Arrested terrorists were on the watch for months

Bangalore, Oct 27: Karnataka Home Minister M P Prakash today said that the two Pakistanis, members of banned terrorist 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 offense. 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 supports for carrying out terrorist activities, he said.

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

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

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

He said Karnataka faced the terrorist threat as it had advanced at a faster pace in the recent times and had become the IT hub of the country. The threat perception had now increased. Terrorists had infiltered from multi point entries. Apart from cross border infiltration they 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 important 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 any possible terrorist threats.

UNI

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