BANAVASI (UTTARA KANNADA): NIA sleuths arrested a terror suspect from Dasana Koppa village in Banavasi taluk for allegedly instigating the suspects involved in the Mangaluru cooker blast, Bengaluru Rameshwaram cafe explosion and Shivamogga mosque blast.
The suspect, 32-year-old Abdul Shakoor, was picked up after raids at several places in Sirsi and Banavasi.
Shakoor, who hails from Dasana Koppa village, works in Dubai and is allegedly a member of the banned Popular Front of India. He had come home to celebrate Bakrid when the National Investigation Agency picked him up.
Sources said Shakoor has links with many terror organisations and keeps in touch with them online. “He has a passport, which he has obtained by furnishing false documents. We are probing that angle too,” the source added.
Shakoor, who was a sort of a moulvi, had visited Thirthalli in 2018-19, and that was when he met the prime accused in Mangaluru cooker, Rameshwaram cafe and Shivamogga mosque blasts.
The police said he has not studied beyond school. He has a business in Dubai, dealing with kitchen items, air-conditioners and metals.
The NIA has taken him to an undisclosed location.