Leaders of terror network not in Karnataka: DGP

Bangalore, Feb 28 (UNI) The Karnataka Police today said that the investigations held so far into the terror network in the state in the aftermath of the arrest of seven persons had revealed that its leadership was not present in the state but was 'elsewhere'.

Addressing a press conference here DGP and IGP K R Sreenivasan said the police had arrested seven persons in two cases -- two in the Davangere case and five others in Hubli case.

However all the seven belonged to the same network and had 'hatched a plan of criminal activities including bomb blasts', he said.

The police were on the lookout for some more persons who were involved in the terror ring, he said.

He said the five persons arrested relating to the Hubli case were activists of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and they had assembled 30 to 40 members. This case had brought to light that the activists of the banned organisation had spread their tentacles to other parts of the state. "Earlier it was believed that the organisation operated only in Bangalore," he said.

The terror network came to light when Davangere police arrested Nasir alias Riyazuddin and Asadullah, alleged activists of the Pakistan based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toaiba. Based on their information they had arrested Mohammad Asif and Alla Baksh and Shakeel Ahamed in Hubli and software engineer Yahya alias Kammukutti belonging to Kerala and Syed Sadiq alias Sameer in Bangalore.

"We arrested these seven persons as we had sufficient evidences against them. But now we know that their leaders are elsewhere and not in Karnataka.

"Yayha hailing from Calicut was working with Wipro G E Healthcare till April 2007 and had been staying in the city since 1999. He had been holding meetings with Nasir, Asif, Asadulla, Shakheel, Baksh and others," he said.

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