KOCHI: In a swift operation on Monday, the police picked up a Saudi Arabian citizen from a major shopping mall in the city while he was attempting to make contact with a group of youngsters present there.
The police found him distributing business cards to teenagers, asking them to interact with him on chat4truth.com.
A team of officers led by City Police Commissioner Vijay Sakhare will interrogate the person, whose whereabouts have not been disclosed. “He was under police surveillance. Senior officers will question him on Tuesday,” said a source.
The city police zeroed in on the person based on an intelligence input.“We’re verifying certain details of the person who is aged 49. No formal arrest has been recorded. We’ll be able to ascertain the purpose of his interaction with the youngsters at the mall only after a detailed interrogation,” said an officer.
As per the details available, the Saudian reached the city as a patient on a medical visa.“He reached the shopping mall in traditional Arab attire, approached youngsters and gave them cards. Initial probe revealed the card contained a link and address of a website which reportedly had certain content which has raised suspicion about the person’s activities,” said an officer. Intelligence agencies and the state police have collected CCTV visuals from the mall.
“He has given a statement that his family is along with him. We’ll question them as well. Cyber experts are collecting more details of the online link which he has shared with the youngsters,” said an officer.
He added the probe would ascertain whether the Arab national had picked the youngsters randomly for interaction or he had established communication with them earlier and opted the shopping mall as the venue for the rendezvous. The state police have been on alert ever since a German woman tourist went missing from the state.