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Police search for aides of arrested ‘terrorist’
“The internal security division of Karnataka police along with Bengaluru city police are investigating the case,” a police officer said.
Karnataka police have begun collecting information on the people with whom alleged Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Talib Hussain was in touch, officers in the know of the developments said on Friday. Hussain was arrested from the state city on June 3.
Hussain was arrested from Bengaluru’s Okalipuram area in a joint operation by Jammu and Kashmir Police and Rashtriya Rifles. The accused is a resident of Kishtwar district in Jammu and Kashmir and is believed to be an active member of Hizbul Mujahideen since 2016, state police officials said.
“The internal security division of Karnataka police along with Bengaluru city police are investigating the case,” a police officer said.
Hussain came to Bengaluru a year ago and was staying in a mosque in the Okalipuram, they said. According to police, he used to work as an auto rickshaw driver in the city.
Mosque authorities, however, claimed they were not aware of Hussain’s purported links with the terror outfit. They claimed the suspected terrorist had come with his wife and child during the second wave of the Covid pandemic and refuted police’s claim that he would make provocative speeches during Friday prayers.
Soon after his arrest, home minister Araga Jnanendra had said state police had begun a probe into the case. “The state police are coordinating with their Jammu and Kashmir counterparts and intensified investigation to identify those individuals and organisations, which harboured him,” he had said.
Officials of the internal security division said they have identified some of the people who he was in constant touch and collecting their details. Teams are also vesting the location, where had stayed and worked as well.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Thursday gave a letter to Bengaluru police commissioner Pratap Reddy demanding action against the mosque where alleged Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Talib Hussain was staying.
The complaint also asked police to gather inputs on terrorist activities in the mosque. “The masjid where terror element Talib Hussain was given shelter must be seized. Action must be initiated against those who sheltered him and gave him SIM cards,” the complaint said.
