Karnataka   

Terror suspect trained in Pakistan, says IGP

DAVANGERE: Inspector-General of Police (Eastern range) Satyanarayana Rao said that the investigation and interrogation of Riyazuddin Nasir alias Mohammed Ghouse has reached a crucial stage and the police were ascertaining the places targeted by Mohammed Ghouse.

Mr. Rao told presspersons here on Saturday that so far it was established that Nasir was a Pakistan-trained terrorist and he had plans to strike at certain places. The police were investigating what his plans were.

Although Nasir and Asadulla were arrested by chance on January 11 at Honnali, the police were treating it as a case of a vehicle theft till January 26. Certain clues and behaviour of the two had led the police to believe that they were “anti-social elements”. About two weeks were lost in the investigation as the local police were not trained to interrogate terrorists. To a question, he said police teams from Hyderabad, Gujarat, and Goa had come and conducted preliminary investigations.

No one had been arrested in Chitradurga on Friday in this connection and he clarified that three Kashmiris were detained for sometime for crosschecking their antecedents by the police.

Permission has been sought from the court to take the two for brain mapping and narco analysis. The two were produced before the Magistrate in early on Saturday at Honnali.

Firoz Rozindar reports from Chitradurga

“We don’t even know why we have been arrested. During our arrest, all we were told was that they are taking us for some questioning,” said Saif Ali (43), a resident of Kashmir and one of the three people detained by the Chitradurga police for questioning.

The other two are Mohammad Junaid (23) and his younger brother Imtiyaz Ahmed (16).

While the police said the three were detained on Friday night, Mr. Ali said they had been kept in the station for the past three days.

He hails from Rajouri district and the brothers are from Udhampur district in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr. Junaid said. “I came here with my brother to collect donation for a Madarsa ( religious school) called Jamia-Anawarul-uloom of Poonch district. I have no idea why they have arrested us. We have even produced a letter given by a local district magistrate which mentioned the reason of our visit. We have given all information to the police along with the contact numbers, despite this we have been kept here. We are not even allowed to speak to our relatives back in Kashmir.” He said although it was his first visit to Chitradurga, his brother Imtiyaz was here last year. “I have come with him, as our seniors at Madrasa advised us to go to Karnataka as they found generous Muslims here,” he said. Mr. Junaid, who stammers, was gathering strength to reveal these details. Sporting a small beard, Mr. Junaid with folded hands was literally begging for mercy.

Mr. Junaid said that he has five siblings, of them two were younger sisters. “Due to our poor financial conditions, we agreed to collect donation for Madrasa in return we get Rs. 3,000 as remuneration,” he said.

According to him, they left Kashmir on January 18 for Bangalore and reached on January 21. After staying for four days, they went to Tumkur and stayed their for three days, later they halted for one day at Sira before proceeding to Chitradurga. The police admitted to receiving train tickets from them.

While the brothers were collecting donation, Mr. Saif Ali said he joined them to collect money to repay the debt. “My wife had tumour in stomach. Her operation cost Rs. 36,000. I borrowed money from a local moneylender at the monthly interest rate of Rs. 10 per Rs. 100. Together principal and interest amount, I had to pay Rs. 56,000. As I could not repay money with a minimum earning though farming, I joined the brothers to collect some charity.”

He said that he knew the two brothers.

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