KOCHI: The Base Movement, a hitherto little known outfit,linked to the five low intensity blasts on court premises in South India, including Kollam and Malappuram, wanted to resist the attacks on members of the community and make their voice heard. Though the name - Base Movement - was inspired by Al Qaeda, the Islamic militant organisation, the group didn’t want to carry out lethal attacks. According to sources privy to the investigation, it was Abbas Ali, a key member of the outfit, who made the bombs for attacks in all five places.
The bombs were planted at key locations by Mohammed Karim, based on instructions from Abbas. According to investigators, Abbas, who is currently in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), is a key operative of the Base Movement, who planned the attacks in Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh) on April 7, Kollam (Kerala) on June 15, Mysuru (Karnataka) on August 1, Nellore (Andhra Pradesh) on September 12 and Malappuram (Kerala) on November 2.
The outfit was formed to resist the increasing attacks on members of the community, including the murder of Mohammed Akhlaq, who was beaten to death for consuming beef. The group decided to target courts to ‘make its voice heard’.
The special investigation team, headed by Ernakulam District Police Chief Arul R B Krishna went to Bengaluru the other day and questioned the five accused persons - Abbas Ali, Mohammed Karim, Ayoob, Dawood Sulaiman and Shamsudeen. The team questioned the accused persons to ascertain the facts regarding the threat messages sent to Kochi police, through WhatsApp.
The two-minute video message, sent to a WhatsApp number of ‘Kavalal’, an initiative of the City Police, warned that Base Movement would target key installations, including the Southern Naval Command and VVIPs in the state.
“Base Movement started its operations in 2015. Abbas played a key role in strengthening the group as he had worked with several terror groups in the past. Abbas was also involved in several other criminal offences,” said a senior police official.
The WhatsApp message sent by the group had paved way for the arrest of the five accused persons from Madurai. Ernakulam Central police had registered a case in November first week in this regard. The case is being probed by a team headed by an Assistant Commissioner of Police.
“The team will go to Madurai next week to collect more evidence. Further, the custody of the accused will be sought for interrogation,” said an officer.