Man held for alleged involvement in arms case

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has detained a person from Mangalore for his alleged involvement in an arms case that was registered in 2007.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has detained a person from Mangalore for his alleged involvement in an arms case that was registered in 2007.

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The arrested person, Ahmad Samad (23), is the younger brother of Yasin Bhatkal, a close aide of Indian Mujaheddin co-founder Riyaz Bhatkal.

Sources said Samad was detained when he returned from Dubai and landed in Mangalore on Monday. Bangalore’s JCP (crime) Alok Kumar confirmed it. “Mumbai ATS picked him up,” he told Hindustan Times.

“He has been detained in connection with an Arms Act case,” a senior ATS officer said. The officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Samad’s name had cropped up during the interrogation of alleged Chota Shakeel aide Arif Mirza, who had been deported from Sri Lanka in November 2009.

Sources said Samad had also been questioned by Bangalore police in November 2008 for his suspected involvement in

serial blasts in the city in July 2008. He was, however, let off as there was no evidence against him.

Sources said that apart from being a native of Bhatkal, which has become infamous for its alleged terror connections, there is nothing to suggest that Samad could be involved in blast conspiracy.

Sources in Bhatkal claim that he had gone to Dubai on a tourist visa.