Bengaluru terror module case: Karnataka Police detain kingpin’s associate

Karnataka Police have arrested an associate of Mohammad Junaid, the absconding kingpin of terrorist group that wanted to carry out disruptive acts in the IT city

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Police have arrested an associate of Mohammad Junaid, the absconding kingpin of terrorist group that wanted to carry out disruptive acts in the IT city, police said on Tuesday.

The detained person has been identified as Mohammad Arshad Khan. The authorities say that the development is going to be a major breakthrough and they could get vital clues on Mohammad Junaid, who had conspired to carry out terrorist activities and is suspected to be operating from the border areas of Afghanistan.

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Khan was absconding for four years and he is also the main accused in the kidnap and murder case of one Noor Ahmad in 2017. A special team headed by Police Sub Inspector Vinod Nayak attached to R.T. Nagar police station was formed to nab the accused.

The police got a tip off on Mohammad Arshad staying at his residence in the early hours. The police team surrounded the house, broke the door open and arrested the accused. Mohammad Arshad Khan had attempted to kill himself with a knife and also tried to jump off from the second floor of his house.

However, the police team managed to control him and took him into custody. The police said that Mohammad Arshad was into criminal activities at an early age. There are 17 cases against him include serious criminal cases such as murder, attempt to murder, theft and others.

Mohammad Junaid, the mastermind behind the terror plot, was supplying arms and ammunition to the local group. The police had seized live grenades sent to the local group by him. The CCB wing had arrested Syed Suhail Khan, Mohammad Faizal Rabbani, Mohammad Umar, Muddassir Pasha and Zahid Tabrez in July andbusted a terror module operating in Bengaluru. They hadseized a large cache of explosives, weapons and equipment.

The police investigating the case also found that the terror group had links with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). They have further found that T. Nazir, a terror suspect in the Bengaluru serial blasts of 2008 lodged in the Central Prison of Bengaluru, had brainwashed the arrested youths to carry out a major terror strike in IT city.

He delivered orders to the accused persons and controlled the gang of terrorists through Mohammad Junaid, the prime kingpin. Nazir, hails from Kerala, allegedly gave instructions from the prison. The arrested suspected terrorists came in contact with Nazir, while they were in prison through Junaid. The probe also revealed that Nazir helped Junaid to cross the Indian borders. The special wing CCB sources said that Nazir will be taken into custody on a body warrant.

All the arrested accused have confessed that they were tutored in the central prison by Nazir to carry out terror strikes, sources explained. The police have gathered information on Junaid having links in Baku city, the capital of Azerbaijan. The probe has revealed that he went to the Middle East on original passport in 2021.

The police had not seized his passport as the murder case in which he was involved did not have any international connection. The Karnataka Police have issued a lookout notice in this to track Junaid.