The five persons suspected to be part of a terror module that was busted by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) on Wednesday were radicalised by LeT operative T. Nazir arrested in connection with the 2008 serial bomb blasts in Bengaluru in the Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara in Bengaluru, according to police sources.
The suspects — Syed Suhel Khan, 24, Mohammed Umar, 29, Zahid Tabarej, 25, Syed Mudaseer Pasha, 28, and Mohammed Fazil, 30 — were working as mechanics and drivers. They were arrested by R.T. Nagar police in 2017 in connection with the kidnap and murder of a businessman, Noor Ahmed, along with the prime accused, Junaid Ahmed.
Twenty-one persons were arrested in the murder case. From among them, Nazir and Junaid selected five, and created a terror module during their 18-month incarceration.
According to the police, the suspects had planned to carry out blasts in four places in Bengaluru. Based on intel inputs, the CCB arrested them from a house in Hebbal police station limits.
The suspects had been staying in a rented house for the last three months. They had roped in two women to stay with them to avoid arousing suspicion in the neighbourhood. The CCB questioned the women, and ruled out their involvement in suspected terror activities.
“The accused have been taken into 15 days’ police custody. Efforts are on to track down the persons who provided logistics support to the accused,” B. Dayananda, Bengaluru police commissioner, said.
Background of prime accused who is hiding abroad
According to the police, Junaid Ahmed, the prime accused, is a habitual offender. He is named in many cases, including for murder (2017), robbery and smuggling of Red Sanders.
He was arrested in 2020 in a Red Sanders smuggling case. He was sent to Bengaluru Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara, where he met Nazir again. After five months in prison, he secured bail and went abroad in 2021, but was in regular touch with the other accused, according to the police.
He was acting as the handler of the module. He provided logistics support, including weapons and financial aid, through his contacts.
“Prime accused Junaid is named in multiple cases and is in hiding out of India. He hatched a plan to carry out subversive activities, and supplied arms and ammunition for the job,” Mr. Dayananda said.
On the day of the arrests, curious residents thronged the house of Suhel Khan. Suhel reportedly checked into the rented house 40 days ago. The owner of the house, identified as Padma, expressed shocked over the development. Suhel had checked into the house with family and was working as a fabricator.
Meanwhile, the CCB officials have also questioning Nazir to know his links with other inmates and people outside the prison. CCB officials suspected that Nazir could have created similar modules and radicalised many who came into his contact during his stay in the central prison.
