Missing operatives were in Karnataka as the nation searched

Bengaluru, Dec 30: 7847980513 is the number that was used between January 2014 and October 2014 and it is suspected that this was being used to stay in touch with contacts in Karnataka. On verification of the calls, it was found that these calls were made by five SIMI operatives from Yadgir, Hospet and Dharwad where they stayed 10 months and kept in contact with 17 persons alleged to be their sympathizers.

With the Bangalore police now probing the possible SIMI link to the Church Street blasts, this part of the investigation becomes extremely crucial and the call records and the details that emerge from it would be very vital to the probe.

Fake identification:

The five members of the SIMI namely Amjad, Shaikh Mahmoob, Aslam, Zakir Hussain and Mohammad Aijajuddin had used fake identification cards to obtain the phone connection which belongs to Reliance. They had also used fake documents to take up houses on rent, investigators have revealed.

During the course of their stay in Karntaka they regularly kept in touch with several members of the group. The police say that calls were repeatedly made to 17 different persons all of whom were not from Karnataka. This would mean that the group has more than five members and hence are able to carry out their activities with such ease.

Longest stay at Dharwad:

The members of the SIMI are said to have stayed the longest in Dharwad. Of the ten months that they were in Karnataka they stayed in Dharwad for nearly four months. They had rented out a house that belonged to a person called Shivaji Rao Kulkarni in Dharwad.

It was found by the investigators that they had given their landlord fake identification cards and also documents to take up the house on rent. The owner of the house however did not know who they were.

Back and forth:

The members appear to have taken shelter in Karnataka while they carried out their activities. Sources say that these members were not here all the time. They would leave Karnataka for a couple of days and then return. This we suspect was to carry out the various incidents in Pune, Bijnor, Chennai and also Karimnagar.

It appears as though these members carried out an incident and returned to their base in Karnataka as they could have possibly felt it was safer in the state. The call records also show that they were in conversation with members across 12 states.

Whether they had any involvement in the Church Street blast is something that needs to be seen and the police say that they are probing their link to the attack as well.

OneIndia News