Arrested terrorists were on police watch list

Bangalore, Oct 27 (UNI) Karnataka Home Minister M P Prakash today said the two Pakistani terrorists belonging to banned outfit Al-Badr, arrested by the Mysore Police today, were on the watch list of the police for several months.

''We had received a tip-off from central intelligence agencies about the presence of Pak based terrorists, identified the duo who were kept on a constant watch. We waited till they committed some offence. The time came this morning and they were nabbed,'' he said.

Speaking to reporters in Vidhana Soudha here, the Home Minister said there was no proof available so far about their direct involvement in the terrorist activities. However, it was confirmed that they were supplying money and logistic support for carrying out terrorist activities, he said.

Mr Prakash said they had planned to target Vikasa Soudha adjacent to Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat in Bangalore, as there was less security in these offices.

He asserted following the arrests the government had not declared any red alert in any part of the state.

Police had seized two passports from the arrested terrorists issued by the Pakistan government. The first named Fahad had come to Mysore about eight months ago, while the other Hussain reached here three months later. They were running a PCO-cum-fancy store and stayed in a two-room rented house in Mysore.

He said Karnataka was facing an increased threat perception due to the recent advances made by the state to emerge the IT hub of the country.

Apart from cross border infiltration terrorists were also clandestinely coming from Bangladesh and Nepal, he said.

''After Bangalore, Mysore is also not safe now. After the 9/11 attack on the US, all countries facing the terrorist threat were sharing information with active participation of Interpol. We in Karnataka are taking maximum precaution against possible terrorist attacks,'' he said.

He said the state had been on constant alert and taking security measures against all possible terrorist threats.

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