Telegram account and social media, and was planning a meeting soon to discuss about possible subversive activities.
The CCB team kept a close watch on his activities for a few days, before arresting him on Sunday night. The police have also taken his roommates into custody for questioning.
The CCB also detained Zubair, an associate of Akhtar Hussain from Salem, Tamil Nadu. They alleged that the duo was in touch with the terror group and was planning to join them soon. The CCB seized a mobile phone and other incriminating documents from Akhtar Hussain for further investigation.
Special teams
Meanwhile, four special teams of CCB have been formed to work with Central agencies to track down the network and the activities of Akhtar Hussain.
Akhtar Hussain was produced before the NIA Special Court and taken into 10-day custody --- till August 3, while four police teams were dispatched in different directions to work on the information secured through interrogation.
Akhtar Hussain, a high school dropout, hails from a poor family. It is being suspected that Akhtar Hussain was working as a delivery executive to know the topography of the city and its routes, the police said. The police are now checking his local contacts and the people with whom he was in regular touch.
The police suspect that Akhtar Hussain wanted to get recruited into the terror outfit and used to run a sleeper cell to execute subversive activities.
City police commissioner C.H. Pratap Reddy said that Akhtar Hussain was radicalised and was arrested based on intelligence inputs and coordination with Central agencies and added there was ample evidence against him.
Second such incident
This is the second such incident reported in the city in recent times. On June 3, the city police, with a special team from Jammu and Kashmir, arrested Talib Hussain, an alleged member of the terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, from a residential locality in Okalipuram.
The suspect was living with his family and working as a labourer in the city. A self-styled commander of the terror outfit, Talib was wanted in connection with the targeted killing of Hindus in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Home Minister Araga Jnanendra lauded the city police for their efforts to contain terror and subversive activities.
