KALABURAGI/YADGIR: Rumours of a Yadgir link to the Church Street bomb blast are proving troublesome for the Yadgir police and North-east Range IGP Suresh K Mohammad. A news channel on Tuesday night telecast that one of the blast suspects had purchased many SIM cards from Yadgir a few months ago.
IGP Mohammad told Express on Wednesday that after the news was telecast, he and Yadgir SP M Mutturaya had received hundreds of phone calls. The IGP confirmed that National Intelligence Agency (NIA) personnel had visited Yadgir on September 2, but said the visit had nothing to do with the blast in the capital. It was with regard to an old case, he said.
He said the news telecast on the channel was false and claimed that no suspected terrorist had purchased SIM cards from Yadgir.
Meanwhile, journalists from Yadgir and Raichur visited the Yadgir SP’s office on Wednesday, demanding details. Dismissing the news, he said rumours that the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) arrested a suspect from Surpur taluk and is searching for another suspect is false.
Sources told Express that one of the suspects might have purchased many SIM cards from Yadagirigutta near Hyderabad and that investigation into this could be on. The news channel might have mistaken Yadgirigutta for Yadgir, the police claimed.
The IGP said as the government has sounded an alert, the police were keeping a close watch on all anti-social elements in North-east Range. Apart from this, the state and national intelligence agencies are keeping an eye on various activities and it is not necessary for them to inform the local police about their activities.
It may be recalled that a few years ago, some SIMI activists were arrested in Kalaburagi.