AP police conduct fresh searches at home of detained terror suspect
Andhra Pradesh police seized a parcel bomb linked to terror suspects Abu Bakr Siddiqui and Mohammad Ali, with ties to the Al Ummah group.
The Rayachoti police in Andhra Pradesh’s Annamayya district on Saturday seized fresh evidence from the house of one of the two suspects— Abu Bakr Siddiqui and Mohammad Ali— arrested by the Tamil Nadu Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday night in connection with an alleged terror plot, officers familiar with the matter said.
Police conducted fresh searches in Siddiqui’s residence and seized a parcel bomb, the officers said. It was discovered that the parcel was prepared with a Delhi address, they added.
“We are investigating the Delhi connections of the accused. We are also looking into their possible connections with any foreign terrorist organizations,” an officer privy to the investigation said.
Security has been tightened around the two suspects’ residences and the police have also questioned some additional suspects, closely related to Siddiqui and Ali, the officer added.
On Thursday, Kurnool range deputy inspector general of police Koya Praveen told reporters that Siddiqui and Ali were found to have been involved in extremist operations in Tamil Nadu.
He said Rayachoti police also arrested Siddiqui’s wife Shaikh Syra Banu and Ali’s wife Shaikh Shameem and produced them before the court, which remanded them to 14 days in judicial custody. They were shifted to Kadapa Central Jail.
The DIG said both Siddiqui and Ali belonged to the terrorist organization ‘Al Ummah’ and added they had plotted bomb blasts in three major cities of the country.
“We are investigating those who assisted the accused in Rayachoti. We have seized nearly 50 Improvised Explosive Device (IED) manufacturing materials and explosives,” he said.
The police registered two cases at Rayachoti Urban police station under section 132 of the BNS(assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty), Explosives Act (1908 & 1884), sections 13, 15 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Arms Act, as well as additional charges under the UAPA and Explosives Act.
