Bangalore, January 16
A Muslim preacher from Bagalkot in Karnataka who is suspected to be a member of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) today became the second person to be arrested in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) attack case.
The preacher, Habeeb, alias Mehboob Ibrahim, was picked up from Almatti in Bagalkot district of North Karnataka yesterday by a team of the Bangalore police, according to police sources today.
According to the police sources, Mehboob (35) was actively involved in propagating religion in Bagalkot district. The police suspect him of having links with various militant organisations besides being an active member of the LeT. Religious literatures as well as explosives have been seized from him.
Bangalore Police Commissioner Ajai Kumar Singh disclosed that during preliminary interrogation Habeeb had already admitted that he and other members of his group were planning an attack on the Kaiga Nuclear plant, the Almatti dam and the Sharavanthy transmission lines.
The Police Commissioner said the arrest of the suspected LeT operative was important because it had resulted in the uncovering of the LeT module in Karnataka. “Earlier we used to get information about impending attacks. Now we know about the persons who are planning such attacks and also have their names and plans”, he said.
However, the IISc attack is still a long way from being solved. Abdul Rehman, the earlier suspected LeT
operative who is arrested in this connection, has not admitted to any involvement in the attack at the Indian Institute of Science. Rehman has even been subjected to narco-analysis test but the police is still clueless about the person who pulled the trigger in the IISc attack.
Habeeb, who has been arrested on the basis of examination of the mobile phone records of Abdul Rehman, is also part of the broader LeT network in Karnataka and the police is still to pin him down with regard to the LeT attack. The police sources said both persons had accepted that they had trained and created a terrorist network in the state.
The Police Commissioner said Habeeb’s direct involvement in the IISc attack could not be rule out as he was a part of the LeT module in the state.
The police sources said a diary recovered from Habeeb was being put under the scanner, even as there was an apprehension that the man who pulled the trigger in the IISc attack could have left Karnataka.
Meanwhile, the police was not requesting for an extension of the police remand of Abdul Rehman who was arrested a few days after the attack in the IISc. Mr Ajai Kumar Singh said Rehman had been questioned adequately and that the police was already following leads provided by him. The Police Commissioner said Rehman would be charged for waging war against the state as well as conspiring to disturb the peace.
