Bangalore/Mumbai, Sept 1 (PTI) : Intensifying the crackdown on the "terror module" busted in Karnataka, police have arrested five more suspects in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, as a probe showed that a nuclear installation and several defence establishments were targeted for attack.
With the arrest of the five suspects--four in Nanded and one in Hyderabad--who allegedly had links with the 11 people held by the Bangalore police, the number of those detained in the terror plot rose to 16.
The eleven persons including a journalist and DRDO scientist arrested by Bangalore police earlier this week were suspected to have links with with Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihad-Al-Islami (HuJI) and were allegedly plotting to target MPs, MLAs and mediapersons in Karnataka
Maharashtra ATS arrested four terror suspects from Nanded district for their alleged links with the arrested persons in Karnataka, an ATS official said in Mumbai today.
"We have arrested four persons, who have links with the terror suspects arrested in Bangalore," ATS chief Rakesh Maria said. However, Maria refused to divulge any further details.
According to police sources, following the arrest of the terror suspects in Bangalore by the local police, they had shared some information with Maharashtra ATS officials, which has resulted in the arrest of the four persons.
The four suspects were picked up from various parts of Nanded district in the past two days following a tip-off about their possible involvement in terror activities. Bangalore police arrested a youth in Hyderabad yesterday with alleged links to LeT and HuJI.
21-year old Obedulla-Ur-Rehman was arrested on the basis of information given by the 11 terror suspects taken into custody in Hubli and Bangalore earlier this week, Police Commissioner Jyotiprakash Mirji told reporters in Bangalore.
"Obedulla-Ur-Rehman along with others had conspired to kill two corporators and one prominent leader of a Hindu organisation of Hyderabad," Mirji said.
During interrogation, those arrested in Karnataka on Thursday confessed that the module
had planned to attack a nuclear installation and vital navy and army establishments located in South India following directives from their LeT and HuJI handlers based in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, government sources said in Delhi.
Journalist Muthi-Ur-Rehman Siddiqui and Aijaz Ahmed Mirza, a junior research fellow with DRDO, and Dr Jafar Iqbal Sholapur were among those arrested.
When asked whether Andhra Pradesh police team was here, Mirji said, "we will be sharing information with other (state) police officers and vice-versa. Other agencies will come when we need help".
On whether any defence installations were being targeted, he said, "we are still investigating, we will let you know." He also said Interpol assistance would be sought if required.
Answering a query on the claims made by parents of some of the arrested that they were innocent, Mirji said, "of course parents in their way are correct. They will not know what their children are doing."
To whether the parents and kin could visit the accused, he said, "they can go and meet their children. It will be a very fair investigation." Earlier, state DGP Lalrokhuma Pachau and Mirji met Governor H R Bhardwaj and apprised him about the case.
Mirji refused to share details of the discussions they had with the Governor.
Terror Conspirators are in Saudi Arabia: Bangalore Police
Bangalore, Sep 1 (CNN-IBN): The Bangalore Police who claims to have busted a terror module said that the student arrested from Hyderabad was planning to kill a Hindu leader in Hyderabad and two corporators.
"One more suspect Obaidulla Rehman, age 21, has been arrested from Hyderabad. He along with others conspired to kill two corporators and one Hindu leader in Hyderabad," Bangalore Police Commissioner Jyoti Prakash Mirji said.
He also said that the police have evidence to believe that the terror suspects were being handled from Saudi Arabia. "The conspirators are believed to be in Saudi Arabia. It's a sensitive issue, we have to be very careful, the information we get has to be verified first and we have to get evidence," Mirji said.
Reacting to the suspects' families reactions, Mirji said, "Their parents may not be believing, no parents believe their children can go to that extent."
The Karnataka terror probe has now turned out to be a multi-state affair with arrests from Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Sources in the Maharashtra ATS claim that four suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists were arrested on Friday in Nanded. Sources also say that these arrests are related to the 12 arrests made so far in the Karnataka terror crackdown.
Meanwhile, the Bangalore Police also arrested a student from Hyderabad on Friday evening in connection with the 11 arrests that were made on Thursday in Bangalore. The 26-year old has been identified as Obaid Rehman and has been taken to Bangalore for further investigation.
The Bangalore Police on Thursday claimed to have busted a terror module. The police arrested 11 people, including a journalist with a popular English daily and a DRDO engineer for having terror links.