Suspected terrorist remanded in police custody

Panaji, Mar 11 (UNI) A local court here today remanded suspected terrorist Tariq Ahmed in police custody for 14 days to enable the police to carry on further interrogations and investigations.

The suspected terrorist was arrested last night and one kilogram of RDX, two Russian-marked hand grenades, two detonators, a digital camera and CDs were seizd from him. Following the arrest, police claim to have nipped in the bud a major strike by a PoK-based terrorist outfit of the Laskhar-e-Toiba.

The suspect Tariq Ahmed Battlo alias Tariq Jalal was arrested last evening from a general compartment of the Mangala Express from Nizamuddin at Margao Railway Station.

Sources said assistance of the J&K police has been sought to find out more details about the terrorist outfit he claims to represent.

''We are trying to find out the origin of the explosives and the targets aimed at. In this background, all vulnerable areas in Goa are under scanner and high alert,'' police sources said.

The Goa police laid their hands on the suspect following inputs from the Central Intelligence Bureau last Christmas.

The suspected terrorist reportedly belongs to a higtherto low-profile terrorist outfit ''Tehrik-ul-Muzahideen'' with its base in Muzafarabad in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). He stayed there for two years before sneaking into India, sources said.

The interrogations, so far, have revealed that he had trained in PoK and visited Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. He had been living in a rented accommodation in Margao since July last.

Under the local law, the houseowner has to submit details of any tenant to the concerned police for clearance so that the antecedents of the tenants, particularly those from outside Goa, can be verified.

Efforts are also underway to find out whether he was associated with the recent bomb blasts in Varanasi. His involvement in the recent disturbances in Sanvorden-Curchorem has, however, been ruled out.

UNI BM MAZ ARB VC2215