13/7 blast: Terror has a Kerala-link; SIMI under scanner

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 20: Looks like the 13/7 Mumbi blast probe is coming to Kerala as well. Even as no arrests have been made in the Jul 13 blasts that ripped across parts of Mumbai, there are reports that certain former activists of the banned SIMI are under the intelligence radar following the blasts.

With the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) on a combing operation to nail the culprits from across the country, reports have emerged that a person named Riyasul from Kasargod district was taken into custody by the Karnataka ATS officials. The police sources claimed that they misunderstood that Riyasul hailed from a place in North Karnataka when he originally hailed from Kasargod district in Kerala. The police misunderstood because the place in Karnataka sounded similar to Kasargod.

The Director-general of police, Kerala, Jacob Punnoose commented, "So far we have no official communication regarding any Kerala links to the Mumbai terror strikes. However, those with previous history of terror links would obviously be under scanner."

With the role of the Indian Mujahideen in focus, there are other reports that another person Shabeer who also hails from North Kerala is also involved in the blasts. Shabeer is presently in the Gulf and has been linked with the Indian Mujahideen and the newly formed Jam-iyyat e-Islami Ansarul Muslimeen (JIAM). This particular terror is believed to have played a major part in the Mumbai blasts.

OneIndia News