Man arrested for terror group links

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths Bengaluru, arrested a radicalised youth who is suspected to have links with a foreign terror outfit. Three others, suspected to be his accomplices, were also detained by the CCB, sources from the city police said on Monday.

The suspect has been identified as Akthar Hussain Lashkar, hailing from Assam. He was residing near Tilak Nagar here, and reportedly working as a food delivery boy in the city, police said. Following a joint operation carried out by the CCB Special Wing, Internal Security Division and Intelligence Wing of the Bengaluru police, the four suspects were arrested on Sunday around 7:30 pm.

Based on a tip-off, the operation was carried out by a police team comprising more than 30 personnel, the police added. The cops, who had been keeping an eye over the movements of Hussain for several days, alleged that he had used social media platforms such as Facebook and Telegram to virtually establish contacts with a global terror outfit. The cops even conducted a search at his house for an hour and claimed to have found evidence to nab Hussain.

The suspect has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including one for waging a war against the Government of India, sources said. Bengaluru police Commissioner C.H. Pratap Reddy told News Trail, “Details cannot be shared but the fact is that an FIR has been registered and the person has been arrested. There is enough evidence collected regarding the radicalised youth,” he said.

Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, on Monday said that the police are interrogating the suspect and three local accomplices. Earlier this year in June, the city police had recently arrested a man residing near Okalipuram on suspicion of having links with the Hizbul Mujahideen. That arrest was carried out in a joint operation by the police from Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka police personnel. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had then said that the police has been conducting surveillance to track, identify and nab those with terror connections.