No fresh arrest made in IS terror case: Shivamogga Police

“We have not arrested or detained anyone from Koppal in connection with the case under UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act),” Shivamogga superintendent of police Laxmi Prasad said.

Shivamogga police arrested two suspected Islamic State operatives on Monday denied arresting another suspect from Koppal district in their probe into an Islamic State linked terror case.

Shivamogga police arrested two suspected Islamic State operatives on Monday denied arresting another suspect from Koppal (ANI)

“We have not arrested or detained anyone from Koppal in connection with the case under UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act),” Shivamogga superintendent of police Laxmi Prasad said.

Even though the senior officer denied the arrest, officials in the know of the development told HT that a fruit merchant was detained from his home in Koppal by police on Monday morning.

Shabbir Mandalagiri, a resident of Gangavathy town, is alleged to be in touch with Maaz Muneer Ahmed (22) and Syed Yasin (21) - the two terror suspects who were arrested earlier.

Shivamogga police have claimed that the investigation into the stabbing during the clash over VD Savarkar’s poster has revealed a connection with the Islamic State.

Shivamogga superintendent of police Prasad on Friday said two men arrested as part of the investigation have executed a trial bomb blast on the bank of Tunga river in Shivamogga.

An officer in Koppal said Mandalagiri’s residence was raided on Sunday midnight after which he was taken into custody.

Addressing media in Shivamogga on Friday, the SP said during the investigation into the August 15 stabbing of one Prem Singh, Doddapete Police arrested four people.

Prem Singh, 20, was stabbed after clashes broke out between two communities in the town over putting up banners of Hindutva ideologue Savarkar and 18th-century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan on Monday. There was a commotion over the banner, following which four men stabbed Singh.

In the probe, police had booked 24-year-old Shariq, who is currently absconding. While checking Shariq’s call records police learnt about two of his associates, Maaz Muneer Ahmed and Syed Yasin — both engineering graduates — whom he had mentored.

Shariq and Maaz were arrested by Mangaluru city police in December 2020 for painting pro-terror graffiti on the wall of a building in the coastal city as well.

Learning about the activities of Maaz and Yasin, police arrested them again on Tuesday.

Laxmi Prasad said police, during raids carried out in 11 locations as part of the investigation into the case, seized a total of 14 mobiles, two laptops, remnants of the experimental bomb found at the site of the blast, materials required to make bombs and the half-burnt Indian national flag.

Shivamogga police investigating the case have intensified operations to nab Mohammad Shariq, a cloth salesman. Shariq managed to escape after the arrest of Maaz Munir and Syed Yasin.

Police said the trio wanted to establish a caliphate in India by overthrowing the present central government. They radicalised educated youth to raise their voices to establish an Islamic state in India.

Karnataka home minister Araga Jnanendra said two arrested terror suspects had links with organisations in Kerala.

“Due to the arrest of suspected terrorists, police of the district have averted a major tragedy that could have unfolded in future,” said Jnanendra.

“Suspected terrorists have links at coastal districts of Karnataka and Kerala. That is why these kinds of incidents are occurring. Even a satellitephone was used in Thirthahalli in the past. Police have considered the whole incident seriously. A logical conclusion has to be arrived at,” he said.

Yasin, who did a course in electrical engineering, knew relay circuits. He had procured a gadget through an online store and battery, wire and other materials locally. “They did execute a low-intensity blast with a radius of three feet on an experimental basis. They had planned to conduct multiple such trials before taking up a bigger plan. They wanted to attack non-believers through jihad. We caught them before they could go ahead with the plan,” an officer had said.

The officer said the accused are members of the ISIS channel – Al Hayat – run on Telegram, a messenger application. “They were members of the channel that was only for one-way communication. So far, there is no information on a direct link with the banned organisation,” he said.

The officer said Yasin and Muneer had known each other since their pre-university days. They had travelled to Mangaluru then and had come in contact with Shariq.