Five people who were radicalised to carry out terror attacks have been arrested by the Central Crime Branch, with firearms and ammunition along with 12 mobile phones confiscated from them, Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said on Wednesday.
Seven pistols, 45 live cartridges, a bunch of walkie-talkies, and some daggers were seized from the terror suspects, the police officer said, adding that provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act were slapped against them. The suspects were identified as Sohail, Omar, Jahid, Mudasir, and Faisal. The five suspects were arrested near a place of worship in the Kanakanagar area of Sultanpalya locality in the city while planning a major conspiracy, according to sources.
“The Central Crime Branch has succeeded in busting the anti-social forces and foiling their nefarious designs.
They were arrested after raiding a place under Hebbal police station limits,” Dayananda told reporters. The suspects were radicalised by T. Nazeer, who is an accused in the 2008 Bengaluru serial bomb blasts case and is currently lodged in Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, along with another accused, Junaid, who is living abroad.
The suspects are accused of murder, robbery, smuggling of red sanders, and other crimes.
They were in touch with Nazeer, he said. Nazeer has links with Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, the police commissioner said. He added that Nazeer’s gang members were planning to carry out “destructive activities”.