BENGALURU/KALABURAGI: Three men have been arrested in Bengaluru and Kalaburagi for suspected links to Pakistan-based terror outfits.
While a 23-year-old man from West Bengal, who was working as a security guard in Bengaluru, was arrested for alleged links with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), two people from Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh, working at a slaughterhouse on the outskirts of Kalaburagi, were arrested on charges of maintaining contact with alleged terrorists through social media.
The security guard, Asaful Mallik, had made voice calls to a TTP member and sent him audio recordings, the Hebbagodi police said.
Mallik from North 24 Parganas, was residing near APC Circle in Jigani. He was working as a security guard in a private firm in the Bommasandra Industrial Area.
The police made the arrest on Tuesday based on a tip from an informant. “During interrogation, the accused said that he was angry with the Pakistan Army over what he believed were their atrocities against mosques and people in Pakistan.
Accused wanted to ‘take revenge’ for Muslims
The accused also expressed anger over the Israel-Palestine conflict, alleging that the Pakistan Army were supporting Israel and not helping Palestinian Muslims. He stated that he had decided to take revenge on behalf of Muslims if they faced any problems in India as well,” said an officer associated with the investigation.
Mallik later came into contact with a person named Imran Haider in Afghanistan on Facebook. Using Haider’s links with the TTP, he had made arrangements to obtain a visa to travel to Afghanistan with the intention of joining the terror outfit to take revenge against the Pakistan Army. He later changed his mind due to financial difficulties and wanted to take care of his family.
When the police checked his mobile phone to verify his Facebook and WhatsApp accounts, they stumbled upon chat details with Haider.
A case under Section 113(3) of BNS has been registered against him.
Meanwhile, the police arrested two natives of Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh, who were working at a slaughterhouse at Tawaragera in the outskirts of Kalaburagi on Thursday on charges of maintaining contact with alleged terrorists based in Pakistan.
The arrested, Mohammad Sameer and Mohammad Salman, had come to Kalaburagi a year ago, and were staying in a rented accommodation in Tawaragera.
Kalaburagi Police Commissioner Dr Sharanappa SD said that they had been monitoring social media accounts of several persons for illegal activities and found that Sameer had been maintaining contact with Pakistan-based terror operatives through WhatsApp and Facebook. He said that the police have not yet found if Salman had any contact with Pakistan-based terrorists. A case has been registered at University Police Station against the accused.